Our Favorite New Building and Deck Products

In a stroke of pure ingenuity, this jig-and-screw kit allows you to lay down deck boards made of the hardest of hardwoods (or any material) in a jiffy and without drilling a pilot hole, thanks mostly to a specially developed screw with an augering tip that hogs out wood as it goes. The spacing tool, about the size of a staple gun, pulls double duty holding each board in uniform position and guiding screws at the perfect angle through the sides, thereby obscuring fastener holes. It accommodates 5/4x6 deck boards, but New Englanders with old decks need not despair: a 1x4 system is in the works.

At around $60, the DeckPac includes the Marksman tool, two driver bits, and 700-count 1⅞-inch screws, to cover 200 square feet.

CAMO Hidden Deck Fastening System, by National Nail Corp