Decking & Landscaping Screws

Decking screw buying guide

Which screw is right for your landscaping application? Here’s our guide.

The screws you use on your decking and other outdoor woodworking face a very different set of demands than your indoor ironmongery. More extremes of temperature. More moisture. If you’re near the coast, more salt air.

Our range of landscape and decking screws protect timbers and joints for longer. This ensures that whatever the landscaping application, joints stay tighter for longer and boards stay flush. Timber is far less likely to split, creak or loosen.

Nails vs decking or landscape screws?

It’s a question of the project you’re tackling. If you’re decking, deck screws will always trump nails as they increase pull-out resistance. These are easier to unscrew and re-fix, should you need to get beneath the deck to carry out repairs or install lighting.

Landscape screws can be used for decking, but as they are typically longer than decking screws, ours are available up to 150mm. They can also be used for a wide range of other landscaping applications including fixing sleepers, building gazebos, outdoor staircases and other post and frame-type applications.

They’re an ideal alternative to coach bolts and coach screws in hard to reach places, offering similar levels of strength and rigidity combined with easier, speedier fixing thanks to the hex drive. You’ll find the hex drill bit included with most of our landscape screws.

What length of decking screws do I need?

Buy screws at least 2.5 times the depth of the deck you’re fixing.

Where should I position deck screws?

The placing of your screws is a vital factor in determining the life of your decking. Too close to the ends or edges of a board and you increase the risk of splits, which will increase the rate of deck wear. Adopt a quarter point approach, that is, sink each screw 25% of the board width from each edge and end.

Do I need to pre-drill?

Pre-drilling of decking and landscaping materials is usually recommended. But, dependent on the timber, many of our landscape screws offer precision cut points that reduce the risk of splitting the wood. This reduces the necessity for pre-drilling.

Choose collated decking screws for a faster fix  

Enjoy even better value on your screws, and faster fixing, when you choose collated deck screws, available in strips of 1,000.

Which decking screws and landscape screws resist corrosion?

The simple answer is all of them. Corrosion resistance is one of the chief differences between a decking screw and a traditional wood screw. All our deck and landscape screws offer impressive corrosion resistance, with SPAX Wirox screws delivering corrosion protection up to 10 times higher than is standard for conventional yellow zinc coatings.

The brown coatings of our Timberfix deck screws, and the green coating of Timco landscape and decking screws, both provide long lasting salt spray resistance. And for ultimate anti-corrosion performance, choose a stainless steel decking screw.

Why is only part of the screw threaded?

You’ll notice that virtually all of our landscaping and deck screws are only partially threaded. This gives the timber room to expand and contract naturally, reducing the risk of fixings becoming loose and boards creaking and lifting.

Shop screws for landscaping and decking at Tradefix Direct

Our range of screws for landscaping and decking are some of the largest available online. Whether you need stainless steel decking screws or timber fixing screws you’ll find the right option with us. Shop online today and get free delivery on orders over £60. Don’t forget to register with us to earn points, discount vouchers, and access to exclusive rewards.

Not sure which screws are right for you to buy? Call Tradefix Direct now on 0161 794 1783 and we’ll recommend the best screws for your application.