composite decking creaky

[John Dirks Jr]

I notice that when walking on composite decking and stair treads it often is very creaky sounding.

If this just the nature of the beast or does it suggest an installation detail was missed?

[MTL_Inspet_Man]

Usually that is what they do !

I always wondered why the manufacturer's do not have a dedicated fastening system for them.

It appears that none of the commercially available screws are 100% compatible withthat material and usually revert to commercially avalable deck or wood screws. THe thread is not really the best. A coarser thread would work better something like a large melamine type screw thread would probably work bes

[Tom Raymond]

Uhm, there are literally dozens of fasteners designed specifically for composite deck systems. Most have a course self drilling wood screw thread on the bottom and a larger reverse thread on the top. This variety of screw tends to strip out in the soft wood when the reverse thread hits the harder composite, resulting in a loose joint rather than a firm connection. Most manufacturers are specifying 2 1/2" or 2 3/4" screws for 5/4 decking, from personal experience I can tell you 3 1/2" screws strip at a rate of about 10%. Once these screws strip they are a pup to remove, and your first instict of reversing the drill only makes things worse by burying the screw deeper into the composite and backing it out of the wood simultaneously.

Tom