I am replacing a very large 30 year old deck around a pool that was made from 2×3 fir on edge. I will be using , according to my client’s wishes, 2×4 Ipe on the flat with the eb-ty fastening system. The wood will be coming in air-dried at 20% moisture content. My plan is to coat the boards with an Abatron epoxy product.

My questions: Since I have a mostly closed-in, free-form area to deck, I will have to scribe and cut the boards to length, then ease-over the ends and coat the cut ends with the epoxy. Surface checking is a problem with Ipe, so should I pre-coat the boards in the garage before installation, or give them a few days on the deck to dry out? Can I leave the bottom of each board uncoated?

Thanks.