Installing Ipe: gaps and ripping for width

17 years ago

Hello all:

The basics: building 16x24 screened in porch, getting Ipe (5/4x6's) from East Teak in the next couple of days. Pics are here (bottom is most recent) http://www.dmrnetworks.com/deck/ .

My two issues (woke up at 4 am thinking about it)

a: spacing between boards. George said install them with no space because they will shrink a little. I've read John's posts to do a strong 1/8", Steve's 1/16" strong. Is this a matter of personal preference? Is it for practical reasons, looks, etc.?

b: if the board widths are not equal, would you spend the time to rip the edges to make them so? From what I've read, the milling is not so perfect, and the 1/16's of an inch will add up quickly. George said count on them being 5-3/8" +/- 1/16" and not 5-1/2".

As a side note: if I knew then what I know now-- my pt 2x10's seemed to be fine when I bought them, very little crown. Only the milling sucked! Some were 3/8" difference in width, which tranferred into height when layed on edge as joists. So I spent the time to plane them (electric, not by hand) to close to the same height (I used 1" conduit as a guide). I'll still have to shim some boards, but it's a helluva lot better now than it was a couple of days ago. I went through this trouble because I was worried the the ipe would not "bend" like pt or composite, and the boards would not sit right.

Also, I have to say I'm proud of my piers. I'm in the Pittsburgh area (northern burbs) and they needed to be 36" deep. I did a single pour footer/pier all the way up to the beam height. Made my own modified Big Foot system knock off with utility tubs from WalMart. (those pics are near the top). A small nuclear device will be needed if I ever need to change them.

Rich

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Comments (5)

sweet11395
17 years ago
looks like quite the involved project....I'm no engineer but it worries me that you have so much weight on those 8" piers which appear to stick out of the ground approximately 2 ft.....I sure hope you put rebar in them as I would be worried about shear force causing them to snap....I know here in NJ with my deck which was only 33" off grade at its highest point I was required to use 12" footings and it was just a deck carrying NO structure on top of it.....hope you checked this out and got approval....hate to see it collapse. On a side note that must have been a pain to get all the piers level unlike the usual method of using 4x4 or 6x6 posts snapping a line and cuttting the excess to bring into level....more power to ya!
john_hyatt
17 years ago
Nice Project Rich, very well done.Thats normal for pt lumber,normal for any big framing lumber.

5/4 ipe will shrink more than say 3/4 ipe there is just more wood there to shrink, A person could stack up the material in a covered area with stickers inbetween and run a big fan thru the stack for a week or so this will help get the ipe used to its new weather conditions.You could size the lumber thru a table saw just be careful and go slow or you could cause more damage then good, doing this will take the slight beval off one side so you might want to put this back on with a router.After all that a 1/16'' gap should be fine. I take it your face fastening the material. John
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richr
Original Author
17 years ago
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
sweet11395
17 years ago
richr,

no you are not missing anything in your description and glad to see the rebar in place in those piers....no worries knowing the rebar is in there now!

yeah the water level is great!!! I used one on my deck also...very quick and easy to use.....
john_hyatt
17 years ago
I did take a long look at your framing, its really not all that normal and might be on the edge but every time I checked out your joints and the span the more I liked it very smart building.I dont like the particle board use plywood the next time diagonal strength is a little ife.

I looked at the foundation mabey twice, no way is that thing moving. You done good Rich. J

Installing Ipe: gaps and ripping for width

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sweet11395

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Installing Ipe: gaps and ripping for width

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sweet11395

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