Good questions. You are in the same boat I was last year. I captured quite a bit of the information and posted it. The link has the information. A quick cut at the answers is provided below. See the link for where to get design/code info etc. I built my decks using the information in it and it is extremely solid - no bounce at all. One thing I did that I forgot to mention that may be overkill but.... Everywhere the IPE has a butt joint I doubled the joists and installed a waterproof membrane over the joists so no water would go between and potentially rot the wood. Here goes: 1) staining the framing lumber: not sure but the wood is awfully wet. Why do this, it will be covered? 2) What length of screw needs to go through the joists? I used 8 x 2 1/2 and was very happy 3) Is the 2" x 10" enough? use of 2x10 will depend on the span. 16" for 4/4 Ipe is fine, 12" if on the diagonal. go to the link to determine size of joints, beams, piers, etc 4) Is 1/8" route on the butt ends the correct radius to use? Yes, but you may find that a rotary sander works fine. I did 5) How often will stain need to be applied to maintain that deep, dark finish? I live in Michigan and the deck faces south into dense woods. Annually? 2 years? Is TWP 116 still the preferred product? No idea, I cannot get the 116 in California. I used Messners and was not happy. Will try 516 next - ordering it Monday 6) I am not sure whether to use 4/4 or 5/4 Ipe. I have read the posts just not sure. Is there a different opinion if I use 3/8" plugs? Any reasoning is appreciated. 4/4 is fine and less expensive. I plugged some of the wood (both 4/4 and 5/4 and did not have any issues. Warning, sanding takes a while.... 7) I plan on 48" x 12" wide one piece Ipe stair treads. I do not plan on having a riser on the steps creating a view blocker as the deck is 12' high and the underneath has seating areas and a patio. What thickness Ipe would you use on the stair treads? hmmm, mine are 48" and I used 4 risers. that's a pretty big span. recommend you reconsider. I went out and tested a scrap 4' 5/4 piece of Ipe and it bounces. 5/4 you can get away with 3 risers (one in the middle) as its good for 24" spans. 8) If using Ipe plugs what kind of glue do you recommend if any? Tightbond 3 (doesn't foam like gorilla glue does) 9) Is any adhesive required on the joists where the Ipe contacts them? Nope 10) When face screwing with no plugging I understand the nice straight line for the screws. When you butt two ends you will have four screws. Is there a recommend "pattern" for butt end joints on a 24" wide deck? ie 3-8', 2-12', 1- 10'& 1-14" or purchase all the same size. Do you " lay out the pattern so the screws look symetrical? I did mine so there was 3 boards before repeating the butt joint and it looks okay. Remember, I doubled the joists in those areas. You can see my framing in the link for the the deck by Salmon Slayer 11) Could the Ipe be powerwashed at the beginning of each season as it would look nice for the summer then hit it again every spring and forget staining altogether? Someone else has to answer than one- I am interested though Steve Here is a link that might be useful: IPE Deck Information

1 - I like the wide look of the 1x6 boards so I made sure my screw placement accentuated that. I took a scrap piece and drilled a few samples. I made a 'spacer' block by holding another small scrap next to it and made marks so I could easily keep the spacing the same for the whole deck. I think mine ended up being about 1 1/4" in from each side. 2 - I didn't use anything on my ends per John Hyatt and PressurePros advice. I used end trim on all exposed ends and made all butt joints tight. I haven't seen any problems. 3 - I used the Diablo blades that are available at HD based on a few other recommendations here. They worked great both on the circ and miter. Towards the end of the build, you could tell they were getting tired though. If you are building a deck larger than 250sqft, I'd recommend planning on two blades per saw and switch them mid-build. Rob

After looking at the link that's not water, looks like some sort of a clear finish. Those look good only for a short time then fade. The brackets on the rails are made by deckorators. You can purchase them online at their site or by any dealer that carries deckorators, AWDS is one of those. The cap looks like 5/4 x 6 material. Glueing is overkill imo & not really needed. Screwing the cap every 12" is more than needed also, every 16 -24" would be fine. Do screw into the post tho. Al

Use a eraser for the pencil marks or sand them off. Staining the 2x4's before installation is much easier imo than doing it afterwards. However all you need is a rag to wipe off any stain that may get on the balusters if you do it afterwards. I always use stain pads or foam mini rollers not brushes. Al