• 
  • Carpentry
  • Plumbing & Wiring
  • Energy Efficiency
  • Kitchen & Bath
  • Building Codes
  • Interior Finish
  • Foundations & Masonry
  • Building Plans
  • DVDs
  • Magazine Archives
• 
  • Digital Issues
  • Member Home
• 
  • Subscribe
  • Renew
  • Gift Subscription
  • Current Issue
  • Magazine Extras
  • Magazine Index
  • Advertiser Marketplace

Curved Ipe Deck

hipaul, member

16 users recommend

Curved ipe deck

Paul Johnson

Side view

Paul Johnson

Beautiful curve

Paul Johnson

Front view

Paul Johnson

A nice shot of the curve (pre-penofin)

Paul Johnson

Curved ipe deck

Photo: Paul Johnson

Add Comment
Print

This is a small but beautiful curved Ipe deck I just finished as part of a larger mudroom/deck/basement remodel for a great repeat client.

The deck is built out of FSC certified Ipe bought through a local sustainable materials supplier.

To make the curved parts I built a trammel to find all the different radii of each of the pieces (2 different border pieces, top rail, and sub and bottom rail); I traced the radii onto 3/4" sheets of plywood to make my bending forms. I then color matched pieces of Ipe to find the best pattern and color, and ripped them down into 1/4" strips. The strips were laminated together with a 2-part structural epoxy and clamped on the bending form overnight to cure.

I then took them to my millwork shop and had them sanded down smooth. I also had them bandsaw the front apron (skirt) pieces into 1/4" x 5 1/2" thin boards so that I could easily bend those along the front of the deck.

I finished the deck with Penofin and will re-coat it in another month or two in order to make sure that it is well protected for the first year before needing to re-coat it again.

I have to give credit to a great client who understands, and is willing to pay for, the value of having something beautiful built for her!

Add Comment Print

Drawing and Ellipse-ish... A Better, Better Way

Back to List

Log Siding

Comments (14)

TonyCOC writes: Thanks Paul.
A friend at work has been talking about building a ipe deck with a curved railing. When I emailed the link to yours he was
impressed and wanted to know the type of epoxy and would ask me everyday if you had answered.
Tony
Posted: 9:21 pm on September 11th

hipaul writes: Tony,

I used System three T-88 structural epoxy on the glue-lams but I'm not going to recommend it until I've seen it in action for quite a while. My millwork shop told me that they had some of that epoxy fail after 2 years on an interior glue-up of some Cumaru (they told me after I'd already done mine). I'd probably recommend West systems since that seems to be the go-to epoxy of choice for boat builders and other high-performance exotic glue-ups, but System 3 is what's available locally around here.

Paul
Posted: 12:32 am on September 4th

TonyCOC writes: Could you please tell me what Brand epoxy you used?
Thanks, Tony
Posted: 12:13 am on August 31st

meinecke writes: mint work
craftsmanship of this calibre should be showcased more in fhb


Posted: 11:46 pm on August 9th

Huck writes: boparks - "we're not building furniture, we're building a deck" - ROFLMAO!!

very nice work, BTW!
Posted: 7:52 pm on August 7th

sunking writes: Very cool! And I have to say it looks like a fine piece of furniture on the outside of the house- good work!
Posted: 12:43 am on July 30th

hipaul writes: BW,

Yes, I put up the deck pictures before any of the rest of the remodel got underway. There's a new door there now, and a new paint job on the way as well as the rest of the interior remodeling. As my house painter said when he came by the other day, it looks like a shiny new bumper on an old dodge truck!


Posted: 10:44 pm on July 29th

bwbuilds writes: I applaud your skill with such a difficult material, especially with regard to the curves and all the headaches associated with building curved structures. However, one of my first thoughts while looking at the photo was that the design of the deck seemed slightly out of character with it's host structure. Perhaps it will blend in a bit better once weathered... Was that considered during your design phase?
Posted: 10:18 am on July 29th

hipaul writes: Thanks Jamie,

Ipe is tough to keep finished. I plan on reapplying the finish when I'm done with the rest of this project in a few weeks. Most of the Ipe comes here air-dried so there's still a lot of moisture in the wood. This, coupled with its extreme density means that the finish doesn't last very long at first. It basically gets hammered from both inside and outside the wood.
After a while, the MC of the wood will equalize somewhat, and it'll take the finish a little bit better and last a little longer.
The other thing is that when you sand the wood you release the natural oils and that prevents the finish from adhering so well. So it's better not to apply finish right after sanding. I still did, even after sanding all the curved parts down, but I couldn't wait to see how beautiful the wood would look, and planned on reapplying the finish after a few months anyway so I went for it.

Paul
Posted: 12:24 am on July 24th

hipaul writes: Thanks Robyn,
Yes, the window already has become a door. A nice 15-lite to match the existing home.

The mudroom/pantry has been reframed, the stairs have been rebuilt to the basement, the basement has gained a new entry room at the bottom of the stairs so that the basement and upstairs will be thermally insulated from each other during the winter.

New side door + new side window have been installed. I'm currently working on reinstalling the beaded panelling now that I got it reframed. New flooring will go in, new sheetrock and/or plaster will go up, new lights all over, new plugs, I'm building in a pantry area with a multifunction mudroom capability as well.

And at the last minute I'll open up the wall between the kitchen and mudroom so that the whole thing is nice and open and she'll be able to look at her lovely deck and backyard while cooking dinner. She works from home, so is often down in the kitchen area. I wanted to keep them separated still while I'm working so I opened up the back side, reframed it from there without disturbing the old plaster on the kitchen side, and then will cut out the plaster and trim out the opening when most of the work is done so that I'm not disrupting her lifestyle too much. It gives her more comfort and privacy while I'm working, and gives me more comfort and privacy while I'm working, not to mention better dust and sound control.

Paul
Posted: 12:17 am on July 24th

Jamwats writes: Paul, that is beautiful work. Congrats on finding clients willing to pay for and appreciate projects like that. I also used Penofin on an ipe T&G porch floor that was covered and screened in (south exposure). Just a suggestion on refinishing - I found that the ipe turned gray much quicker than I expected. If left for too long, it requires some sanding to get back to the dark brown wood. Since yours is so exposed and has some complex shapes, you may want to keep an eye on it to avoid some of that sanding work. I would check on it every few months for the first year. Again, great job!

Jamie
Posted: 6:48 pm on July 23rd

RDA writes: hipaul, Indeed, you've done beautiful work here. Right now, the deck is very nook-like, so I'm not suprised you found your client uses it as her breakfast spot. What's next? Will the window we see in the photos become a door? Again, nice work. - Robyn
Posted: 1:54 pm on July 23rd

hipaul writes: Thanks Bobby,

I really like when something fits just right. This backyard is small enough and the access cramped enough that it was begging for a curved deck (actually I was begging to build a curved deck, had wanted to for a while!). It's a very small deck, and like you said very simple and clean. It lets the beauty of the wood and the graceful curve speak for themselves.

I came around the corner this morning and the client was sitting there eating her breakfast on the deck and it made my day. She had set a small table and 2 chairs up right in the prow (I know it's not really a prow, but somehow it's fitting) and was enjoying the peacefulness of the morning there.

I've been really enjoying building decks lately. And like you said, there's so many "decks" out there, it's nice to be able to give it a little something extra. So coming from someone else who builds a lot more than just "decks" your compliment is very well taken!
Posted: 2:13 am on July 22nd

boparks writes: Paul, that is fantastic looking work and is the exception to the the coined phrase "we're not building furniture, we're building a deck" lol

This has that type of quality appearance.

Very clean, neat and stylish combined with excellent craftsmanship.

Hats off to you.


Bobby
Posted: 6:19 pm on July 21st

You must be logged in to post comments. Click here to login.