Patent 10286458 was granted and assigned to Simpson Strong-Tie on May, 2019 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Predrill guide tools are disclosed which include a body having a vertical planar member with a front side and a back side, a horizontal planar member with a top side, a bottom side and a tapered end, and an angled drill guide with a front face positioned within a vertical plane; two or more ribs extending from a top side of the horizontal planar member, and one or more keels extending vertically from the bottom side of the horizontal planar member. Methods of using the predrill guide tools to drill holes into deck boards for use with deck clips are also disclosed.