Hello guys,
I’v been asked by a client to design a deck with probably a matching pergola above, as a side area to an existing patio on which to situate a hot-tub.
Because of the water, i had thought about Millboard but with no possibility of matching wood to the pergola, have ruled this out. That leaves hardwood and i was therefore thinking of Ipe. If it was you, and you had to find one wood suitable for both a deck and building a quality pergola, what would your choice be and what supplier would you use for the timber?
I appreciate that this deck will require some care and annual maintenance, but the whole thing will need to be of a piece and using hardwood will also make it possible to countersink mini LED lights into the pergola cross-members.
The deck will be at ground level rather than raised – by which i mean the bottom of the support joists will be at ground level with the deck surface around 180mm above the patio level – anticipating a single step up from patio to hot tub. This is currently laid to lawn. Deck will be around 4m x 4-6m – haven’t designed it yet.