CAMO Hidden Fasteners for a Lowcountry Deck

(guest post courtesy Maureen Murray)

Daniel Kirkland, owner and president of Kirkland Designs of Charleston, South Carolina, has more than a decade of experience as a deck and porch specialist in the state’s Lowcountry region. Committed to growing his business and staying one step ahead of his competition, Kirkland spotted an increase in requests for hidden fastener deck surfaces. He asked his supplier, Four Corners Building Supply of Charleston, South Carolina, for a solution to adapt to the trend.

“When we told our supplier that our customers wanted hidden fasteners, Four Corners set up a demo from CAMO,” explains Kirkland. After seeing the CAMO DRIVE tool in action fastening deck boards through the edge with CAMO’s Collated Edge Screws, Kirkland was sold.

“The DRIVE tool with the angled Edge guide attachment gave us the ability to stand while fastening to save our crews’ backs and knees,” says Kirkland. “The speed and spacing accuracy told us that we could really be on the cutting edge of hidden deck fastening and increase our margins.”

On a previous project, the Kirkland Team rebuilt a 1,000 sq. ft. bridge over a swamp for a homeowner that was painstaking to fasten. “Pulling fasteners out of our back pockets and being bent over for three days straight really wore out our backs,” he said. “Each fastener had to be placed individually. When we saw CAMO’s demo, it was clear how much pain and labor we could have saved.”

Kirkland put the CAMO system into action for a recent replacement project for Dockside Condos, a complex with high-end amenities only a short walk from the South Carolina Aquarium. Overlooking the Charleston Harbor with spectacular views of the Cooper River, the old deck was subjected to years of splashing water from passing ships, causing irreversible damage. “We installed splash guards and replaced the rotting boards with grooved Ipe, more suited to the wet environment.”

For fastening, Kirkland relied on CAMO EDGE Clips, engineered with legs that hug the joist for a one-pass installation and a strong, stainless steel gusset that holds boards down. When paired with the DRIVE tool, EDGE Clips can speed up decking installations up to 5X faster than other systems, because installers can line up rows of boards and clips and fasten them all at once.

“We also used CAMO’s LEVER, a newer innovation that replaces bow wrenches—it aligns and locks six or seven rows of boards at a time,” said Kirkland. “We didn’t have to wrestle with the boards to get them straight.” The LEVER tool can straighten any warped board in just one turn, adjusting to single, double or metal joists to lock boards with less effort. Kirkland’s crew used several LEVERS to align the Ipe boards, and the resulting efficiencies brought the project in on schedule and with less strain on his crew.

“We’ve found the CAMO system of tools and fasteners to be the only way to fasten decks,” says Kirkland. “Our customers love the fastener-free surface and it’s just a cleaner looking, more beautiful aesthetic.”

To learn more about the CAMO DRIVE, EDGE Clips and LEVER visit http://www.camofasteners.com.