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.

Retaining walls retain things like dirt/rain.Normaly they have nothing to do with the House structure. It very well could have been the walls were put in because the basement would flood out during a heavy rain bringing all the dirt with it. Your right that is part of landscaping. If you decide to take em out anyway the piers for your deck support should go below the leval of the missing walls. Geting cross ventalation depends on the final deck plan. Its a deal with skirting I have taken to runing the skirting right into the ground because if I dont the Wallet yells at me because it dosent look finished. This happened so many times now I just do it as drill. Its not a good idea>> the skirting soaks up water,the weed eater hits it,dirt builds up around it things like that

Hi all! Been searching these forums here for some time and have found a wealth of great information... thanks... I'm building a 2 story deck about 500sf... the below portion or the deck is all concrete pavers that connects with an open patio. The sides of the lower deck is 90% open. The upper level of the deck will have a vaulted roof with an overhang around the perimeter. The Deck is more like a porch style where the railing are sheathed and finished. The opening are like multiple 4x6 window opening without the windows. I would say this area is about 30-40% open. The deck is 23' wide and 21' deep (from the house) with the corners 45ed. Lastly the floor system is 2x12 TJI joists with side loaded beams (no posts) and for the lower section I plan to sheath the ceiling for a finished look. (sorry for the winded description, just wanted to give a god picture). I want to use T&G IPE or possibly Massaranduba as the pricing is much better. The joists are 16oc, and I was planning one ss screw on each joist in the groove and glue on the joist as well... My questions: Does anyone see a problem with ventilation as the underside of the floor would be covered? I could add some vents but I'm really not sure if that would be necessary. This should remain very dry and any water would drain. Also regarding the size of the material, any notable differences structurally/cupping wise between 1x4, 1x6 or 5/4x4, 5/4x6 ? I've seen a lot on these very topics but not regarding T&G Covered Deck applications that are expected to remain relatively dry. There is the case where heavy rain/snow along with wind could cause decking surface to get wet but the deck would be sealed with appropriate oil base sealer and likely cleaned... my biggest concerns are with the decking cupping, etc... Thanks for any help on this, it's much appreciated.

Natal, I ended up doing absolutely nothing at all. This includes applying any sealer of any kind--we wanted to leave it natural. It's been almost 1.5 years since I made that last post in mid-November '05. From memory, we had our first snowfall pretty soon after the deck was finished, so I didn't have too much time to do anything. Then around that time we had other renovation projects going on, so I pretty much forgot about the deck stains. If I recall correctly, it was a very wet winter with more snow than usual, and it was also pretty cold so that the snow stayed on the deck for quite some time. Then all of 2006 passed, and I honestly cannot recall when it was that the stains became unnoticeable. I live in the Northeast, so the deck has seen it all--rain, sun, heat, and snow. I was just thinking a few days ago that the deck was looking nice these days (I happen to prefer the mellow, faded-out look--for the record, it's not totally gray or silver yet, it's a faint and weathered version of its original color). Anyway, I didn't notice the stains anymore, but then again, I wasn't looking for them. Quite possibly, the stains have indeed weathered-out, just as my builder said they would. I'm pretty sure he knew that we weren't going to seal the deck, so maybe that's why he told me to let it be. If you're planning to seal your deck, I'd listen to Pressurepros's post above, and make the builder address it. For what it's worth, someone on this board emailed me about this issue way back then, and the suggestion was to try scrubbing it out with Dawn dishwashing liquid. I don't remember the particulars of whether it should be done in solution or straight, because winter caught up to me before I could act on the suggestion. And it turns out that the stains on my deck didn't end up being a problem at all. But at any rate, I'd ask your builder about it. Good luck.