Fasten Composite Decking Fast With a Hidden-Fastener Gun

The Problem

Hidden fasteners are what keep a composite deck's surface free of screw heads, but setting each clip and driving its screw by hand is the slowest part of the job — one clip at every joist, on every board.

The Technique

A pneumatic hidden-fastener gun collapses the set-and-drive into one motion. It shoots a fastener that looks like a screw with modified threads — driven like a nail, holding like a screw.

1. Set the clip into the groove of the composite board, barbed ears facing up.
2. Lay the tool flat over the clip and pull the trigger.
3. Load the next clip and move down the joist line.

The crew workflow: on each new board, one person starts at the middle and one at the end, both working the same direction, so by the time they reach the board's end the next board is ready to set.