Hidden Fasteners vs Deck Screws: Which Is Better For Your Deck?

Decks are functional and made to be walked all over, just as if they were another room in your house. 

But they’re not only built for function, but they’re also meant to look nice and add to your home’s overall aesthetic. 

And that, among other things, is what most homeowners are thinking about when they are trying to choose between hidden fasteners vs deck screws to build their decks. 

So, let’s get into that and clarify some things to ensure you get the best results possible with your decking project.

What Exactly Are They In The First Place?

Deck screws and hidden fasteners are the two main ways to secure your deck boards to your joists (the vertical support beams of your deck). 

“Face screwing” is, as the name implies, when you insert screws directly into the face of the board and drill them in. 

By contrast, hidden fasteners (also called “hidden clips” or a “hidden clip system”) are not as visible and do not involve drilling holes into your deck boards. 

Instead, they hold the boards in place by attaching them to the joists from the sides or the undersides of the boards. 

There are all kinds of clip systems available, from manual to automatic and fusion lock to tiger claw. 

But they are all designed primarily to be as invisible as possible. 

Look & Feel

There’s no getting around it; hidden fasteners look better in most cases. 

And by “look better,” we mean they don’t look like anything because you can’t see them. 

Screws, on the other hand, are not only visible but, if mishandled, can also cause your deck to splinter or become uneven in some spots. 

To be fair, though, someone who is skilled can apply face screws in such a way that they either add to the appearance of your deck or are far less noticeable. 

We’ll talk more about that later in the “Compatibility” section. 

For most people, appearance is really the primary point of comparison between these two methods. 

However, as we’ll see, it’s not the only important thing, and it may not even be the most important thing. 

Strength & Durability

You probably won’t be surprised by this, but screws are almost universally stronger and more durable than hidden clips. 

This is because, in a system using hidden fasteners vs deck screws, not every board is necessarily physically attached to the joist in the way it is when you’re using screws. 

Unless you also secure each board in place with screws in addition to installing the hidden fastener system, those boards that are not secured by screws will always have some give and be able to move if impacted hard enough. 

That may not make any difference if you’re not expecting your deck to see heavy action. 

(Although you should still keep possible weather damage in mind, unless you’re going the covered route.) 

And it may even be a benefit to you since it means that most of your boards (except the initial boards, which are usually screwed in place) have no holes or damage. 

So you can more easily remove them and reapply them to a future project if you ever want to. 

Ease of Installation

Again, this is an area where we can award an easy win, but this time, that win goes to screws. 

There’s really nothing easier or simpler than drilling a stainless steel screw straight into a wooden board. 

Now, there is a lot of complexity around that action, such as making all the measurements, positioning everything, and so on. 

However, all of this will ultimately require less skill and be less prone to mishaps than a hidden clip system. 

When installing hidden fasteners vs deck screws, we would even be tempted to say you should expect some amount of error or unwanted movement when using a hidden clip system. 

It may not happen, but folks installing hidden fasteners frequently experience a board slipping out of place or something else that forces them to go back and redo something.

Compatibility

First off, most hidden fasteners work primarily, or even exclusively, with artificial wooden boards. 

We’re referring here to boards made from materials like AZEK and TREX, which are not naturally occurring in trees. 

This is because such boards are, to some degree, made of plastic. 

They’ll say it’s “PVC,” which is true, but “PVC” is just a type of plastic. 

And that means they can bend and be shaped in ways that are usually more difficult for natural pure wood. 

(Warning: that also means they might be more prone to warping.) 

Additionally, many of the popular hidden clip systems are manufactured by the same companies that make artificial deck boards and are specifically designed to match them. 

Whatever system you use, you’ll want to confirm that it will be compatible with the type of boards you’re using.

Invisible Screws?

This is the thing we mentioned at the beginning of the article. 

There actually is a way to get the strength and reliability of screws while also getting the invisibility of a hidden clip system: by using deck plugs. 

These are basically little circular plugs that fit perfectly into the holes made by screws. 

They come in either natural wood or artificial materials, and they also generally come with a grain pattern so that you can match them with your deck boards. 

To apply one, you just drill in your screw, place a plug on top of that screw, and then hammer it into the hole until it’s level with the rest of the board’s surface. 

And if there’s a little plug still sticking up, just even it out with a sander.

Pro Tip: Instead of a heavy metal hammer, use a rubber mallet to avoid damaging the surface of your boards when hammering the plugs into the holes. 

Get The Best of Both Worlds

When you’re comparing hidden fasteners vs deck screws, try not to get distracted by the looks because they’ll both look great if they’re done well. 

As long as you’ve got experienced professionals on the job, you’re bound to get a great result. 

And as we explained in the last section, if you really want your boards to look like nothing is going through them, there’s more than one way to achieve that goal. 

Above all, have a plan before you start inserting or attaching anything to anything else, and consult your contractor when making that plan. 

You’d be shocked at how many projects we’ve seen people botch or bungle just because they got the wrong measurements (or didn’t take any) before even starting. 

Prep work makes all the difference.