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

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.

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.

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.

Sturdy product that did the job.

I like this for determining spacing. Not sure about the holes in it. They are not useful at all as screws do not fit through the holes. Overall a good item to space deck boards

Durable and easy to use

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.

A couple of years ago I faced a dilemma - my cedar deck was starting to rot in places, the previous owner (who built the deck) painted the boards, which also made maintenance a nightmare.I got quotes from contractors to rebuild my deck which were insane. Composite, cedar, whatever, it was a very high number. Then I looked into doing it myself. The base of the deck was solid, but the deck boards, railing and skirting needed to be replaced, at a materials cost of around 25-33% of what was quoted to me. I decided to go cedar again, but ensure that the boards were spaced correctly and I would use stain instead of paint.Between this tool and a bowrench I felt I was able to tackle the job. I also needed a few other tools - sawzall for demolition, 2 cordless drills (one with bit, one with driver bit), compound miter saw, pocket jig, table saw and a planer (due to some angles in the way the deck was constructed I needed to thin down some 2x4s).I'm somewhat handy but NOT a pro. I was able to resurface a 15x30 deck (including stairs) over a couple months working an hour or 2 each night after work plus around 8 hours each weekend, by myself.This tool was very helpful in 2 ways - first, in ensuring proper gaps between the boards when using the bowrench, and second, to determine proper hole spacing when screwing the boards down.There's nothing like the satisfaction of a job well done, and many thousands of dollars saved!