The special NONOX decking screw has proved itself!

I lay and repair wooden floors, sand parquet, apply lacquer and do similar work. I have several decades of professional experience. It is the usual thing that when we lay tongue-and-groove flooring we have to pre-drill for the screws, and countersink for the head, because otherwise the wood screw splits the wood. The problem is mainly caused by the fact that the screw always goes close to the ends of the grain, or into the narrow edges, where the wood splits even more easily from the stress. Most recently I took on the making of the wooden decking of a houseboat, and when the Menet-Trend people recommended the self-drilling, self-countersinking NONOX stainless and acid-resistant wood screws to me, I strongly doubted that the extra operations could really be saved…

I generally use good screws, but various problems can still come up with quality. One of the most annoying is when I drive in a longer wood screw and the material naturally resists somewhat, the screw comes under strain, and the bit easily slips out of the drive. One or two like that and the screw can be thrown away, because from then on it is doubtful whether it can be driven in with the damaged drive or not. In such cases we would rather take it out, throw it away, and put another one in its place.

Naturally the bits do not last long either, the edges wear down, and after that they slip out of even the good screws more easily, so the bits have to be changed often too. Outdoors, the appearance of rust can also be a problem, and the best way to guard against it is if one uses NONOX stainless or acid-resistant screws. I will not labour the point: I thought that a screw which solves every problem does not exist. I am not usually wrong, but this time I was.

For the job we chose 5×60 and 5×65 NONOX stainless and acid-resistant KO countersunk, self-drilling wood screws (item number 7508TX). We used 1000 pieces of each, but out of the whole quantity only two broke, both of them when they ran into a knot. I think it would have drilled through the knot as well if we had slowed the speed down, but we ran onto the knots in such a way that this did not happen in time, so those broke. Fortunately enough of the shank stuck out that we could get both of them out with pliers.

The other thing that surprised me is that for the 2000 screws we used 1 bit in total, and we did not even have to throw that one away. This may have been because the screws did not have a conventional cross recess but a Torx drive, into which the bit goes deeper and the fit is far more perfect.

With a Torx bit you do not have to concentrate on pressing the driver onto the screw head, because it is shaped so that it cannot easily jump out. Thanks to the self-drilling point we did not have to pre-drill at all, and thanks to the self-countersinking head we did not have to countersink either. The material did not split because these screws have a point which is not only sharp and goes in easily, but its end is like that of a drill, and it also removes the material from the hole it makes. The screw takes the place of the removed material, so no stress arises and the wood does not split.

What is more, since both sizes of screw were partially threaded, they pulled the boards down beautifully onto the joists. We covered the jetty with hard, weather-resistant wood, but these screws ran into the material quickly and easily – as I say, there were those two exceptions which ran into a knot and broke. I looked at these screws and saw that their heads do not break off easily because there is a double countersink under the head, which means that after the countersink the much thinner shank does not begin immediately, as with conventional screws, but between the head and the shank there is a thickened (reinforced) section which holds the head much better. I had no comment about the price, because I was able to calculate it into the job and the customer paid it.

My only problem was that when I went back for a resupply, unfortunately the size I needed was not in stock, and it was so urgent for me that I took a different type instead. I would suggest keeping some stock of these, so that there is always some if someone wants to take them. Otherwise I really was very satisfied, kneeling there on the jetty, so I can say fittingly that they swept me off my feet.

B.E.
sole trader