Fastening assembly for decking

A decking assembly that comprises:

• a series of spaced joists;
• a series of decking planks positioned, side-by-side on the joists, transversely with respect to the joists;
• and
• a plurality of fastening assemblies interposed between the decking planks, each fastening assembly comprising:
• a spacer for positioning on a joist between adjacent planks, the spacer having a predetermined overall thickness so that the spacer serves to maintain a desired spacing between the planks, the spacer defining at least one passage that extends, top to bottom, through the spacer;
• and
• at least one gripping member, the gripping member including opposed arms and a web that interconnects the arms, with the spacer being receivable between the arms,
• wherein the web of the, or each, gripping member defines an opening, so that a shank of a fastener can be received through the web and the passage to engage the joist and drive the gripping member towards the joist so that the spacer is received between the arms, as the spacer is fastened to the joist,
• wherein the spacer includes end locating formations with a width corresponding to the predetermined thickness, and an intermediate portion interposed between the end locating formations, the intermediate portion being receivable between the arms of the, or each, gripping member, the intermediate portion defining at least one spreader formation that is receivable between the arms of the gripping member to drive the arms apart as the gripping member is driven downwardly, and
• wherein the intermediate portion defines guide slots on respective sides of the, or each, spreader formation, the gripping member having opposed walls that depend from respective sides of the web, each wall having two slots to define the arm and two legs, with the arm interposed between the legs, the legs and the guide slots being configured so that the legs can slide into the guide slots as the gripping member is driven towards the joist.

A method of assembling decking having a plurality of joists with planks positioned on the joists, with a fastening assembly that comprises a spacer for positioning on a joist between adjacent planks, the spacer having a predetermined overall thickness so that the spacer serves to maintain a desired spacing between the planks, the spacer defining at least one passage that extends, top to bottom, through the spacer, and at least one gripping member, the gripping member including opposed arms and a web that interconnects the arms, with the spacer being receivable between the arms, wherein the web of the, or each, gripping member defines an opening, so that a shank of a fastener can be received through the web and the passage to engage the joist and drive the gripping member towards the joist so that the spacer is received between the arms, as the spacer is fastened to the joist, wherein the spacer includes end locating formations with a width corresponding to the predetermined thickness, and an intermediate portion interposed between the end locating formations, the intermediate portion being receivable between the arms of the, or each, gripping member, the intermediate portion defining at least one spreader formation that is receivable between the arms of the gripping member to drive the arms apart as the gripping member is driven downwardly, and wherein the intermediate portion defines guide slots on respective sides of the, or each, spreader formation, the gripping member having opposed walls that depend from respective sides of the web, each wall having two slots to define the arm and two legs, with the arm interposed between the legs, the legs and the guide slots being configured so that the legs can slide into the guide slots as the gripping member is driven towards the joist, the method comprising the steps of:

• positioning at least two decking planks on a set of joists;
• positioning the spacer between the planks to set a spacing between the decking planks;
• and driving the gripping member towards the joist so that the spacer is received between the arms and the arms are driven away from each other to bear against respective adjacent sides of said adjacent planks.