Many of our clients love the look of a hidden deck fastener on their hardwood deck installation. A hidden deck fastener provides a cleaner and sleeker look for their beautiful hardwood deck boards. Other clients prefer the strength of using a screw to fasten their deck boards and don't mind the appearance of the head of a deck screw.
For clients who want a deck with hidden deck fasteners, 
we suggest using pre-grooved 1” hardwood deck boards (5/4 nominal) or thicker. A biscuit joiner can also be used in the field to create your own grooves for your decking boards. Many deck builders and homeowners find it much simpler, faster and more efficient to buy their deck boards pre-grooved. This allows you to position each deck board wherever it works best for your decking layout quickly and easily. We find the greater strength and stability of using 5/4" pre-grooved decking boards provides many years of worry-free deck ownership.
Some decking suppliers sell 3/4" pre-grooved decking material. We do not recommend pre-grooving ¾” deck boards (1” nominal) for several reasons:
- The thinner size of the deck boards makes the deck fastener more visible
- With a hidden deck fastener, there is only one small screw fastening each deck board to the deck joist. This provides only a minimal amount of lateral bracing for the deck structure.
- If the deck is close to the ground or has limited ventilation beneath it, the extreme variation in temperature and humidity from the top of the deck boards to the bottom may cause the thinner deck boards to "cup".
- Our clients' long term satisfaction with their deck is very important to us.
We have pregrooved hardwood decking material available in the following sizes and species:
- Pre-grooved Ipe hardwood decking; 5/4x4 and 5/4x6
- Pre-grooved Cumaru hardwood decking; 5/4x4 and 5/4x6
- Pre-grooved FSC Machiche hardwood decking; 5/4x4 and 5/4x6
- Pre-grooved Garapa hardwood decking; 5/4x6
For additional information about pre-grooved high density hardwood decking species, please follow any of the links below:
Learn more about hidden deck fasteners and other fastening options
Ipe Decking Material
Cumaru Decking
Garapa Decking
FSC Machiche Decking
Pre-Grooved Decking is a beautiful way to give your deck a clean and unencumbered decking appearance. With pre-grooved decking there are no deck screw heads visible. A hidden fastener system such as Eb-Ty hidden deck fasteners slide into the groove of pre-grooved decking materials for a beautiful deck with no deck screw heads or deck fasteners to be seen. The decking surface is unblemished when you choose the pre-grooved decking option.
High density hardwood decking materials are an excellent pre-grooved decking option. The
great strength of high density hardwood decking materials such as Ipe decking, Cumaru decking, Garapa decking and Machiche decking make these decking species nearly perfect as pre-grooved decking materials. Unlike pre-grooved composite decking and pre-grooved plastic decking, high density hardwood pre-grooved decking has minimal expansion and contraction in heat and cold. High density hardwood pre-grooved decking also has great rigidity so you don't have to worry about sagging deck boards.
Installing pre-grooved decking such as the Pre-grooved Ipe Decking pictured on the left is very simple when using a hidden fastener such as Eb-Ty. The Eb-Ty fastener is placed in the kerf of the pre-grooved decking and screwed in at a 45 degree angle through the bottom flange of the pre-grooved decking board into the deck joist below. The screw holds the pre-grooved decking securely in place below the deck surface. This creates a hidden fastening system for the pre-grooved decking.
You can make your own pre-grooved decking by using a biscuit cutter or a router to cut your own slots in a standard decking board. The main advantage of buying pre-grooved decking are the time savings for deck installation. Pre-grooved decking allows you to position each deck board wherever you would like it to along each deck joist.
Ipe Pre-Grooved Decking Detail
More information about installing pre-grooved decking with Eb-Ty hidden deck fasteners
Ipe pre-grooved decking
Cumaru pre-grooved decking
Garapa pre-grooved decking
FSC Machiche pre-grooved decking
Complete Decking material stock list including pre-grooved decking
For a wealth of valuable information about choosing decking materials that are just right for you, please download the FREE authorative whitepaper titled, "The Ultimate Guide to Selecting the Right Decking Material".