source: chezerbey.com
Sometimes you Google your own company and find a gem! We found this great Ipe deck build chronicle put together by Lauren and Kyle Zerbey from 2011. It chronicles their own Ipe deck build and all the steps they went through.
Here is a little bio about the couple:
We met as first year architecture students in 2000 and became an official studio couple by 2001. Although we both grew up near Tulsa, after graduating in 2004 we decided to move to Seattle. We soon found that we liked each other even more when we weren’t pulling all-nighters and surviving off Easy Mac, so we decided to get married. Then we got a dog (Bailey, our big-headed golden retriever). Shortly thereafter, we did what any young architect couple feels compelled to do – we bought a crappy old house. In 2006, after six months of searching and six different offers on other houses, we closed on our fixer-upper and have since been immersed in the remodel, retrofit, and reconstruction of what we have affectionately named chezerbey.
So they definitely know what they’re doing with planning and designing being architects but that doesn’t mean that you can do something similar. It is a great reference just so you can see the steps involved for building your own deck.
Here is their Site Plan which shows the layout and location of the deck on the lot.
They spread their build log over a few posts so we are going to link to then in order so it is easy to follow along.
First, they put in the Deck footings and Supports.
source: chezerbey.com
Second, they prepped the under deck area and all of the support structures.
source: chezerbey.com
Next, they started installing the ipe decking using a top drill method.
source: chezerbey.com
Finally, they finished laying all of the Ipe decking and added a Penofin for hardwoods finish for the final reveal. It Does look great!
source: chezerbey.com
Hopefully this is helpful to any DIY types looking to understand all of the steps needed to build you own Ipe deck. We love to see people’s work, so please share you experience and below in the comments or reach out to us and we might even post about your project in our blog!