FastenMaster screws. The hardware holding your deck up.

Yes. The LOK family — LedgerLOK, HeadLOK, ThruLOK, FlatLOK, FrameFAST — all carry ICC-ES evaluation reports (ESR-1078 covers most; FlatLOK adds TER 1503-01 and ER-0718). Saskatchewan adopts the National Building Code of Canada, which references ICC-ES reports as recognized evidence of compliance for fastener performance. Every Prairie inspector we work with recognizes the FastenMaster line — your contractor should expect zero pushback on a fastener choice that's properly documented.

For 99% of Prairie residential builds, coated is the right answer. FastenMaster's ProjectLife coating is warranted against corrosion for the life of the project in pressure-treated, cedar, redwood, and most Prairie-typical decking conditions. Stainless is overkill (and 2-3× the cost) unless the deck is on a coastal saltwater install, near a swimming pool with chlorinated splash, or in continuous contact with marine-grade ACQ. None of those describe a Prairie backyard. We default to coated and you should too unless your inspector or engineer flags otherwise.

Yes, surprisingly well. Cortex is a two-part system — a TORX ttap screw drives through the deck board; a colour-matched plug (made from the same composite material as the board) seats flush over the screw head. The plug is matched per decking brand and per colour — so a Trex Toasted Sand plug is a different SKU than a Wolf Amberwood plug. From above, you see board surface with a slightly visible plug seam that disappears at six feet up. Walk out on a deck with Cortex and you genuinely don't notice the fasteners. The catch is cost: Cortex is roughly 2-3× a TrapEase face-screw install. Worth it on premium decks, optional on budget builds.

The active LOK SKUs (LedgerLOK, HeadLOK, ThruLOK) and the Wolf-collated Cortex packs are stocked at both yards. Less-common lengths and brand-specific Cortex SKUs (Trex, AZEK, TimberTech, Fiberon) are order-to-project — typical lead time is 5-10 business days from FastenMaster's distribution centre. We deliver across Saskatchewan and into Alberta and Manitoba. Call either store with your project list and we'll quote stock + delivery to your address.

Rule-of-thumb for 5.5" wide composite boards on standard 16" on-centre joists: face-screws (TrapEase) at ~3 screws per sq ft. Cortex hidden plugs at ~2 plugs per sq ft (one per board per joist crossing). Hidden clip systems run lower at ~1.5 clips per sq ft. Add 10% waste for breakage and end-board doubling. The calculator above ballparks costs from your sq ft input. For an exact count plus structural fasteners (ledger + framing), use the project estimator.

HeadLOK is the everyday heavy-structural screw — 2-7/8" through 10", flat head, used for deck framing connections, stair stringers, fence-post brackets, beam sandwiches up to 4-ply 2x stock. FlatLOK is the larger-format version — 2-7/8" through 6-3/4" but with single-sided-install approval on multi-ply LVL beams and engineered-rim ledger applications where standard HeadLOK isn't long enough or strong enough. Most Prairie residential decks use HeadLOK for framing and only need FlatLOK if there's a multi-ply LVL beam in the design.

Yes. Every fastener in the LOK family installs with a TORX ttap bit — a TORX-style drive with an added "stability button" that increases bit engagement and reduces cam-out. Standard TORX bits will work in a pinch but cam out faster, especially on the larger HeadLOK and FlatLOK fasteners. Each multi-pack of LOK screws ships with one ttap bit; the SpiderDrive/TORX ttap multi-bit packs are also available stocked. We sell singles and 2-packs at both yards.