actual size builders, inc. trip renn 8523 meadow ridge lane 919-929-9048 chapel hill, nc 27516 919-608-4564 when our frequent clients

Actual Size Builders, Inc. Trip Renn
8523 Meadow Ridge Lane 919-929-9048
Chapel Hill, NC 27516 919-608-4564
When our frequent clients, Susan Sharpe and Nancy Duffner, initiated
an extensive landscaping project in the backyard of their lovingly
remodeled (ok, by us) Carrboro, NC house, they asked us to handle the
woodwork end of things. The plans called for two curved benches and a
thirty-two foot, four-section trellis, all made out of ipe. An
archway/gate/trellis option was deemed expendable, or at least
deferrable, in the interest of the budget.
As the owner of the company, I often jokingly refer to my functions as
one, fretting, and two, saying, Yes, we can do that. Fortunately, the
high quality of my crew keeps the former to a minimum and, so far at
least, has bailed me out of the unlikely projects I have said yes to.
This project was no exception. (The landscape architect’s first
question to me was, How you gonna do it?)
My initial reaction to the somewhat sketchy plans was that it would be
a piece of cake to put a 6” bend in the middle of a 2 x 6 x 12’.
However, I didn’t take into account the resistance that ipe would
offer to that bend. When we set up a table to clamp our pieces to for
assembly, my initial attempt to bend the first 2 x 6 was the beginning
of my further education in the obstinacy of that particular species. I
clamped one end of the twelve-footer to the block on one end and when
I had brought the opposite end about half of the necessary distance to
the other end block, it whipped block number one off of the table, and
across my little shop. Clearly, I had a challenge ahead.
Again, my crew saved me from my over-optimism. They refined and
strengthened my initial clamping table concept, and began laying up
the pieces of ipe that comprise the bench: a 2 x 6 front (inner curve)
and back (outer curve) and between them, full length 1 x 4’s
alternating with 1 x 4 intermittent spacers. My brother-in-law, a fine
cabinet maker and furniture builder, has always rolled his eyes at my
meager clamp collection, saying, You never have enough clamps. He’s
right, of course and my collection was definitely improved by the
additional clamps needed for this project.
The next question we faced was, what happens when we remove all these
clamps? My reasoning went like this: For the bench to straighten
itself out, each piece of the lamination would have to move in
relation to the pieces on either side of it. Therefore, if we fasten
them securely, so that they can’t move in relation to one another, it
won’t move as a whole. When I announced this idea, I was greeted by
the sort of dead-pan, non-committal looks I occasionally receive when
my crew is thinking, He’s done it to us again.
We opted to go without glue for several reasons: ipe’s density, at
least to our minds, makes glue problematic; outdoor benches are a
demanding environment for any glue; we felt that mechanical fasteners
would do the job as well or better. Many more-talented woodworkers
will almost certainly have plenty to say about this decision, if I
know the FHB community, and they may be right.
For mechanical fasteners, we relied on ceramic-coated decking screws
in various lengths, but most layers were held in place by 2 ½” screws.
This means each 1 x 4 is fastened through to the two layers preceding
it in the lamination. Naturally, we had to pre-drill with counter-sink
bits, and anyone who knows ipe can imagine how many bits we burned up
and how many screws we broke in that demanding wood.
When the lamination was fully assembled, we enhanced the holding power
of the deck screws by adding a strategic number of 8 and 10”
structural-type screws. You’re not supposed to need pre-drilling for
those, but again, this is ipe. We had discussed through bolts from
front to back and I still like the idea, but ultimately, concealing
them would have been difficult. Also, the 2 x 6 cap on either end of
the bench seemed to offer a good amount of holding power, since we
installed it with structural screws as well.
The design called for trestle-type posts and braces under the bench.
We executed these as drawn, and used structural screws again, to hold
them to the 2 x 6 bands. The posts are fastened to the braces with 1/2
“ carriage bolts.
The benches are installed on a slate patio, with a concrete slab
beneath the slate. We coordinated with the landscaping contractor and
installed custom stainless steel angle brackets with bolts epoxied
into the concrete, which the masons then laid slate around. The 4 x
4’s bolt to these brackets and are barely, if at all, touching the
slate, for the best chance at longevity, and only a portion of the
brackets’ upright legs is visible above the slate.
After the challenge of the benches, the trellis part of the project
seemed like a walk in the park—until I consulted the landscape
architect on its construction and heard him say, Oh, they are supposed
to be rabbetted. We have constructed a latticework screen before and
rabbetted PT yellow pine so that the vertical and horizontal members
were flush and in the same plane, for a really beautiful result, but
in this case, it seemed like overkill. The proportions of the
lattice-work, the inherent beauty of the wood, and the difficulty
(translation: expense) of this process in ipe all argued against that
particular refinement. With Susan and Nancy’s blessing, we ran
vertical 2 x 3’s in front of horizontal 2 x 3’s, all framed in a 2 x 6
frame, and all supported by 4 x 4 posts. The trellis is capped by 2
strands of stainless steel cable rail. The result seems to justify the
decision to forego the rabbeted look.
All of the ipe was finished with Penofin (sp?) and all of our end cuts
received a coat of Anchor Seal, as these were the two ipe finishes
first recommended to us some 11 years ago, when, coincidentally, we
used it for the first time on Susan and Nancy’s porches.
Although I am against it in theory, we planted the posts in concrete,
+/- 2’ deep for strength. If we are still around when the posts rot, I
know I can rely on my crew to get me out of that ditch too.

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