Hi Chris,

I face screw all of my Ipe decking. I set the screws about 1/2" from the edge. At the end of the boards, I set them about 3/4" in...that should hit the middle of a joist. If your boards cantilever past the rim joist, set the screws so that they hit the rim joist in the middle. When my decks are longer than my Ipe, and I need to butt the boards, I double up the joists, so that the butt ends land on their own joist.
Be careful when screwing near the end of a board. If you aren't, they can easily split.

steve

Thanks Steve. I'm going to make a drilling template that registers on the joist so all my holes line up... and it'll simplify and speed up the process. My deck is roughly 35' x 14' with the decking running in the 35' direction. I'm running 12' boards and where the butt joint would be I'm running a 14' board perpendicular. The 14' board also lines up with the 4x4 railing post which is inboard of the rim joist because we're using horizontal cable rail... the joist layout is getting a little complicated but I'm almost done with it. What do you think of the Simpson Strong Tie products for anchoring the railing post to the joist? I initially was planning to block in the post and run 1/2" bolts through the rim joist, 4x4, and blocking but now I don't know if that's adequate. They're pretty spendy and I'm wondering if I could have a local sheet metal fabricator I use at work (I'm a mechanical engineer) form similar brackets out of 14 gauge stainless for about the same cost or maybe even less considering the qty I'll need.

Unless the plans call for the rail posts to be fastened to the rim joist,or the Wallet wants a little more deck space, We always place them inside with blocking,adhesive,and ss screws. There is never a need to run bolts thru the posts that cause many problems all to themself.

I have gone to using post wraps latley on an ipe job. Riping down two pt 2x4's so the post is 3'' x 3'' after lamation these posts are fastened inside the rim. I make the ipe post wrap from 1x4 and 1x6. This gives a fair amount of adjustment. Its a nice look with a 1/4'' reveal on two sides as well a several other advantages over using a solid 4x4 ipe post.

Any of the Simpson product can be duplicated by a good welder / fabricator for less money and out of thicker material. Example >> My local hotrod welder makes 3/8'' thick steel post brackets 16'' high for 6x6 upright posts,all holes predriled with two sided gussets for around $50 This sounds like a well thought out project Chris, If you keep thinking before you nail I am thinking it will be a show stoper.

John Hyatt www.deckmastersllc.com

Chris,

If I understand correctly, you're going to butt all of the decking into a couple of perpendicular boards, instead of butting them into each other? That'll make installation a lot easier, as Ipe 1x6's aren't actually 5 1/2" wide. Some are, but you'll find that they range between 5 1/4"-5 9/16"...mostly around 5 3/8". So that makes it difficult to butt exact boards to each other. I work with a digital caliper, and have my table saw there to rip the wider boards down to match.
I know that that as an engineer, you want to make a jig to simplify the screw placement. I've made a few, but because of the discrepancy of the board widths, it's hard to be precise.

Make sure you round over the butt ends to match the radiused edges of the perpendicular boards.

Like John, I also block in my rail posts, and fasten with screws and pl premium adhesive. Makes for a very strong railing.

steve

Have you considered running a few boards down to "break" up the design. Rather than having the boards then butt together you can place one board parallel to the joists every 10, 12 or whatever feet.

The deck we are building will have a picture frame boarder and one breaker board down the middle, then the boards can all be shorter and no butt joints. The guy at the ipe supplier told me that they will vary in the width - depending on how much they have dried out - so not having to find two that are similar in width might help.

Granted he said that the same thing can happen with PT decks as well.

Hey Matt,
Your idea is exactly what we're planning. Our deck is approx. 35 ft long in the direction the decking is running. We are doing the picture frame border and adding two deck boards perpendicular to the rest of the decking in equal spaces so it's essentially three sections around 12 feet. The bulk of the decking boards are 12 ft with the ends trimmed. There are no butt joints which should make any width variation a non-issue.

Chris,
Where did you end up sourcing your IPE, and were you happy with the quality you received?

I purchased from Advantage Lumber. I think it's good but I haven't worked with Ipe before so am only judging that based on the color consistency and straightness of the lumber. I have the lumber stickered in the garage right now and am planning to go through it in more detail in the coming weeks to see if I need any replacement pieces. From what I've read Advantage has a pretty good reputation. I received quotes from 6 or 7 sources and they were the best price and also very helpful on the phone.

Chris