Grooved decking board

Abstract

A deck system employing a plurality of specially configured floor boards which can be coupled to the joists of the deck via a plurality of substantially hidden fasteners. Each board includes similarly configured opposite sides that define a longitudinal groove therein. Each hidden fastener is rigidly coupled to a respective joist and positioned between a pair of adjacent floor boards. Each fastener forms a mating relationship with the sides of the boards to thereby rigidly couple the boards to the joists.

1 . A board comprising: 
 an elongated body presenting a pair of similarly configured sides,    each of said sides including a normally-upper lip and a normally-lower lip,    each of said sides including a longitudinal groove defined between the normally-upper lip and the normally-lower lip,    said groove including an inner-most surface representing the deepest portion of the groove,    said normally-upper lip extending further from the inner-most surface than the normally-lower lip.    
   
   
       2 . The board according to  claim 1 , 
 said normally-upper lip extending at least about 10 percent further from the inner-most surface than the normally-lower lip.    
   
   
       3 . The board according to  claim 1 , 
 said normally-upper lip extending at least about 20 percent further from the inner-most surface than the normally-lower lip.    
   
   
       4 . The board according to  claim 1 , 
 said similarly configured sides being located on generally opposite sides of the body.    
   
   
       5 . The board according to  claim 1 , 
 said normally-upper lip presenting a rounded distal portion.    
   
   
       6 . The board according to  claim 1 , 
 said body being formed of a composite of a cellulosic fiber and plastic.    
   
   
       7 . The board according to  claim 1 , 
 said normally-upper and normally-lower lips presenting opposing inwardly facing surfaces cooperatively defining at least a portion of the groove.    
   
   
       8 . The board according to  claim 7 , 
 said inwardly facing surfaces being space from one another by a distance in the range of from about 0.05 to about 0.5 inches.    
   
   
       9 . The board according to  claim 8 , 
 said body having a thickness in the range of from about 0.5 to about 2 inches.    
   
   
       10 . The board according to  claim 1 , 
 said body being formed by extrusion.    
   
   
       11 . A deck system comprising: 
 a plurality of laterally spaced joists; and    a plurality of substantially parallel boards extending across and supported by the joists,    each of said boards including a pair of generally opposite similarly configured sides,    each of said sides including an upper lip, a lower lip, and a groove defined between the upper and lower lips,    said lower lip being disposed closer to the joists than the upper lip,    said upper lip protruding further than the lower lip.    
   
   
       12 . The deck system according to  claim 11 , 
 said groove including an inner-most surface representing the deepest portion of the groove,    said upper lip extending at least about 10 percent further from the inner-most surface than the lower lip.    
   
   
       13 . The deck system according to  claim 12 , 
 said upper lip extending at least about 20 percent further from the inner-most surface than the lower lip.    
   
   
       14 . The deck system according to  claim 11 , 
 each of said boards being spaced from one another by a distance in the range of from about 0.1 to about 0.75 inches.    
   
   
       15 . The deck system according to  claim 11 , 
 said boards being formed of a composite cellulosic fiber and plastic material.    
   
   
       16 . The deck system according to  claim 11 , 
 each of said boards being formed via extrusion.