Decking Fittings (80pcs): what the clips do and how many to order

A composite deck takes more than boards. Decking Fittings (80pcs) is the fitting every composite decking listing here names, and the pack holds eighty pieces. The listing does not describe how the fixed deck looks, so if you are counting on the fixings being out of sight once the boards are down, ask the shop before you order.

What the pack is

• Eighty fittings per pack
• They slide into the grooves in the decking and are secured with a screw, which the listing describes as needing no specialised tools
• Screws are not included, stated plainly on the listing
• Described as for use with the composite decking boards sold here

The listing carries several photographs, and they are the fastest way to understand the shape of the clip and how it meets the board. Worth a look before ordering if you have not fitted composite boards before.

How many clips you need

This is the question the listing does not answer with a number. It says eighty pieces gives coverage for most residential projects, which is a description rather than a figure, and the decking board listings do not state how many clips a pack of four boards takes. The honest answer is that it depends on your board count and on the spacing the fitting instructions call for, so take both to the shop and have it worked out rather than guessing a multiple of eighty.

You can at least arrive with the board side of the sum settled. Each decking pack holds four boards at 15 x 290 x 2.3cm and covers 1.74m², so divide your area in metres by 1.74 and round up. That number, and the shape of the area, is what the clip count hangs on.

Screws are a separate line

The pack does not include them, and the listing does not state a screw size, length or head type, so do not buy on assumption. Ask the shop what the fittings take, especially if the deck is going onto an existing frame. Getting this wrong is a trip back to the merchant halfway through a job, usually on the one afternoon the weather was going to hold.

The boards these go with

Every composite board in the range names this pack as its fitting clip, including Decking 85A in Oak 03, Decking 85B in grey and the reversible Decking 85E in black. They are all the same size and coverage, so the fittings work the same way whichever shade you pick. For an exposed edge the board listings name the Wall Panel 73/83 Trim - 290cm, which is a separate line again.

Order it with the boards

Clips are easy to leave off an order, and a pack of boards with nothing to hold it down is a pallet in the garden rather than a deck. Add them to the same order, with the screws settled at the same time. The pack contents and photographs are on the Decking Fittings (80pcs) page, with the boards in Decking and the edge trims in outdoor trims and fittings. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond.