Nearly all collections of artificial decking and even some wood deck types are available with grooves on the edges, designed to accept a hidden fastener clip for a smooth deck surface.
The early days of hidden fastening decking usually meant a strip or L-bracket fastened to the joist, then 1" screws were driven up into the underside of the decking to secure it. This worked, but it either required drilling upwards towards the user while on the deck, or access to the underside of the deck to work from beneath the deck.
As low-maintenance decking became more popular, the under-deck strips were still used, but manufacturers quickly realized they could make things easier on installers with grooved boards and T-clips. The growing desire for a screw-free deck surface quickly moved manufacturers to making grooved boards, along with some sort of T-shaped fastener to slip into the groove to secure the board to the joist.
Hidden fastener "clips" usually consist of a metal or plastic crosspiece with a fastener that goes into a hole in the clip, and the fastener is driven into the joist. Most can only be driven when one board is in place and the next board is out of the way. Some clips like Camo Edge have a fastener pre-inserted into the crosspiece for less fumbling around with multiple parts. Other versions like Tiger Claw or Concealoc allow a unique threaded nail to be driven in with a pneumatic nailer for faster installation.
Hidden fasteners naturally sit between the lower edges of the boards, and because they should be fitted tightly, most fasteners automatically space the boards with a gap of about 3/16". If you hope to have the hidden fastener look and a gap wider or narrower than that, using screws with plugs will give you that adjustability, with plugs that can be put over the screw heads that make the screws nearly invisible.
Hidden fasteners are either impractical or impossible to use on stairs, borders, the board closest to the house, and mullion dividers. Typically the grooved board adjacent to the house will have screws through the edge closest to the house, and the hidden fasteners can start with the visible groove on the first board. Cortex and Pro Plugs are usually used on the square-edged boards like treads and boards, because of the versatility with placement and accessibility of the screws.
Not all hidden fasteners are alike. Due to board manufacturers having slightly different groove shapes and sizes, the clip body may prevent the board from having a tight fit and good downward pressure on the board. For example, using a plastic Trex Hideaway clip on Azek decking would leave the crosspiece barely gripping the board and would allow the board to expand and contract more with temperature changes. Fasteners like the universal Camo WedgeClip or Concealoc clips for Timbertech/Azek boards are designed to sink in to the material to provide extra lateral strength, keeping the boards from moving along the board's length.
It's best to choose the hidden fastener clip that is manufactured by the same decking company, or a universal clip that works with all boards. Although some fasteners do have great perks like installation speed or stand-up fastening, it's more important that your decking is secure so it doesn't rattle, squeak, shrink, stretch, or void your decking warranty.
Below is the list of all our available decking lines, along with the name of the hidden fastener clips that are recommended for each brand.
Universal clips: Camo Edge, Camo Wedge, and Ninja clips
Armadillo: Turboclip
Azek PVC: Concealoc and Fusionloc
Brock: Uses unique clip strips that snap to the board spines, not compatible with traditional clips.
Deckorators WPC and Surestone: Camo Edge, Wedge, or Stealthlok
Duxxbak: not compatible with traditional clips.
Fiberon WPC and PVC: Camo Edge or Wedge
Ipe hardwood decking: Ipe Clip by Deckwise
Sylvanix: Tiger Claw
Timbertech Composite: Concealoc
Trex: Trex Hideaway clips (plastic), Tiger Claw clips (metal)
Wolf: Ninja clips
