Ratings & Reviews for FastenMaster VersaClip Combination kit Black Hidden Deck Fastener 50 Linear feet ( 90 -Pack )

It would help if you could purchase just the crew and regular brackets, I have many stop/start bracket left over after finishing my project. I like getting them together but you need the option.

For DIYers only

Bought these for a DIY deck resurfacing project. The end result is a nice look, but these clips are not as easy to work with as they are made out to be. Plan to spend some extra time and effort working with them than they say. In a perfect world these clips will line up and your next deck board will snap into place. When your joists are not perfect the clips will shift and you will end up having to adjust them, usually by bending them, so that the next board can be attached to the secured clip. ...

Not as easy

It's a nice that the screws don't go thru the top of your decking boards. The clips are strong and made of good quality steel. It does take time and attention to detail when installing. The clips must remain straight and tight to the boards when installing to maintain a constant gap between decking boards. The clips set your gap distance and if 1 clip is installed crooked it makes it harder for the other clips to grip the next board. As for hidden fasteners? You can still see the clips and screw...

Easy to install, sturdy, compatible with ChoiceDek

These hidden clips are easy to install and greatly speed up the process of attaching composite decking to joists. Once you get the hang of them in the first row or two, putting in additional decking planks is a snap. Here's my tips: 1) Center the hole of the clip on the center of the joist, taking care to make sure the tang is fully embedded in the groove. When you press down, the little ears/tangs on the clip will bite slightly into the upper groove wall to prevent the deck piece from moving...

OK for the price

These worked alright, slightly more difficult to install than the manufacture video made it out to be, but still a great value. Definitely better if you have two or even three people working together per board.

Had one problem

The screws come with a square head bit to install the screws. I bought two boxes and one had the correct bit and the other had a larger square bit. Slowed down the project because I only had the one correct bit. If both had been the correct size we could have used two cordless drills which we had ready to use.

Have Patience

I'm a trex pro and i still have to bring my patience with me when installing these clips. One thing is to set your drill driver about 1/2 of the full range so it slips when the screw is set into the wood. Do not over tighten them otherwise you will be fighting with the next board as your trying to set push it in to this clip. If your driver tip slips on the square head of the screw back it out and through it away. otherwise you'll be using a pair of vise grips or the claw of of hammer to remove ...

Easy to use and the deck looks great

These were easy for my contractor to use even though he never used them before. He said he really liked them. No worry about spacing either. Great, smart product.

required?

Looks to be very good device to mount and hold decking in place without showing at all but seems to me a tad expensive especially when 4 days later it was a few dollars cheaper. Probably will last a good long while. Longer than the galvanized hangers I used the first time I'm guessing. Wish they were available in smaller packages too.

I would never use this product!

As we were just starting our project, the screw keep breaking or the heads would ream out and would not screw into our treated wood frame on our deck. We had to cut the off and screw the wood down rather than use these. I loved the concept and the look, but if you are using treated wood, the screws are not durable or strong enough to screw into it.

The Solution for Not Having to Drill Trex Decking

I was all set to purchase composite decking to re-do an old back porch on a 100+ year-old farmhouse, when a Lowe's customer who was also purchasing decking suggested that I might want to spend the additional money to purchase the grooved deck boards. He showed me the box of Versaclips used to interlock and secure the decking boards, which meant that I would not have to drill any holes in the decking material. As the photo illustrates, the clip is set with the hole to the right, which allows a sc...

Some Caveats to watch out for...

I have built a number of decks using these (and similar) fasteners. The first decks (3 of 'em) used Fiberon™ deck boards (the original type, homogeneous color). The clips held the boards firmly and reliably, and the spacing was very consistent, even though different installers worked on separate sections of deck surface. That style of composite decking is no longer produced, by any company that I am familiar with, having given way to the "wrapped" style of production. I have only done two decks ...

Clips put decking too tight for Me

50 Sq Ft Coverage is not a good value for 50 dollars, plus 10 end clips didn't complete one end. I didn't like the spacing between, it was too tight. I had about .25" not the .375" and I would have rather had . 5 to .625". Remove of screws was not good, the screw heads stripped out on about 10 percent of the screws. Clips were strong screws were not.

Hard to use solo

product works great but you need a hammer, I used a 2 lb mallet. You need 2 people because they don't slide in as easy as the directions shows. They did a great job holding straight lines and firmly in place. The screws could be longer. Some just spun after I had them in maybe would hold firmer is another 1/2" longer. These were cheaper than the like design at another big box store and you get more in this box than theirs.

Not simple to install

I just finished installing these on a 8 X 22 foot deck using ChoiceDek from Lowes. Trex has a wider, sloped groove than ChoiceDek. It would probably be easier to install using the Trex product, but I was not willing to spend the 33% more to get the Trex. The problem is getting the Versaclip fastener started into the small slot on the ChoiceDek at each joist at the same time. I was just doing an 8 ft piece by myself. It would have been impossible on a 16 foot piece without 1 or 2 helpers. Probl...

Not a quality product.

Obviously an inferior product made exclusively for Lowes. It can't be found on Fastenmaster web site. The screws are stainlesss and too soft. If there is any resistance when screwing in the screws then the square drive strips out or they snap off from being too soft. Would not recommend this product and Lowes wouldn't accept a return - total waste of $50.00.

Do not use with Choice

The slot height on the Choice composite does not work well with these clips. Use Mantis 396, per the mfg website, much easier and less frustrating.

Just finished our 16 by 16 deck

We just finished our 16 by 16 deck using Trex enhance boards and the versaclip system. Overall it turned out very nice with just a few complaints. Either it was due to our inexperience (just starting) or it's just tough but the first board in the starter clips was very difficult to get in. Once we got rolling though it was easier than using screws. The Trex boards were not flat so we had to push down on them and use a rubber mallet to tap them into the versaclip and the versaclip held up very we...