The hardware range is organised into five groups, covering decking, pergolas, fencing, stairs and general outdoor timber construction:

• Fasteners — decking screws, coloured screws, batten screws, cup head and hex head nuts and bolts, threaded rod, washers, and composite decking clip systems.
• TUFF post supports — U-Cup, T-Blade, Tornado high-wind anchors, L-Stirrup, Fish Tail, and angle and stake types.
• TUFF timber connectors — joist supports, connectors and I-beam hangers.
• TUFF brackets and fence plates — anchors, angle brackets, angle connectors, heavy-duty, light-use and shelf angle brackets.
• TUFF stair stringers — hot-dip galvanised steel stringers in three mounting types.

The structural hardware is the TUFF range, with much of it also available in 316 stainless. The decking screws and composite clip systems come from the decking manufacturers themselves, so the fixing always matches the board.

Because we supply the decking and the structural timber as well, the fixings can be matched to what you are actually building rather than bought on size alone.

A typical hardwood deck needs:

• Decking screws sized for the board thickness and rated for outdoor exposure
• Post supports to keep the posts off the ground
• Cup head bolts, nuts and washers for bearer-to-post and structural connections
• Joist supports or hangers where joists meet bearers
• Brackets and connectors for the framing connections
• Joist protection tape to keep water out of the joist tops
• Stair stringers if there are steps

Send us your deck dimensions, post sizes and frame material and we will work the list and quantities out with you.

It is a self-adhesive tape run along the top of each joist and bearer before the decking goes down. We stock tesa JoistSeal in 50mm and 100mm widths, in 20m rolls.

Every decking screw makes a hole in the top of the joist, and every one of those holes lets water sit in the timber. The tape seals around the fastener and sheds water off the joist instead.

It is cheap, it goes on in an hour, and it is the single best-value thing you can add to a deck order. The frame is the part you cannot replace without pulling the whole deck up.

Four things decide it: the decking material, the frame material, the board thickness and the exposure.

For hardwood decking such as Merbau, use a screw made for dense hardwood. Our range covers 40mm, 50mm and 65mm lengths in 10 gauge, plus a SPAX 5×50 option, in a range of head and drive types.

For composite decking, use the clip or screw system made for that brand — a standard timber decking screw is usually the wrong answer.

As a rough guide, the screw should penetrate the joist by around twice the board thickness. Tell us your board size and frame and we will confirm the length.

Yes, and it is the most common ordering mistake we see.

A timber-to-timber screw has a type 17 point or a coarse thread designed to cut into timber. A steel-frame screw has a drill point that goes through the steel. They are not interchangeable — a timber screw will spin on steel without biting, and a drill-point screw in timber can strip.

Our range carries both. Confirm your frame material before ordering rather than after.

A screw with a moulded collar that sets the gap between boards as you drive it. We stock a 10G×50mm stainless option with spacers in boxes of 500 and 1000.

The appeal is consistency. Getting an even gap across a whole deck by eye is slow and rarely perfect, and an uneven gap is the thing people notice first on a finished deck. The spacer does it for you at no extra step.

A wing screw has small wings under the head that ream a clean recess as the screw enters, then shear off as the thread pulls the board down.

In dense hardwood like Merbau this matters. Without it the screw head is trying to bury itself in very hard timber, which tears the surface around the hole and can split the board near ends and edges. The wing screw gives a neat countersink and a flush head. Our BH142 40×10g is that type.

Batten screws are heavy timber-to-timber fasteners with a bugle head, for connections a decking screw is too light for — battens to framing, screening frames, pergola members, fence rails and general outdoor construction.

We stock 14G×75mm and 14G×100mm Class 3 galvanised bugle batten screws in packs of 500. Pick the length so the screw properly penetrates the member behind, and pre-drill near ends in dense hardwood.

They have a colour-matched head so the fixing disappears into the board instead of showing as a row of bright metal dots across the deck.

The coloured screws we stock are the ModWood range, matched to the ModWood board colours, in boxes of 100. They come in separate timber-joist and metal-joist versions, plus a dedicated 305 stainless version for XTREME GUARD.

Because they are part of the ModWood system rather than a generic coloured screw, check both the colour and your frame material before ordering.

Cup head bolts have a smooth domed head with a square shank underneath that locks into the timber as you tighten the nut. They give a clean finished appearance and nothing to catch on, which is why they are the standard choice for exposed deck and pergola connections, and for step treads.

Hex head bolts have a six-sided head driven with a spanner or socket. Better where you need to tension the connection precisely or where the head will not be seen.

We stock both as hot dip galvanised bolts and nuts, in M10 and M12 diameters and lengths from 75mm to 200mm and beyond, so the bolt can be matched to the actual thickness of the connection.

Yes — under every nut, and under a hex head where it bears on timber.

Without one, the nut crushes into the timber as it is tightened, which both damages the timber and lets the connection go loose as the timber moves. The washer spreads that load over a much larger area.

We stock M10 hot dip galvanised washers and an M12 hot dip galvanised heavy duty washer. Use the heavy duty washer where the load is higher or the timber is softer — a bigger bearing area is exactly the point.

Threaded rod is used where a standard bolt will not do the job — a connection deeper than any available bolt length, a through-connection across several members, or a tie-down where the length has to be made up on site.

We stock galvanised threaded rod in M12 and M16, in lengths from 600mm through to 3600mm — 600, 1000, 1200, 2440, 3000 and 3600mm, depending on diameter. Cut to suit on site, with nuts and washers at each end.

Buy the length above what you need rather than joining two rods. A coupled rod is only as good as the coupling, and in a structural connection that is not where you want the weak point.

Generally no. Composite boards need the fixing system made for that brand and profile.

Grooved composite boards are held by concealed clips that sit in the groove and set the board gap. Square edge composite boards are face fixed, but usually with a colour-matched screw made for composite rather than a standard timber decking screw.

Using the wrong fixing can affect board retention, spacing, appearance and the manufacturer's warranty.

• KlevaKlip for ModWood — concealed nylon clips in separate 88mm and 137mm versions, packs of 40, plus the BH201 timber-joist and BH301 metal-joist screws.
• KlevaKlip Snap-LOC for Trex Transcend — packs of 40.
• Trex starter and connector clips — separate timber and metal substrate versions; starter clips in 36-packs, connector clips in 90 and 900 packs.
• Eva-Last Hulk clips — Halo clips with timber or steel screws in boxes of 125 and 350, plus collated chain clips, the hand tool and the depth control bit.
• Coloured composite screws — for ModWood, in timber-joist and metal-joist versions.

Every one of these is brand specific. Match the clip to the exact board you are laying.

No. The groove profile differs between brands, and the clip controls both how the board is held and how wide the gap is.

The one exception in our range is the KlevaKlip Snap-LOC, which is made specifically for Trex Transcend — and even that is a purpose-built Trex clip, not a generic one. Tell us the exact board and we will confirm the right clip.

An adjustable pedestal system that sits under the frame and screws up or down to set the height and level, rather than packing and shimming timber.

It is most useful over concrete, tiles or a roof deck, where you need to build a level deck over a surface that falls for drainage, and keep airflow underneath. We stock it in boxes of 16.

To keep the timber out of direct contact with the ground or slab. A post sitting in concrete or on wet ground holds moisture at exactly the point carrying the load.

A support lifts the post clear, lets water drain and lets air move around the base. It is the difference between a post that lasts the life of the deck and one that fails at ground level.

The post support range is TUFF:

• U-Cup — the most common type, where the post sits into a cup. Supplied as a Stirrup for setting into a footing, Bolt-On-Concrete for fixing to an existing slab, or Stake for driving into ground.
• T-Blade — a blade that slots into a saw cut in the post base, for a cleaner look with no visible cup. Available as standard T-Blade, T-Blade Adjustable, Bolt On T-Blade, and a BOTB cover to conceal the bolt-on base.
• Tornado — the high-wind anchors, for applications where uplift and wind loading are a design consideration.
• L-Stirrup and Fish Tail — for specific footing and fixing situations.
• Angle Type or Stake — for lighter and ground-driven applications.

The Tornado, T-Blade, Bolt On T-Blade, BOTB cover and U-Cup Bolt-On-Concrete are also available in 316 stainless for coastal work.

U-Cup supports are named post size × shaft length. A 90×300mm support suits a 90mm post and has a 300mm shaft — it is not for a 90×300mm timber.

The first number must match your post. The second is how far the support extends below the cup: short shafts (75–130mm) for bolting to existing concrete, long shafts (300–600mm) for setting into a footing.

Bolt-down anchors use a different convention — post size × plate thickness × height.

It depends on whether the footing already exists.

Embedded stirrup — the shaft is set into the concrete as the footing is poured. For new work, and generally the stronger connection.

Bolt-down — fixed onto an existing slab or footing with chemical or mechanical anchors. For retrofitting to concrete that is already there. The anchor, edge distances and embedment all need to suit the slab.

When the structural design calls for it — not because a bigger anchor seems safer.

Uplift on a roofed structure such as a carport, patio or verandah is a real engineering question involving wind classification, roof area, post spacing, footing design and the load path from roof to ground. We stock TUFF Tornado high-wind anchors in galvanised and 316 stainless, but which one you need should come from the design, not the catalogue.

For a roofed or elevated structure, have it confirmed by a suitably qualified building professional or structural engineer.

They make the framing connections — joists to bearers, beams to posts, and member to member — with a rated steel connection rather than end-nailing or skew-screwing.

The TUFF timber connector range covers joist supports, general connectors and I-beam hangers, with 316 stainless versions of the joist supports and connectors for exposed and coastal work.

Use the fasteners the connector is designed for and fill the nail or screw holes the manufacturer specifies. A hanger with half its holes empty is not carrying its rated load.

The TUFF brackets and fence plates range splits by duty:

• Light-use angle brackets — non-structural and light framing connections.
• Heavy-duty angle brackets — thicker gauge for structural connections carrying real load.
• Angle brackets and angle connectors — the general-purpose framing connections.
• Anchors — the Tuff Post Anchor High Wind range, in 90mm and 100mm post sizes with 300mm, 400mm and 450mm heights, M12.
• Shelf angle brackets — for supporting a member off a wall or face.

The angle brackets and the high-wind anchors are also available in 316 stainless. If the connection is structural, size it from the design rather than by eye.

TUFF hot-dip galvanised steel stringers from 1 step to 17 steps, supplied as a pair, so one product covers both sides of the stair. Three mounting types:

• Concrete-In — the base is set into a footing as it is poured. For new work.
• Bolt-On Concrete — bolts down onto an existing slab or footing. For retrofitting.
• Landing-To-Landing — fixes between two finished levels, such as a deck down to a landing or an upper deck to a lower one, with no ground footing.

Count the number of treads, not the total rise, and confirm your riser heights against the applicable building requirements before ordering.

Yes. We stock solid Merbau step treads in 240mm, 250mm, 290mm and 300mm widths, in 35mm, 42mm, 45mm and 50mm thicknesses, so the stringers and the treads can come from one order.

Fix treads with cup head bolts and nuts rather than coach screws from underneath, and seal every face of the tread including the ends and underside before installing. Those two things prevent most cracked treads.

As a working guide:

• Class 3 galvanised / hot-dip galvanised — general outdoor timber construction away from the coast. Standard for structural brackets, stringers and most post supports.
• 304 stainless (A2) — general outdoor decking screws where a cleaner, longer-lasting fixing is wanted.
• 316 marine grade — coastal and marine environments, pool surrounds, and anywhere exposed to salt spray or chlorine. We carry 316 across the decking screws, and across the TUFF post supports, timber connectors and brackets.

Salt air carries a long way inland. If you are near the coast, a bayside suburb or an estuary, upgrade to 316 for the fixings — it is a small part of the job cost and the hardest part to replace later. Confirm the requirement against your project specification.

Merbau is high in natural tannins. Where tannin meets an unsuitable fastener, you get dark staining around every screw head — and it shows most in the first few months, on a brand new deck.

Use a stainless fixing rather than a plain or lightly coated steel screw in Merbau and other dense hardwoods. It is the cheapest insurance on the whole deck.

Avoid it where you can. Putting dissimilar metals in direct contact in a wet outdoor environment can accelerate corrosion of the less noble metal — a galvanised bolt through a stainless bracket, for example.

Keep a connection to one material family: stainless fixings with stainless hardware, galvanised with galvanised. If you have to mix, isolate them and ask us first.

Usually yes, particularly within about 100mm of a board end and near edges, where splitting is most likely.

Merbau is dense enough that a screw driven straight in can act like a wedge. Pre-drilling costs a little time and prevents split boards, snapped screws and cracked step treads. Follow the fastener manufacturer's recommended pilot hole size.

Yes. Most of the fastener range is available in trade quantities — boxes of 250, 350, 500 and 1000 on the screws, 900-piece packs on the Trex connector clips, and bulk on the bolts, connectors and brackets.

For larger decking, pergola, fencing or construction projects, contact us about trade pricing and availability.

The more of this you can give us, the better the answer:

• What you are building — deck, pergola, screen, stairs, fence
• Timber or composite decking, and which board and brand
• Board size and thickness
• Frame material — timber or steel — and joist centres
• Post sizes, and whether they go into a footing or onto existing concrete
• Whether the site is coastal, near a pool, or otherwise high-corrosion
• Deck area, so we can work out quantities
• Whether the structure is roofed or elevated

That lets us specify to the application rather than matching on size alone, and work out how many of each you actually need.

Because we sell the decking and the timber too, the hardware range is built around what customers are actually fixing rather than a general fastener catalogue.

That means the screws suit the boards we sell, the clips match the composite brands we stock, the TUFF post supports match the post sizes we carry, and the stringers match the step treads. You are not buying decking in one place and then trying to work out what fits it somewhere else.

We supply trade and retail, deliver across Queensland, and you can collect from our Archerfield warehouse in Brisbane. Browse the full Decking Wood QLD range of hardware, decking, structural timber and coatings.