Garapa Deck DIY

10 years ago

Hi,

My name is Nate. I have been planning on tearing down my old deck since i bought my house a couple years ago so that I can build a better one (and safer -- the current one stands 8' high and the ledger is nailed over the siding). I think that i have done my homework, both in these forums and on other sites. I have a decent amount of experience with DIY and woodworking, and I will be receiving help from a buddy, who is a pro concrete forms guy. I am first posting here to have any of the pros or experienced deck DIY guys take a look and make sure that the details of my plans make sense and ask a few questions about the guard rail. I plan on keeping this thread updated with progress and pictures later on as I tackle this project.

Decking - 5/4 Garapa from East Teak. I am planning on using the starborn pro plug system (buying extra bits too) to face screw and plug. Anyone have experience with these? The headcotes seem to get a fair amount of love, so i am assuming this product is pretty decent. I understand it might not be the most cost effective for a pro, but for a one-time diy, it seems like a good choice. Any input on this? I figure other options are ordering plugs from east teak or making my own (i do have a drill press). Having to use multiple bits should not really be a drawback, between my buddy and i we will have 4 drills and 4 drivers.

Guard rail - I am torn on this. I do know i plan on using the aluminum dekorators balusters. But I can't decide on the posts and rails. First thought is just to use Garapa for posts and rails with the black dekorators, but i really like the look of white posts, balusters, and rails with a garapa cap. What would be the best wood for the posts and rails if i were to paint them white? If i paint WRC, will that be a pita to maintain (how often would i be re-painting)? I figure it wouldn't be terrible since it would only be the rails and posts. Also does Garapa machine well enough to route a small edge profile in the rail cap with a 3hp on a table or i will that be a pita?

Comments (9)

weedyacres
10 years ago
East Teak: check

Screw and plug: check

We did garapa posts and rails with Dekorator balusters. If you're going white, what about using vinyl? Painting balusters every few years will be a PITA. Can't speak for what wood would hold paint best outdoors. None would be great.

Routering garapa: no problem. I did that on a few boards where I had to rip them narrower, to "restore" factory-like edges.
blu3fin
Original Author
10 years ago
Hi Weedy! I really like your deck - i hope the second staining has held up. I am thinking of letting mine go grey - it reminds me of teak boat decking. Did you glue up the the miters on your picture framing? Did you leave any space where your boards butt up to your picture frame?
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weedyacres
10 years ago
I didn't glue the miters, and they have separated a bit. I did leave about 1/8" space between the boards and picture framing, so that it would be uniform looking.
blu3fin
Original Author
10 years ago
Weedy,

Thanks for the responses and your awesome threads from your deck build. One more question - Did you use cedar posts and rails? How did it match the garapa in person (sometimes pictures don't tell the whole story)? I am now considering using cedar posts and rails, with black dekorators, and a garapa cap rail.
weedyacres
10 years ago
Our railings were made of a mixture: we used both the 6x6 cedar pergola posts and garapa 4x4 posts. The railings were 2x4 garapa with a 2x6 garapa cap rail.

The actual wood didn't particularly match, but we used TWP dark oak on the garapa and One Time clove brown on the cedar and they look fine together.
blu3fin
Original Author
10 years ago
I am very happy with the garapa so far - we'll see how it holds up. Got the lumber from east teak, and it was great. Also, they were very easy to work with. Finished with Penofin Marine, which looks very nice, but we'll see how it holds up. Also, yes, I screwed up and ended up putting 3 posts in a clusterfck near the stairs. Ended up with deckorators, trex post sleeves and caps, cedar sub rail and lower rail (painted) and garapa top rail.
blu3fin
Original Author
10 years ago
Just another photo of the deck ...
weedyacres
10 years ago
Looks nice! How many coats of penofin did you put on it?
blu3fin
Original Author
10 years ago
Only 1 coat. I followed the directions on penofin website, and was very careful to wipe it down well. I am planning on doing another coat in the spring.