Johnson Level & Tool 60-275 Deck Mate, Deck Board Spacing Tool, Orange, 1 Level

Great product! Saw these on a You Tuber, "Dr. Decks" . A must have if you're doing any deck board work. I bought 4, but if you do a lot of deck, you need many!

This product is simple, yet has many features that are not obviously apparent, like you can use it to align your fasteners. It has excellent instructions on the packaging. I bought 3 and used them on a 16x24 deck, then bought a bunch more. If you are going to use this tool professionally (like me), make your life a little easier and also get a board straightener. The tool spaces the board on one side, and the straightener pulls the boards against them on the other.

These were instrumental in helping me achieve a gap in my deck boards. If you are building the deck solo, I suggest you purchase at least two of these as you can ensure you keep a consistent gap. I like this product better than others because I could pound on the top with an impact hammer. I was replacing deck boards so I needed to get all of my boards into a predetermined sized space. As you can see from the picture, I broke one of my tools. This was unfortunate as it looks like my two tools were made of different material. However, I was able to complete the task and my deck looks beautiful.

I purchased two of these for installing composite decking that requires 3/16" spacing. Very happy with the results. My only suggestion would be to identify the two different spacing settings more clearly. I used a black marker to make it more visible.

Just a note if using this to space decking in the winter. A guy who does this for a living told me they don’t use a space at all that once summer hits and the treated lumber dries out it’ll shrink and create the gaps without the need for this tool. I’m no expert but it’s worth considering! Also, if you’re not careful the material/holes can get damaged from your drill or screws if you drill them too close to the tool. Oh yeah, and i wasnt quite clear on which side has what measurement. Derp on my part but as an amateur it took me a minute to figure it out.

About 15 years ago at Lowe's I bought a deckmate spacing tool. They no longer sell them. Looked on Amazon they're now being branded as Johnson. It's the exact same tool same specs 100% identical except for color. I use three of them on a 16 ft deck bored. I didn't realize I had lost one otherwise I would have bought three of them. A 16-ft run I would definitely use four spacers. Saves time for running back and forth and checking the gaps.After 15 years and they're being made identical that should tell you something about the quality of these spacers. And like one other reviewer said you could go to the trouble of ripping a piece of wood and set it in there but that's going to take time and more material and with these things being only $9 each it's not worth the headache of ripping your own spacing board.

These are substantial spacers. Easy to use. They are expensive, but worth it. We used 2 of these as well as two other brands for 3/16 and 1/8 spacing on 12’ and longer boards. These were the easiest to use (only 2 possible spans with this one), and they don’t get stuck if you are using a means of compression to hold the boards.

Works as it should