Last year I finished using the FastenMaster IQ hidden fastening system to put Trex on my new deck. I chose FastenMaster IQ because it was listed on the Trex website, and the system looked easy to install based on the manufacturers videos.

It gets decent marks for ease of installation. But the good marks stop there. The system uses plastic clips that interlock. The result is a squeaky deck. As the joists shrank over the winter, most of the screws became a tiny bit loose. ANY amount of movement of the board results in a squeak when you step over that area.

I called FastenMaster, and they suggested crawling under the deck and putting polyurethane construction adhesive under the boards, between the clips, in the squeaky spots (which is basically the whole deck). I tried this in a sample area, but even that did not get rid of the squeaks. I'm just going to have to live with it.

My beef with FastenMaster is that they do not warn people that the deck could squeak. Of course, marketing types never want to point out the downsides of a product, so I guess I can't complain about that too much.

So all I can do is warn people. I do not recommend FastenMaster IQ (unless, of course, you like squeaky decks).