Fastening ipe without pre-drilling
Split boards at the ends, immediately and permanently, in the most expensive material on the job.
Avoided by: Pre-drilling every hole. There is no exception to this.
Decks
Ipe-class hardwood deck
Exterior deck in a dense tropical hardwood, detailed for Ontario's freeze-thaw cycle and fastened so the boards can move without splitting.
When this is the job
A deck rebuild where the owner wants a material that will outlast pressure-treated softwood and is prepared to pay for it. The species is the easy decision; the detailing is what decides whether it lasts.
Also called: ipe deck Toronto · hardwood deck installation GTA · exotic hardwood decking
Published band
From $28–$48 / sq ft for ipe-class decks
HST extra. A range, not a quote — a firm number follows a moisture reading on site.
Worked example
$13,523 – $19,184
420 sq ft ipe deck, Burlington · 1–2 weeks
Typical specification
- Dense tropical hardwood, ipe or equivalent — pre-drilled at every fastener without exception
- Hidden fasteners or stainless, sized for movement
- Ventilated substructure with drainage designed in
- Ends sealed on every cut before installation
Sequence of work
- 1Assess and correct the substructure; the boards will outlast it otherwise.
- 2Design drainage and ventilation before laying anything.
- 3Pre-drill every fastener point. Ipe splits without it, every time.
- 4Seal every cut end as it is made, not at the end of the day.
- 5Fasten for movement, and set the gap for the season it is being installed in.
What goes wrong
The part of a hardwood job that costs money is rarely the part in the quote. These are the failures that produce a second invoice.
Cut ends left unsealed
Checking and splitting at the end grain through the first freeze-thaw cycle.
Avoided by: Sealing each cut as it is made.
Board gap set without regard to the season of installation
A deck laid tight in a dry winter buckles in July; one laid wide in a wet summer gaps badly in January.
Avoided by: Setting the gap for the moisture content at installation, against the seasonal range.
Related
Is this your job?
City, service and size gives you a 2026 GTA band in about twenty seconds. We lock a number only after a moisture reading.