Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 30, 2000 07:15pm | #6

   *
   Just finished fastening the ipe with # 7 2 1/2" screws, countersunk
   3/8" , and into hem-fir treated. Has anyone else felt like there was
   insufficient bite at the end of the torqueing? I changed to # 8's, but
   they didn't respond much better, with many screws spinning
   helplessly when they should have been gettin' snug. Anybody
   suffered callbacks from sprung/loose planks?

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 24, 2000 07:49am | #1

   *b TVMDCThe screw should be 2X the plank thickness and only threaded in the lower half: if your are using 5/4 Ipe, a 2-1/2" screw should be fine though I prefer 3".What thickness Ipe were your using?

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 25, 2000 04:42pm | #2

   *Bill, 1x ipe, with 2 1/2" bottom threaded screws. My concern is that with about 25% of these screws feeling as if they had no real bite, I've got potential problems with freezing expansion. These screws had a relatively fine thread pitch and thread depth that seemed unappropriate for decking, nothing at all like a flooring screw (quick drive, for example). They were, though, the screw type that was sold by both suppliers of the ipe. Does the cca treatment process in some way soften the wood fiber?

1. 
   Russell_Schrader | Jul 26, 2000 09:07am | #3

   *I believe the problem lies in the fineness of the threads on your screws. In my experience,I have found that fine threads on screws power driven into softwood (pressure treated or not) will leave you a very clean walled thin hole if you only just lift them out. Sometimes,if a supplier only offers one type of fastener, it becomes THE recommended item.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 27, 2000 03:47am | #4

   *b TVMDCNathan, check out McFeelys Square Drive Screws, phone 1-800-443-7937. I use their type 305 Auger Point whose bottom threads are very deep and coarse with only 8 TPI. Replace what you have installed with the next bigger size in order to get a bite on the wood below, i.e., use 10's for 8's, 12's for 10's. You may have to slightly enlarge the holes in the Ipe but before you drill it, test the Auger thread in the Ipe, it might just cut through it. Also, use 3" length which for a #10 is part # 1030FA5, $18.02/100.Please advise your results.

2. 
   Guest_ | Jul 28, 2000 08:31am | #5

   *Bill, I'd love to do everything you just said, however I was having the apprentice cut tapered plugs and installing them as we went. There are about 1,000 plugged and sanded holes here. Would you pry out plugs and rescrew? Live in the Northwest, with only one period brief freeze per year.Also, the link is a dead end. Thanks, though for the feedback.

3. 
   Guest_ | Jul 30, 2000 07:15pm | #7

   *b TVMDCNathan, Since you've plugged the screws, you have 2 options:If the underside is accessible, you can install L-shaped deck brackets which use a short screw at a 45 degree angle into the deck and a longer one @ 45 into the joist.If the underside is not accessible, you can drill and plug additional screws as recommended above but maybe only 1/3 of what is already installed.McFeelys link is http://www.mcfeelys.com/