Looks amazing. Hope It goes well for you.

Thanks Otto!

Cool project.

On pic #2, the beam on the RH side is set right (resting on the notched-out post). The joists on the LH side are not (sandwiched to post).

Are the joists attached to the ridge beam with joist hangers? And are those hurricane ties I see connecting the cantilevered joists to the beam? If so, that's good.

Thanks Weedy. Yes, those are hurricane ties. And yes, I believe the joist attached to the ridge beams are hung with joist hangers. I've attached more photos of the some of the connections.

On your concern about the joists on the LH side being sandwiched... could this possibly be because that post is already notched to accept the rim joist that is perpindicular to the ridge beam in question?

By the way, I've read most everything on this site that has to do with Ipe. That being said, I'm a big fan of your Garapa deck. I hope you are able to get your stain situation resolved before the Summer. Oh, and I think John Hyatt was kicked off the site. At least that's what I gather from some of the posts I've read of late. Such a shame. You may be able to get in touch with him at contractor talk.

Scott

More pictures, with today's progress. The pergola posts are up!

Yeah, if the beams on both ends are sitting on notched posts then it's not a big deal for the perpendicular rim joists to be bolted in.

You're right that John got kicked off, but I've got his email address, so I corresponded with him on my deck stain issue. I'm waiting to see how Marcus' turns out and then I'll do something, hopefully in a few weeks or so.

Keep posting, it's great to watch your progress!

The crew accomplished a lot today. Most of the deck boards were installed, and the 4x4 Ipe railing posts are in.

On Monday the Pergola should take shape, and the balance of the deck boards should be put down.

Weedy, in your opinion how should I prepare the ipe before staining with the TWP 116? Is it necessary to sand brand new Ipe?

I sand all of my Ipe decks before I seal them...50 grit discs on my random orbital sander.
Those are some big screw holes. Are they going to be plugged?
I notice that the ends of the boards weren't cut, as I can see the waxed ends with the white marking. Did they run them long, with the intention of cutting them all one time?

steve

Hi Steve. Thanks for your input on the sanding.

No, we are not plugging the screws. Do they look a little too deep by your estimation? Will this create an issue down the line if the top of the screw head is about 1/16" of an inch below the deck surface? My contractor was having fits with the SplitStop screws until he stepped up to carbide drill bits.

Correct, the ends have not been cut yet as he will cut them all at one time when he lays a few coarses of ipe that will run perpindicular to create a wide picture frame border. Attached is a picture of the same board ends from a different angle.
I'd really appreciate any additional feedback that you may have.
Thanks!

I can't see how deep the screws are from either pic, but 1/16th is ok. It's just that the holes look so big, like they were made with a 3/8" countersink bit. I never used split stop screws (I use headcote), but aren't they trim head screws. It looks like a big hole for a small screw :-)
With the headcote trim screws, I use the smartbit, which makes a perfect countersink for trimhead screws...that isn't too noticeable.
Every deck builder uses different methods. It's easy for me to sit here and critique. If you're happy with the results...that's all that matters.

steve

I was going to ask the same question about plugging.

We sanded our deck before staining because firstly we had plugs to sand, and secondly, the sun had started to gray the boards, so just sanding out the plugs would have made for uneven staining. Yours is going in a lot faster than ours, so you may not have the graying problem, but sanding levels the playing field, so to speak, and gives you a good even base to stain. We used a floor sander to get most of it, with an orbital sander for the corners and tight spots.

In retrospect, yes, the holes do appear to be a bit large in diameter. I don't see anywhere on the box for the screws that they are "trim head" screws. But either way, I do like the look of them.

I'm hoping to avoid sanding if it all possible. It is amazing how much the Ipe has faded just in a matter of 1 week though.

Scott

Day 5 of the build was cut short at 1:00 pm due to rain. Today the crew put down a few more deck boards, posts and ran a water line to the deck along with a couple of water spigots. One spigot will provide the water supply for the misting system, and the other one will supply irrigaiton for the planters.

Today a couple sections of the railing went up. I'm using 5/4x4 ipe on edge for the bottom rail, 5/4x4 ipe laid flat for the top rail and then 5/4x6 ipe for the cap rail. The balusters are 32" deckorators.
Almost all of the deck boards are down now. Just waiting for one more 6x6 cedar post to show up so they can construct the pergola.

The planters are in. They kind of resemble a built-in bar at the moment, but trust me, they are planters.
The crew also finished off the step in the middle of the deck and have most of the railng sections complete.

Coming along nicely!

What's that little nook section by the windows for? At first I thought that's where the door was, but it looks like it's just windows. Where IS the roof access?

Weedy, they will create a doorway out one of the existing windows - see attached picture below. This window is currenlty at the top of a stairway.
Yesterday they finished building the planter, and I had a landscape architect install an irrigation system. The final pergola post also arrived, and hopefully the pergola will take shape early next week. As far as the planters are concerned, once they were wrapped in Ipe they took on much more of a modern feel than I was hoping for.
Weedy, another question for you. There a few water marks (see picture below) on some of the deck boards. Does this need to be sanded prior to applying the TWP, or just cleaned with soapy water?

Thanks,
Scott

The pergola is up!
Now, it's just time for the finishing touches - overhead lighting, low-voltage lighting in the risers, a ceiling fan, a water-misting system... oh, and a door would be nice.

All of the finishing touches are nearly completed; door installed, water mister installed, low-voltage lighting, ceiling fan and post lighting installed.

My local urban landscape expert planted 5 burning bushes. They used an old cable-company bucket truck to get 500 lbs of soil and the plants to the 3rd story deck.
I took a ride in the bucket at the end of the day and got some really great pictures of the deck from a vantage point I wouldn't otherwise be able to acheive.

Next, I need to get a couple coats of TWP 116 stain down. After that, my landscape guy can come back and plant a wisteria in each of the large terra cotta-colored planters that are on either side of the deck. The hope is that, over time, they will grow and create a canopy over the pergola.

Details on the fan and the 2 little doors in your planter box?

Love the misters and the lighting.

Are you going to put skirting around the beams or leave the PT bare?

Looks like a great space to enjoy!

The fan is a wet-rated fan by Minka Aire. We'll see how many seasons this holds up...
One of the doors houses the automatic water irrigation manifold, as well as provides an opportunity for general storage. The other door houses the water-pump for the overhead misting system.
I am not planning on skirting the exposed PT since it's barely visible (due to the lack of a back yard).

Scotter, your roof deck is AWESOME! Some questions since I'm in your neck of the woods, and I'd love to do something similar. How will you address roof leak issues? I've always wondered. also, assuming they are local, I'm interested in your ipe installer. I'm looking at having a porch floor replaced with ipe tongue-groove next season but looking for someone ipe-experienced.

Wow! I just went through it and it came out fabulous! You thought of everything. Hope you are enjoying it.

Mags438, email me at my Garden Web username @ hotmail.com and I'll be more than happy to share the contact info of my contractor. He did a great job and the deck has held up incredibly well. Just remember, you must have a couple of feet of clearance between your porch floor and the ground below it in order to provide proper air circulation for the Ipe wood.
And roof repairs down the road will be fairly simple. We can unscrew a few deck boards to access the roof. Once removed there is a decent amount of crawl space between the bottom of the deck and the top of the roof. You can get a feel for the size this "gap" by looking at a couple pics of the deck build earlier in this GW discussion. Good luck!