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| We had a contractor install a deck for us using IQ hidden deck fasteners, completing the project in late November of last year. (We're in Southern California, so this was not a problem.) Fast forward to late April, and of a sudden large sections of the deck are coming up -- perhaps 25% of the fasteners are affected, just looking at it, and perhaps a dozen or so boards are floating loose on the deck frame. The symptom is that the plastic spacers have decayed in that short time, cracking and falling apart.
The contractor we used was very thorough, and treated both sides of the wood (we used red mangaris) with one of the Cabot deck stains. There are problems some people have reported with IQ fasteners causing squeaks after installation, but we didn't hear anything like that. I'm wondering if anyone has used these and had this problem. Because of the deck construction, to repair this it will be necessary to rebuild the whole deck. We brought this to the attention of the manufacturer's rep two weeks ago, and while that's probably far too early to expect anything like a response, I'm nervous. When we were researching materials for the deck, one of the things we came across were the composite decking lumber, and the long, drawn-out lawsuits against the manufacturer tell me that unless there are a lot of others in the same situation, it's unlikely that any kind of restitution is going to happen. Help! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by brooklyndecks (My Page) on Mon, May 31, 10 at 18:37
| Scareduck, I have zero experience with IQ and I'm not even gonna go to their website to see how ineffective they are. My problem isn't with them...they're just trying to make money selling an inferior product. My prob is with the contractor. I would never beta test a system like that on a client. Your contractor did. Search the archives here, you will see what the pros think about hidden fasteners. steve |
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- Posted by john_hyatt (My Page) on Mon, May 31, 10 at 20:12
| Its very possible the problem is the wood. The fasteners might have added to the problem or been put under stress they could not handle. Mangaris and several other asian lumber types look real good in the pictures and sitting under cover in the lumber yard. Exposed to the weather for a while the result is often not plesent. John Hyatt www.deckmastersllc.com |
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