Brentwood deck
Posted: June 28, 2010, 10:55 am

This is a deck I built in Brentwood, CA. The previous deck had rotted which is not surprising considering its proximity to the pool. Also not surprising was the homeowner's concern that the new one would do the same. The solution was to use a wood called Ipe'. This super hard South American wood is so dense it does not even float. In fact to quell the concerns of the homeowners I put a piece in the deep end of their pool for the duration of the project (about 3 ½ weeks) and at the end I took it out and cut it in half to show them how much the water had penetrated the wood. To even my surprise no more than 1/32 of the outside layer of wood was saturated with water. This is a wood that is clearly impervious to wet environments. Needless to say they were more than happy with the job I did. The wood however is quite expensive at about $3.50 a linear ft. and is rather difficult to work with as it is so hard and the dust from cutting it is pretty harsh on the lungs without a mask and the eyes without goggles. Not a fun project but the result is a very nice deck that will last a long time so the gratification is more than worth it.