Your roof top deck has plenty of clearance,most of mine have the width of the stringers 1 1/2''. I would sugest using counstruction adhesive as well as SS screws be very sure the screws do not go thru the stringers be very sure as well during install you dont damage the roof...like hiting it with the edge of a board,droping a drill bit first on it,steping on a screw things like that. Your right if your going to use anything on it use the S American lumber not manmade material. With your pool deck provide cross ventalation. This can be done with screen vents in the framing if this is not completly possible install floor vents in the decking combined with the frame vents. Cross ventalation is a vastley over looked but much needed addtion to any decking project. The gap between the decking boards will have no effect one way or the other venting your project unless there is air moving under it. If possble a drain system under the pool deck might help if done corectley but do not put a ground cover like plastic sheet/tar paper under it 1'' ipe will react the same way 3/4'' ipe will under the same conditions. The life span of both is also the same. J.

Would love to see the photos, but when I click on it the only thing I get is a cat food commercial. I'm fairly new to this, what am I doing wrong? We are about to embark on a deck redo also and have looked extensively at Azek. I'm going to do the floor in Acacia color and the railing in Kona (because there is no railing in Acacia). To tie it together I'm going to have the second board in from the outside be in Kona and the Kona color railing will go on the outside board which will be the Acacia.....just trying to change it up a bit. Your comments are letting us know we are on the right track....especially about the ketchup and wine as we entertain outside a lot. Thanks for the informative post.

Great forum! I have decided to let those cans of Penofin lie dormant in my garage and go with a new product. I was considering TWP as George and Eddie at East Teak recommend. For me that is going to the dark side as I believe once you go for the sealer there is not turning back! Then the "Zodic" appears! Im looking at saving labor so this is very appealing! Quick question for both Obi Won and Darth TWP: Can I mop off the excess with a sponge mop instead of getting non hands an knees with Rags? With "Zodic", will I need two coats to get started? Can I spray on TWP on my Ipe Furniture and wipe off with rag? Ken, your saying we can use "zodic" on wood just a few hours after "Rad" treatment??? When is the "Zodic" site going to be ready? Bottom line is more competition means more choices! Thanks to all again for the great info on this site!

Steve, I agree. I really don't like the idea of flashing on top of the decking. This will assuredly just encourage the same problem I'm trying to get away from. How does this plan sound? There are 20 feet or so of decking that runs parallel to the house. I'll pull up those two boards, ripping about 1/4 inch off the width of these boards. I'll clean out any trash thats in the area now, then spray the area with a fungicide/insecticide. Then I'll run a simple copper flashing with a single 90 degree bend, along the bottom of the deck board, and along its edge. Any water that gets into this board will now be isolated from the house. Screw the board back down. The extra 1/4 of an inch I ripped off leaves me with room to fill between the flashing and the cedar siding with a high quality exterior grade silicon caulk. This way there is no place at all for any water or junk to get in. Any water will be directed off to the flashing, away from the house. I'll do much the same for those boards that butt up to the house at whatever angle, just one or two boards at a time. An advantage of doing it this way is I do not need to run a kerf into the existing siding. I also will not have a visible copper flashing that SWMBO will complain about when I'm done. The only visible sign will be a neat bead of caulk that will match the color of the siding fairly closely. John