What do you think of using tabebuia for a wood deck? There was another thread (about wood vs. plastic) where it was discussed briefly. Is there any particular kind of tabebuia that is recommended?
Any thoughts on tabebuia for a deck?
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I just finished my deck next to my pool. I used tigerwood from Advantage Lumber. It is about half the price of Ipe. It has a lot of wild graining in it. Looks beautiful. Regardless of which South American lumber you use, you should face screw it with stainless steel headcoat screws. (Pre drill and countersink.) Use TWP, repeat TWP for the stain/sealer. I also used end grain sealer for all cuts. Used presure treated 4X4 for posts, but did not want to screw hardwood into the preasure treated joists. Instead I ordered 2X10 douglas fir from the loccal lumber yard.
Gardenweb.com has a forum for decks and porches. There are alot of homeowners and contractors that frequent that site and there is much info on hardwood decks. John is very experienced and insistant in some cases. I followed all his answers and used his information to build my own deck. It seems that he is right about everything.
My deck is 12X26 and buts up to the pool.
Tigerwood 1X6 $2100
Headcoat screws $425 including two smart bits for pre drilling and countersinking.
Twp stain $48 2 gals. have 1 gal left for second coat this fall.
Carrage bolts $100
Framing lumber $1100 double joisted everything. post 6ft span, joinsts 16inches on center. used 41 posts
for this size deck
Todd
Gardenweb.com has a forum for decks and porches. There are alot of homeowners and contractors that frequent that site and there is much info on hardwood decks. John is very experienced and insistant in some cases. I followed all his answers and used his information to build my own deck. It seems that he is right about everything.
My deck is 12X26 and buts up to the pool.
Tigerwood 1X6 $2100
Headcoat screws $425 including two smart bits for pre drilling and countersinking.
Twp stain $48 2 gals. have 1 gal left for second coat this fall.
Carrage bolts $100
Framing lumber $1100 double joisted everything. post 6ft span, joinsts 16inches on center. used 41 posts
for this size deck
Todd
Looks pretty cool! Yes expensive it does look. How does it hold up with the weather?
As a professional deck builder & LGC, my first recommendation (and what I plan to upgrade to) is Ipe. There are a lot of other tropical hardwoods out there. Mahogany, Camberra, Cumaru, Teak, Purpleheart, and many others. ALL will turn gray in sunlight unless protected by a uv inhibited sealer. TWP is great - and first choice - for pressure treated southern yellow pine. Sikkens or Cabot Australian timber oil is a better choice for tropicals. The natural oils in the tropicals aren't very compatible with any stains/sealers than aren't specifically formulated for them. Tigerwood isn't as dense as Ipe, but very pretty. It doesn't get as hot as other hardwoods, either. Post some pix, please. And some more later in the fall. It would be interesting to see if it changes any.
I lived in Brazil from 1980 to 1993 and we used ipé for a number of projects, including a fantastic deck at our weekend mountain cabin outside São Paulo. (No need for a pool as we just dammed a mountain stream for a natural pool.) I think it lasted almost twenty years before we replaced the boards and this is in a sub-tropical mountain climate. Ipé is amazingly durable and immune to rot. Eventually it dries out and starts to splinter and crack. It turns a nice silver gray. Ipé really is not expensive in Brazil as raw wood. It is just expensive to transport and really a pain to build with. It laughs at normal power saws and drills. We put holes in it with hand augurs and fastened it into concrete supports with stainless lag bolts. Avoid any knots because the board will twist on you as it dries up if it is not clear.
I actually built a shower with a 20 foot piece of bamboo that shot a stream of water that fell about 18' onto an ipé board platform. Those boards took aggressive pounding from water 24/7/365 and lasted 4 or 5 years before I had to change them--untreated in any way.
Ours was never really smooth but it was not at all polished to begin with. I doubt you could get it to the smoothness of teak. You just can't work it.
I actually built a shower with a 20 foot piece of bamboo that shot a stream of water that fell about 18' onto an ipé board platform. Those boards took aggressive pounding from water 24/7/365 and lasted 4 or 5 years before I had to change them--untreated in any way.
Ours was never really smooth but it was not at all polished to begin with. I doubt you could get it to the smoothness of teak. You just can't work it.
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