Ipe Decking Cost Including Fitting

A deck is a great addition to any home. Ask anyone who has one and they’ll confirm that. Adding great socialising and outside living space to any home, a decking project deserves to be well planned as well as well executed and well enjoyed!

In this article, we’ll explore ipe decking and the cost of ipe decking including fitting in order to help you decide if this might be the best option for your project.

What is ipe decking?

Ipe is a hardwood and as such is a great decking solution. Ipe is a wood that typically hales from South America. It’s a yellowy olive to dark olive colour, making it highly appealing as a decking choice. Add to its stunning natural colouring, the fact that it ages particularly nicely, its natural resistance to insects, fire and its durability and you can see why so many people choose ipe as their decking solution.

The benefits of ipe decking

Ipe is a really tough hardwood. In fact it is so tough that it’s often called ironwood. What this means is that no matter how tough your climate is or how high your decking footfall is, ipe is unlikely to bat an eyelid. Being outside year round is hard going for a deck. Add to this the weight of decking furnishings, plant pots and people and the need for a wood that will stand up to everything life throws at it is clear. Ipe can take all this stuff in its stride and will still look great in the end.

How to measure your deck

It couldn’t be easier to work out how much decking you will need. All you need to do is measure the area of the location to be decked and then calculate the amount of wooden decking you’ll need. You do this by multiplying the width of the deck by the length of the deck. This will let you know how many square meters of decking you need. Once you have the total, you should add between 5 and 10% for wastage. In fact, there is even a surface calculator on our website, which you will see on all our decking product pages.

How to calculate the price of your deck

There are two different ways on our site to calculate the price of your deck. The first is by entering the width and length of your deck into the surface calculator that you’ll find on each decking product page. If you go this route, the calculator will pre-populate the number of packs of decking, or square meters of decking you’ll need. This removes any doubt and will ensure that you order the correct amount. Alternatively, if you already know how many square meters your deck is, then all you need to do is enter the figure in the m² box on the site. That way, the site will calculate how many packs you need and tell you the price. At the moment, we have prices ranging from just under £67 per m² to just over £85 m², so there really is an accessible option for everyone.

Other things you need to consider when calculating the price of your deck

When planning the total cost of your deck, you should also allow for:

• Preparing the ground. While this mightn’t be a major job, if there are likely to be any costly elements to getting the ground ready eg. moving drainage or access points, you’d be foolish not to include these.
• The framework for your deck. It is likely that your deck will be able to sit neatly on a box frame, in which case you need to cost for the construction of that box frame. If your deck is to be raised, you’ll need to allow for the raised pillars as well as a suitable box frame to hold your deck.
• Your decking will need to lie over joists and these should be allowed for in your project costing.
• Noggins, screws, framework or balustrades. Noggins and screws are pretty standard, but how you edge your deck or make it secure by adding the likes of a balustrade will depend on the design. Like most things in life, these can be as simple or as elaborate as you want them to be, so in terms of cost, you should be able to cut your cloth pretty much to suit your budget.

If all else fails, get the professionals in

If the notion of fitting your deck yourself makes you want to run for the hills, then the best plan is to call in the professionals. While it’s tough to give any sort of accurate cost for fitting an ipe deck, in our experience, if you allow for somewhere in the region of £23per m², you won’t go far wrong. However, that said it is really important to insist that the fitter visits your home before agreeing to any final quote as there could be aspects of the job that aren’t apparent on initial examination.

If you’d like help to choose the right decking option for your project, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’re here to help.