Framing with Ipe would be very costley in lumber and Labor. Very Very costley. Defentley Do Not use cedar for the frame. Most of us use ground contact preasure treated lumber for the frame. I have skirted the outside of the frame with ipe.However is you really want 6x6 in ipe East Teak will be glad to sell them to you. Your Builder might be in the habit of using the frame support posts for the handrail posts, that is going all the way up with the 6x6. This kind of building is ice age old but a lot of guys just wont stop doing what they have always done. For the most part House Builders do not keep up with the trade of Deck Building,and dont want to. Its one of the last things to do after dealing with everything else and thats the least important thing and they defentley do not want Anyone telling them what to do. But just in case>>> creet piers,deck frame posts land on the piers not in them,beams land on the posts,joist in on 16'' centers. Do not over span the joists just adding size to the joists will not take the bounse out of the frame. Install the posts for the rail system in the frame,they will be seperate from the frame posts, these can be pt 4x4s or 6x6s whatever then build ipe post wrapps out of 3/4 material this way you get the rail posts any size any shape and any place you want. Its possible to wrap the frame posts in ipe as well There is one half a chance in 10,000 your builder is going to pay any attention to any of this. J.

Iron Woods is definitely used interchangeably across several South American tropical hardwood species including Ipe and Cumaru, but believe is also a proper noun in the instance of "Iron Woods" whose parent company is Timber Holdings USA which we believe is owned by Coastal now. Regardless, good guys with good wood. This does open the door to an interesting topic for wood geeks and homeowners alike. Grading standards.... There is currently no uniform grading standard for South American tropical hardwoods. Generally speaking the best Ipe coming into the US right now is clear three sides with allowances for small tight pin knots no bigger than your pinkie. So how can a layman homeowner differentiate between "grades" and know they're getting the quality they expect? Nominal vs. actual dimensions can be confusing enough..... As stated, there is no uniform grading standard, but here is a list of common "grade descriptors" that are indicative of top quality: 1) Clear 2) Premium 3) Prime 4) FAS (acronym for "First And Seconds") 5) FEQ (acronym for "First European Quality") While a company may use these and send you something of lower grade or water it down with a small percentage of B-Grade... (like all industries there are unscrupulous characters and companies), if you purchase wood in any of these five "grades" what you should receive is "clear three sides with allowances for small tight pin knots no bigger than your pinkie." In addition to "grade" names, always check references of the supplier and they should be happy to give you a list of satisfied customers. Another qualifier is whether the company is FSC Certified. While you may not be purchasing FSC Certified material, the certification process is arduous and an indicator of a reputable company. We don't know of any companies out there who would risk losing this certification just to make a few extra bucks. Advantage is right though, you get what you pay for and if the price seems too good to be true then you're probably receiving some percentage of inferior grade before we even enter the realm of discussing botanical names and specie substitution....., but we can save that for another thread.....

1. I would go w/ 2X10s for the ledger & joists. While most 2X8s can span 12 feet it depends on your local jurisdiction's code & what the live & dead loads are, the deflection coefficients, and the type joists. Plus 2X10s will reduce the floor bounce better than 2X8s. Also, since you are cantilevering the IRC code requires that 2X10 joists be used. The size girder is dependant on the post spacing. I would go w/ 5 posts spaced at 6'. Three 2X10s are plenty sufficient for that. 2. I would go w/ 5/4 if money is no object & probably even it it was. Less cupping typically & if you want to run the decking on a diagonal that increases the span but no problem w/ 5/4 IPE. 3. The joist's spacing is related to the joist span (which is 12' approximately (I guess 11' since it sounds like it will be cantilevered by 1')) and to the size & type of joists used. I would go w/ 16" OC.

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