Installing the First Deck Board (With Camo Markmans Pro)

You get the first board wrong, and you will be fighting the rest of the day to install your wood decking. If you take the time to install it right. Installing decking is fun. And it will make your deck look better with straight lines, gapping and consistent overhang.
I enjoy the look of Camo edge fasteners on wood decks. It hides the screw head, making the deck surface more bare feet friendly. Plus, the deck will last longer by removing the small pooling of water and mud on the screw head.
Installing edge screws is easier with the Camo Marksman Pro. This is why mine is so well used, serving me well over the years of building decks.
Link to my review of the Camo Marksman Pro
Why I use Camo for attaching wood decking.

[dougcarlson]

Old time carpenter here. I have used the camp system on a few decks. All redwood on the cali coast (home of the redwood forest)😊 makes for beautiful job and at overhanging areas we toe screw from underneath

[Shawn-ztgv]

How do you attach the board that over hangs with the camo system?

[bobc.]

No one shows the hard part. How do you put the screws in the edge of the deck board next to the house?

[halfcaf]

In case anyone wonders why they recommend using a drill instead of an impact its because there have been hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of complaints about the driver bit twisting and snapping.

[michaelboykin]

As a 50 year carpenter, ive used the camo system on trex decking..its a good product, but NEVER use it on wood decking. It leaves a space between the boards that looks nice at first. After the wood shrinks up from the exposure to the elements, the gaps will open uo to a half inch and sometimes more. The fasteners will also start splitting the edges if the deckboards as the wood shrinks. Do not make this costly mistake.

[First-Adhesive-Technologies]

I noticed you didn't add any joist tape to the joist to prevent rot.

[ahilbilyredneksopinion]

I would love ta see a torture test style video on the comparison of strength in side fasten vs top fasten.i feel like there is just not enough bite ta keep the boards in place long term without splitting....might be wrong, just how I feel....

[TheAcenightcreeper]

Imagine building a deck that is $25k to stare at the side of your neighbors house thats 15 feet away…what a view

[nizarelhaj]

using this tool is a way practical when it comes to sanding the decks

[paulstradley]

Just finished my deck using Camo screws and the Pro. Many many many broken screws. Too many. And I had to pull a few boards back up and soooo many would not back out or were bent or once again broken. Not very satisfied with the product. Will not use it again.

[rcandyu]

Using the camo edge screws with redwood decking the softer wood sure does squeak a lot

[nigelwillson]

How do you deal with low points among the joists ? I've planed and belt sanded the high points, but there remain many joists below, in certain areas, the level top surface of the joist/frame ?

[boatbuilder]

Would this work for Cedar boards since they are softer wood?
I like this!

[bababooey]

I didn’t even see it when it was on the deck. Camo worked good

[mrsoccergod]

How does it hold up over time? Any warping with the no show fasteners?

[Rebel]

Bout to do a deck myself but given the how much shrinkage i've seen over the years from my old deck that was 10+ years old and others i've seen, how well does a picture frame deck using real wood look after the wood has had time to shrink/expand?

[kr]

I wonder if you can take the spacer completely off. Spacing deck boards is a mistake with even the best carpenters. The boards will shrink anyway. If you space them over time, you will have an ugly looking gap.

[JR-xjvr]

Hmmmm…..that’s a big gap when using Camo on wood. When the wood shrinks the gap will get bigger. For wood, I wouldn’t go more than like 1/16. Over time 1/16th will easily turn into 1/4 to 5/16ths or even 3/8ths…And for PVC material, no more than 3/16ths…

[JeffSpencer-quko]

How do you install the screws on the very first board with the 1-inch overhang?

[michellehawthorne]

Hello help?... We have 19mm Kwila, which specifies using 45mm camo screws. Can only find 60mm in stock, anyone had any issue using the larger screws on 19mm timber? Is the thread the same?