Rhode Island Hotel Waterfront Deck on Schedule with Decking Installation Innovation

Located along the district’s historic America’s Cup Ave., Hammetts Wharf Hotel, a three-story boutique hotel, will serve as the focal point for this ambitious mixed-use expansion. The $29 million endeavor includes 84 guest rooms, a 4000-sq.-ft. restaurant, 3000 sq. ft. of dedicated retail space and 1000 sq. ft. of office space.

Behan Bros. coordinated multiple aspects of the Newport Wharf expansion, including construction of a 20,000-sq.-ft. tropical hardwood “Ipe” horseshoe-shaped deck connected to the hotel, which will provide guests and pedestrians with sweeping views of the harbor. The resilient low-maintenance decking is three times denser than cedar, ideal for constant foot traffic and boasts similar fire ratings to concrete—but it’s not the easiest material to manipulate.

As they worked to install the sturdy decking, Behan Bros. encountered some hurdles. “When you have a remarkably dense wood that’s hard enough to blunt sawblades and shatter drill bits, the installation of Ipe decking requires strong tools and careful consideration,” explained Garrett Behan, co-owner. Another challenge for workers was the tendency of the Ipe boards to twist and dry out quickly. “Aligning and maneuvering deck boards into position with traditional tools would require a four- to six-person
crew and plenty of patience,” he added.

The Behan crew was able to initially secure the boards with the Camo Edge fastening system—the Camo Pro Guide tool that guides a Camo Edge screw into the side of the board and joist on both sides. However, the crew still struggled with aligning the Ipe boards using pipe clamps and board-straightening tools which called for several workers. Traditional straightening tools were making it nearly impossible to simultaneously fasten the deck boards.

With only several weeks remaining until the scheduled completion of Hammetts Wharf, Behan Bros. heard about a brand-new innovation from CAMO’s Greg Hartmann, called the Lever—and were able to acquire several tools practically hot off the press before the official introduction.

Designed to save time and increase installation speed using just one or two workers, Camo Lever straightens, bends and aligns while you fasten with no strain. Other wrenches and clamps do not allow space for fastening simultaneously. With almost no set-up time and one-turn operation, LEVER easily locked the deck boards into place and was an immediate hit on the Hammetts Wharf jobsite.

Equipped with the CAMO PRO Guide and LEVER, the Behan Bros. crew was able to speed up the deck installation, finishing the massive deck by mid-April.