IPE DECK

What a nice looking deck! Other fellow lumberjocks, Mike, David & Marty have recommended me to use this on some outdoor projects I want to start this winter. Looks like this stuff will last forever. Looks great!

-- Janice

Thanks. IPE is pricey, but I think you’ll like it.

-- Darby, Connecticut

This is a gorgeous deck that should last you forever. I love the contrast between the IPE and the Fiberon. And having a deck that is nearly maintenance free is a bonus as well.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Thanks Scott – I looked at your projects just now and I like the cherry center piece very much. Nice job.

- HITMAN, Connecticut

-- Darby, Connecticut

Beautiful job! Great project. I’ve built several IPE decks and other project as well. Love the finish. It will silver grey if left natural. How many drill bits did you break?

-- Marty Ohio

Thats lovely Hitman stunning colour and i bet it’s great to sit on with a nice cup of coffee

Great job well done

-- cut it saw it scrap it

Beautiful

I am still working on a project that used the same material for the deck so I have to commend you

Nice job

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

And a nice bottle of Samuel Adams Octoberfest beer too. Thanks for the comment. I really appreciate sharing my hard work with everyone here at Lumberjocks.

- HITMAN.

-- Darby, Connecticut

Marty – I only broke a few drill bits. A few years ago my wife bought me a ridiculously expensive FESTOOL drill with a limited edition bit set (drill and bits were $800.00 +), and I only used three of the FESTOOL bits for the entire project. I used the FESTOOL countersink bit for the entire job and never had to change it. I guess the FESTOOL tools are worth the high price tag.

- HITMAN

-- Darby, Connecticut

Wow! That looks great. Good job.

-- Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.

I’m a “Festool” junkie and as much as they are rediculas in thier price tags…...........they sure are nice tools, powerful, accurate, dustless…......perfect.

Did you screw the decking from the bottom up?...............or the top down?...........what kind of screws?

Regardless…...........Nice deck

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

I used very small stainless steel screws with T-10 hex finish heads from top of deck. The heads on these screws are only like 3/16 dia. They go in nicely and although they are about $100 for 550 screws (I went through about 1,200 screws on the project) you save the cost of the Eb-tye or other kind of invisible fasteners and all the work associated with biscuit joining the edges of the deck boards that would be necessary to receive the hidden fasteners. Of course, every hole has to be pre-drilled and counter sunk.

-- Darby, Connecticut

Very inviting, the color of the wood and house are truly in harmony, I can see why the wife gives it the thumbs up. Great project and nice work…Blkcherry

Fantastic deck job!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

This one is going in the favorites!

Built beautifully. Built to last.

Truly elegant. The contrast with the fence is just perfect.

Well done!

-- -- Neil

To anyone else that might do one I would recommend going with hidden deck fasteners. I don’t use this stuff but a buddy of mine installs them and he says all the guys are using the fasteners. I do build cedar decks and use metal hidden fasteners on those. They give a real clean look.
There is a more than good chance the frost is going to wreck havoc on your steps. There should be at least a couple on inches clearance between the dirt and the step box.

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

The perfect addition to the house. Ipe is bulletproof, and if you can stand the yellow sawdust everywhere, great for deck furniture too.

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

EzJack – Steps aren’t sitting on the dirt. I have two concrete piers underneath the steps that go down 30 inches (well below frost line), hence there will be no movement on those steps. The trim is touching the mulch, and that is what you see.

-- Darby, Connecticut

That deck just screams quality,it looks fantastic.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Thanks Jim. I worked hard on it for six months after work each night and on weekends. We had so much rain here in the northeast this summer that it took much longer than it should have. Your comments are very much appreciated and makes all the hard work that much more worth it.

- HIT

-- Darby, Connecticut

Beautiful deck indeed ! I was surprised to see the boards face nailed / screwed ,however, but you did a great job spacing them : )

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .

I hear you about the rain, hitman. I am impressed that you got all this done this summer. We are just trying to repair the balcony posts and it’s taken all summer just to pour the concrete since there has been rain nearly every weekend.

looks fantastic!!! wish there were more pictures/angles…this is soooo nice…

-- Matt, Napa, CA...fun is beautiful...just trying to have some fun...

thanks Matt. I should have taken some more pictures before our English Lab Laddy Bug started jogging on it every day and keeping it covered with muddy paw prints. Oh well, I’m having a beer tasting this weekend on it and maybe the guys will spill some Siera Nevada Pale Ale on it and clean it up for me.

- Darby

-- Darby, Connecticut

Fantastic Job!!

I love the colors as well. From a guy who also loves to enjoy a good beer and cast a tight line into the Farmington it’s gotta be good.

Doc (Milford, CT)

Hey man. thats cool. You’ll have to come up sometime and have a beer on my new deck. Bring your dog. I just posted two new pictures of the deck including one with the kids and our 1 year old English Lab Lady Bug.

- Darby, Clinton, CT

-- Darby, Connecticut

HITMAN, I know the steps aren’t sitting on the dirt. The ground that comes up to the frame will move them. It looks like the set by the house is on stone. They may be ok if that is a basement and your heat is escaping. Before the spring thaw make sure you remove any debris between the piers and the stringers.
30” is not well below the frost line, I think the code in your area is 44” and some cities 48” which I think is a big time over kill until Maine.
I only wish you well.
I am curious, how you passed inspection on a 30” hole.

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

I don’t mean to bother you though I was wondering, if the deck is on piers how do you have it rigged so it won’t walk? If you posted the deck are those also at 30”? Did you bolt and joist hang at the house?

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

The code in Connecticut is 42” hole depth with 12” of concrete, 4×6 post with pea gravel set. Most builders there go 44” to 48” to keep the inspector happy. If you use a pillar system (which I’ve been told they only allowed in certain situations) you have to attach to the home using a bolted ledger with joist hangers. You also have to use a block on the pillar below grade with the equivalent to a Simpson EPB44T post base.

I’m only posting this with the hope that it will help fellow jocks to avoid problems.

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

I live in Clinton, CT. Our building inspector is Justin Rossetti. I worked with Justin extensively on this project from the get go. I through boted the ledger board into the house crawl space with galvanized carraige bolts. There are two large girders under the deck (one at 7.5 feet from the house, and one at the end) constructed of twin 2×10s. Each girder sandwiches three four by fours (which are sitting on the Simpson post bases), which are sitting on 36×8 inch diameter concrete bases inside the sono tubes. Before I poured the concrete into the sono tubes, I called the building inspector, Justin, out to the house to confirm that the foundations were deep enough at 36 inches below grade. All of these details were submitted on four detailed drawings to the building department in February 2009 and I had to wait three weeks for the permit approval. All I can say is that I jumped through every hoop I could find out about because I wanted to do this project absolutely right and so that it would last a long time. If anything is wrong with it, its not for lack of trying. – Darby

-- Darby, Connecticut

Beautiful Deck.

-- If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!

I’m not getting down on you, I know you worked hard. We have all had to redo things and scrap hours to pay the wood works debt for lessons taught.
36” is a lot better the 30”. It will help the damage pan out over years instead of a couple of seasons.
Justin was not in until Friday but Colleen told me code is definitely 42”. You can use a 36×8 pillar but the hole has to be 42”below grade.The 6” left is for the post or block for the post base so that it is in ground to help prevent walk along with the joist hangers on the ledger. There are two inspections, hole depth and final.
I have no idea why Justin would tell you different and not tell you about frost teeter on those steps. All I can say is I go 44” to 48” because I don’t like call backs. I leave a 2” clearance on my step boxes because I don’t like call backs. A lot of builders don’t care because they are only worried about the required 18 month guarantee. I work for my customers for years doing different kinds of work and I do like smooth.
For those that are debating pilot holes- screws or hidden fasteners… the later is a world better and don’t take much longer if at all. Once you get your cutter rhythm down it can even be faster. You have the cost of the biscuits but you use less screws.

Wishing you mild winters.

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

EzJack – I can’t believe you called my local building department! Please don’t do that again. For you to call my building department and risk stirring up a problem for me is frankly unbelievable. I really I don’t need at this point in my life, my year, and in this economy, and now I am wishing I had never posted this project on this website. Right now I’m so pissed off that I will not be visiting this website anymore so I hope you’re happy that you ruined it for me.

-- Darby, Connecticut

W O W !! You shouldn’t feel as though you should leave this wonderful site due to just one person….You know what they say about apples , right ?

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .

Relax, I asked her 3 questions that anyone would ask. They know nothing about you.
Somebody might follow you to disaster. I just want to get the facts straight on how to build a deck properly. Don’t be pissed off, just learn, stick around, this place is great. LJ’s will go out of their way to help you.

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

To all LJ… am I a bad apple that should rot away
or are you to let me live to post another day????

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

OK. I understand the need for people to have good information that will help them succeed on their own project. – No worries.

-- Darby, Connecticut

Wow, way to man up. I am big time glad you didn’t leave us.
I’m just not shooting off at the mouth, I’ve paid the fiddler.

BTW It looks as though you have a wonderful family, you are a very lucky man.

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

another example of lifes toughest teacher called experience who, without fail gives

test first and lesson later…..........

Thats an awesome deck, and my humble opinion, wood decking doesnt get better then “Epi” or however you say it. Its rock hard, nice colour, and will outlast you, me and who ever you know….....we all be long dead before the wood dies.

Deck building isnt much different then cabinet building, cabinet making, boat building, framing a roof, timber framing, or anything else. Its simple engineering, load bearing, canti-levered, 45’d…...or circular.

What I do know….....................is that most things that meet “code”.....................fail sooner then later. “Code” has been re-written, re-fabricated, the laws, rules and regulations, are made to make the “masses” have a “feel good” attitude that in time has a way of making them…..........blend in to all the other crap the media jams down out throats. It’s always pretty in the beginning.

I think you did a nice job of your deck and knowing that you are several hundred miles, maybe even a thousand miles closer to the equator then me, leads me to believe that you will be a long time dead before your deck says “You ^%$#@# up”

Go EZJack…............I bet I have paid the fiddler more then you?

I would never “biscuit” a deck….................ever.

And when I do do build one

You wont see a screw…......not one.

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

Clarification: When I said biscuit I was referring to the fasteners meant for IPE. The slots for them are cut with a biscuit cutter. You can also have the boards pre-slotted.
I don’t know where you were going on the code thing roman but I do agree that they fall short. I tend to over build. That’s why I dig my holes 44”-48” as most other builders do. I use wood post in case of shift I can cut and splice on the rare occasions that it is necessary. Cement has no R value so in a short hole it tends to mushroom up.
Paid the fiddler more than me, that I do not know. What I do know is I’ve done a lot of repair’s the last 35 years.
Will he be OK? Who knows but the things I’m talking about are common knowledge in the industry. It takes a hard winter to get the frost down past 30” in a covered area such as under a deck. The steps will be the problem and that’s a relatively easy fix.

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

Correction: mushroom up should be work up. Mushroom up is when you put cement around a post and not under it. The cement will crack and mushroom out of the hole and the post will sink.

man, i’m getting paranoid

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

Nice deck. Thanks for posting. I guess some experts out there will always have an opinion on how things should have been done differently. Sometimes it’s better to leave “Well Enough” alone. With wood workers having a skill range of beginner to master craftsman, there will always be an opinion or well meant advise that is not received well due to misperception. I hope that EzJack meant well, but it appeared argumentative.(10 retorts) Projects have a range of tolerances, not every step has to be 100% dead accurate, otherwise the inspectors would have to be on site 24/7 until the projects are completed. Stay with Lumberjocks Hitman. We need people like you, that show us “starting-outers”, how to build something better than our last project.

-- so much wood, so little time. Bradford.

Now that’s funny.
I give up, I’m outta here.

PS We were not talking accuracy we were talking frost and we should be talking about the fix. I still say your a great guy HITMAN.

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

I think I’ll stick to cedar. It grows fast and is farm friendly.

As much as 80% of Ipe harvesting is done illegally.

We will no longer sell or install ipe. We have a corporate responsibility to refrain from business practices which unarguably are detrimental to the health of the planet, and to persons and communities no matter how far away. Deforestation of the Amazon is contributing significantly to global warming. Illegal deforestation and harvesting in Brazil is responsible for localized extortion, bribery, and violence in the areas around the harvest locations.

Thus far, not only have Brazillian authorities been unable to control the illegal harvesting, but they themselves have become embroiled via bribery and violence.

We urge you to consider options other than tropical hardwoods for your decking needs.

We will support legislation to ban the sale and import of Ipe.

We urge you to research Ipe and Brazillian forest practices before supporting this violence and enviornmental destruction related to Ipe harvest. You could start here:

http://petroleum.berkeley.edu/patzek/Harmful/Materials/nyt_10_16_05.htm

http://www.fsc-watch.org/archives/2007/08/22/SmartWood_misled_US_local_authority_over_FSC_timber

http://ran.org/what_we_do/old_growth/resources/guide_to_endangered_trees/

http://www.mongabay.com/news-index/amazon_logging1.html

From Wikkipida: ”…The demand for ipê wood has risen dramatically in recent years, especially in the United States. By the 1990s, numerous environmental organizations working on preservation of the Amazon Rainforest reported that about 80% of logging in the Brazilian Amazon was illegal. The Brazilian government has confirmed this figure, most notably in a leaked report from the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, in which it was confirmed that five times the amount of wood sanctioned to be cut from legal Amazon concessions was being exported and that numerous staff of the environment agency IBAMA were taking bribes.[6]

Full story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabebuia

Cost analysis, enviornmental impact, and retail price comparisons to the end-use consumer, installed

A cedar deck costs $17.75 per square foot, installed.

Enviornmental impact: Decking cedar is cut and replanted on tree farms, in approximately 30 year cycles. Old growth cedar is not used for tiny decking boards, but is typically sawn into large beams, and sold over seas for top dollar.

A Trex composite deck will cost $23-$26 per square foot, installed, depending on choice of materials.

Environmental impact: Composites are made from recycled materials. Trex is made almost wholly from lumber by products (sawdust) and recycled plastic grocery bags.

• An Ipe deck costs $28-$32 per square foot, installed.

Environmental impact: These trees are rarely replanted. But what’s worse, only two Ipe trees grow in an average rain forest acre, yet the entire acre is cut to harvest the two-tree average. When the rain forest is gone, it’s gone. Forever. The violence created by these harvests is hurting real families, real children, real people. The loss of rain forest is contributing to global warming and climate change.

http://lieuallenindustries.com/brazilianipe.aspx

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

as much as I do love the feel of wood under my feet, when it comes to outdoor decks….......I prefer concrete.

Whats the difference (EZJack) between cedar harvested in Oregon, Washington, or Alaska, or whats left in between being British Columbia, all of which hold temperate rainforests just like the tropical rainforests of Central and South America? (rainforest being the key word)..............its all wood, cedar or ipe…...its destructive regardless of the specie?

Poured concrete with laminate flooring, radiant heat and a roof….............where I live…....makes sense…..and no maintanance….............forever and ever….....no maintenance

Amen

Outdoor wood is a PITA regardless of where you live or what kind of wood you used

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

Whats the difference? The way they are aloud to cut. Here they are regulated. The forest has a chance, so I hear. Also cedar grows a lot different than ipe and can be farmed.
I do a lot of pavers.
Most prefer wood over cement especially in the south because of the heat. Wood is a lot cooler.

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.