Structural wood tiles are installed in a similar manner to concrete or porcelain slab pavers as explained in the videos here, although in some circumstances, because of the lighter weight of these modular decking tiles compared with concrete or porcelain pavers, additional procedures may be adopted to secure the tiles more tightly to the pedestal .

Architrex Ipe wood modular decking tiles are manufactured with a horizontal slot in each corner. The purpose of this slot is to to engage a special screw and washer hold down device. This secures the wood tiles to the Eterno supports without penetrating or damaging the wood of the tiles.

To install this fixing device, on a pedestal on which the corners of two adjacent tiles are resting, firstly ensure the tiles are perfectly level using the adjustment tool. Move the pedestal slightly towards you and insert the fastening screw into the hole in the center of the pedestal head. Screw it down until the washer is level with slot cut in the tiles. Push the pedestal back towards the tiles so the tabs on the head butt firmly against the tiles and the washer engages the slots.

Place the other two tiles with their corners resting on the pedestal, then tighten the screw with a screwdriver until all four tiles are secured tightly to the pedestal head. Note that the height adjustment tool cannot be used to adjust the height of the pedestal after the screw has been inserted, but you can still adjust the pedestal height if required by turning the pedestal base.

Ipe screw installation

SE head lock

If using the Eterno SE series pedestals with their self adjusting head, we recommend inserting the special Eterno locking collar into the center of the pedestal head to prevent movement of the head. For this reason, we normally recommend using the Eterno Maxi series pedestals when building decks with structural wood tiles since this range of pedestals features fixed heads and any required slope correction can be achieved by adding the TW150 slope compensator shims.