Ipe Deck Over Subway Grate
I’m about to build a steel deck with subway grate decking and am planning on attaching ipe over the subway grate after inspection in areas 3 ft away from the house. The ipe will be flush with the subway grate as we will raise the subway grate that will remain 3/4 inch. Question is what…
I’m about to build a steel deck with subway grate decking and am planning on attaching ipe over the subway grate after inspection in areas 3 ft away from the house. The ipe will be flush with the subway grate as we will raise the subway grate that will remain 3/4 inch. Question is what is the best way to attach the ipe to the subway grate? My contractor suggested attaching the ipe with screws from the bottom of the deck using heavy duty washers spot welded to the subway grate to hold the screws. The screws will be sized to penetrate the ipe from the bottom about 1/2 inch (not enough to come up through the top of the board I hope). I am not sure this seems as secure as typical method of screwing down from the top but dont think that is an option as the ipe will be floating about an inch over the joists. Any thoughts???
Thanks in advance
Just a quick clarification: the ipe vs. the 3′ setback are separate issues:
–It is true that, after brief and confused/inconsistent time during which the DoB *sometimes* allowed ipe as a non-combustible material, they definitely do not allow it now. My steel guy even says they now come in and ask people to rip up the ipe, even if their deck has been approved. So ipe instead of metal = trouble.
–The 3′ setback for combustible materials is true for a regular, freestanding deck, and you can use any kind of wood as long as you’re 3′ from any property line ipe or not, EXCEPT:
–This is not true for roof decks or decks on top of additions (still a roof deck). There, you can have a maximum of 20% of the roof surface at that level covered with combustible materials (=wood), whatever the structure.
Hope that helps.
anortherposter, try http://www.urbanexteriors.biz. He is in BK and responded to same question on another board and seems to know what he is talking about. I had the deck as part of a larger contract with my GC because i wanted him to be responsible for everything — window cur outs, stucco, etc — so didnt have the luxury of using a deck specialist
We have an ipe deck (love it) but sadly our contractor had no experience with ipe and made a bit of a mess of the installation. So if you can find someone who knows how to work with it, you’ll be ahead of the game. Definitely research the clip system — I think that’s what we should’ve used. Btw, ipe is incredibly hard so counter-sinking is almost a requirement. It will destroy regular drill bits! Also, another contractor subsequently suggested we could have made removeable duckboards out of the ipe and that would satisfy DOB requirements.
>If it is secure this way i am surprised more parlor level decks are not built this way
I believe one used to be able to use wood if 3′ from prop line, so your solution would’ve been unnecessarily expensive. I have a metal frame with wood joists and planks, installed 7 yrs ago.
Second the ipe clips, countersinking is a lot of work, but may look great if you use contrasting-wood plugs.
Since he’s willing to put in the effort to spot weld the washers, you may want to ask him about pre-drilling the holes all the way through the board, countersinking the top with 3/8 bit, dropping the screw in from the top and then glueing in plugs to cover. A bit more work but he’s going to have to pre-drill all the boards anyway, and you will never have an issue with screw threads working loose over time.
The other option would be to use pre-grooved boards and use a clip system which fits into the groove between the boards, in which a screw could be dropped and fastened from below. Google “ipe clip” to get an idea of what I’m talking about.
Important to make sure your contractor uses a sealant to coat the end-grain cuts on all the boards before screwing them down, as it doesn’t sound like you’ll ever have access again. This will prevent warping and cracking over time.
Thanks. I think boards moving is the concern and reason he suggested spot welding the washers. If it is secure this way i am surprised more parlor level decks are not built this way in BK
Dave, our contractor and architect said that the DOB (or whoever is over this) recently changed deck rules and that none of it can be made of combustible materials, which I’m told Ipe and composite are both now considered. We’re trying to get some creative solutions like this, ourselves, to put in a deck.
APB, any rec’s on someone to do this (as, in post inspection flooring)?
I suspect the contractor’s concern is if the screws loosen over time (does ipe shrink much?) while there will be no structural issues, the planking may move with traffic and look mis-aligned.
That should work fine but you don’t have to weld the washers to the grate. If they are large enough to span the grate they’ll hold without welding.
Code would have allowed you to use the ipe 3′ from the property line in the original design