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Porches & Decks

Latest Pics of Ipe Install

17 years ago

Hello everyone, here is a link to where I am in my 2200 sq ft Ipe deck install. There are also a few pics of my completed sunroom.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimswork/

I want to thank everyone in this forum who posted advice and tips. I have followed most and they worked out well.

I am installing the deck at 45 degree using the Herringbone pattern. I bought 17 Ipe deck vents from Fretworks.com. The vents are very nice and look great.

I stained all sides, except for the top, of the Ipe prior to installation using TWP-116. I will sand and stain the top when I am done.

I used white T&G bead board around my deck and planters. It came out very well.

One thing I did do that came in handy was made up some screw forms and spacing forms. I used a small piece of plastic and drilled holes in them. I then used them as a guide on every pice of Ipe I installed. I just had to put down the guide and form, align the Ipe to the form and drill the pilot holes. Very easy and the holes align perfectly at every angle.

A couple quick questions;

1) I want to router or bull-nose the edges of the Ipe. I over hung them about 2" all around. The router bit I have does not make the ends completely round and I cannot get at the Ipe from underneath due to deck or ground. Am I stuck with only a 3/4 round edge or is there something I can buy that will make a complete rounded edge?

2) What grit sandpaper should I use? I read to use an orbital hand sander using 80 grit. I am using 150 grit to sand the pilot holes prior to screwing the planks down. It seems to be working ok. Should I go down to 80 grit for the final sanding?

Thanks all and I will keep you posted.

Jim (Maryland)

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Comments (5)

john_hyatt
17 years ago
80 grit for all sanding,no need to go any finer. If its not too late trim the decking flush,glue and screw 1 1/2 '' rips of the ipe to the edges after using the round over bit on them. J
brooklyndecks
17 years ago
Golfer,
Very ambitious job for a DIYer. Obviously, you have some skills.

Bullnose router bits are available. If you just use a roundover bit, you have to rout from both sides, as you now know. It's tricky too, as the bearing has to ride along the exact center of the edge. the problem with the bullnose bit is that you need a clamped straight edge to guide the router.

I use 50 grit paper on my ROS...and I like the results.

I checked out your pictures. Using a transition board between your converging diagonals was a good idea (more forgiving), but you should have lined up the boards a bit better.

the beadboard looks OK, but the Ipe will last "forever"...how long will the beadboard last? You should have used Ipe there too.

2" overhang is excessive. You may have a cupping issue later on

steve
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John, Yes, face fastening. And as I think more about it, if the boards (which I have not seen yet), don't vary in width more than a 1/16th, it may be more hassle than it's worth. I guess we'll see and I'll let you know. Also, thanks for the compliment, it means a lot - did you get a chance to look at many of the pics? I sincerely value any input you might share. Sweet, My building inspector is not firing on all cylinders, so I had consulted numberous engineers/architects. All of them agreed that I would have nothing to worry about. If you looked at the piers in the middle and higher ground part, they are only out of the ground about 6-8 inches (and 36-40" below grade). Also, even though the beams are perpendicular to the house, all of the joists are tied together in the center (and some are doubled 2x10's with 1/2" spacer). Look at pic IMG_0357.JPG. Anywhere there is a post, there is a doubled 2x10. So for sheer to be a factor, the forces would only need to affect the lower piers. This is not the case. There is rebar not only horizontally in the base, but vertically about 1" in from the sides of the edge. The whole idea of bringing the piers up to the beam level was to alleviate the need for the 4x4's or 6x6's. I'd be dead without my water level - it was actually quite easy. As far as the 12" piers, WOW. My understanding of concrete is sheer has less to do with concrete, and more to do with the steel inside. The concrete is for the compression and the steel is for the flex. Am I missing something? The load capacity for my 8" piers is about 63,000 pounds per pier. I think that will suffice. Rich Here is a link that might be useful: screened in porch pics
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The build coat finish looks the same as the first coat does thats the point. I have pushed the twp to a simi gloss on my cap rail but after a couple of years I did get a little lifting. If you have worked with a wiping stain doing this with twp is the same. On my site Rex the cat is sitting on the deck Im talking about. Dont use achorseal. That woodrich stuff works pretty good as well. Thanks Celeste!! When we face fasten I make a little block with rounded edges, a hole in the middle for the countersink bit then chuck in the bit to the right depth so the predrill cant go into the pt frame. This works the same as the smart bit only better.I use a corded drill for this. I use #7 1 5/8'' square drive ss trim screws for 1x6 ipe , 5/32'' pre drill in the block,makita 18 volt impact driver (just moved up from the 12 volt but they still work fine too) to run the screws in. This will provide a 1/8'' or so countersink. I still use my old slightly worn bowrench works great. J.
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pstrme
17 years ago
Golfer38,
You did a great job. I am going to be building a ipe deck thats about 1000sqft soon. I want to use the same 90degree boxed end pattern. Looks like you made up a beam where the two 90degee ends meet? How did you construct that? What do you have that is black on top of all the joist? What size joist did you use? They look like 2x10s. Do you a picture of that plastic piece that you made up to make perfect holes? Thanks.
snidelywhiplash z5b
17 years ago
Looks great!

As for the question someone asked about the beadboard...if it's plastic (Azek, maybe?), I'd presume it'll last an awfully long time.

One thought, Jim - that dryer vent run you've got looks awfully long. As I understand it, you should have no more than 25 feet total, with a 90-degree bend equalling 5 feet of run. (Thus if you have two bends, your total run of straight duct should be no more than 15 feet.)

Any longer than that, and you really oughta have a booster fan installed on the line to efficiently move the heat and moisture out of the house. Otherwise, you're asking for trouble. At the very least, you'll get a clogged vent pipe and your clothes will never dry properly. At worst, you'll have a lint fire.

Just some food for thought.

Jason
golfer38
Original Author
16 years ago
Jason, I took your advice and purchased a FanTech dryer blower. Thanks, for the tip, Jim

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