School me on ipe decking

[Nick2cd]

All of a sudden im seeing all these decks built out of ipe.  Prior to joining the FOG, i had never even heard of ipe decking.  now, im hooked on the stuff and want to use it to build a deck onto my dream home someday (a ways down the road).  anyways, how is it as far as durability, weather resistance, cost, etc....? 

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

All of a sudden im seeing all these decks built out of ipe.  Prior to joining the FOG, i had never even heard of ipe decking.  now, im hooked on the stuff and want to use it to build a deck onto my dream home someday (a ways down the road).  anyways, how is it as far as durability, weather resistance, cost, etc....? 

Life spans of 50-100 years.  Nothing will touch it, no bugs, mold, mildew, rot, decay, and it is super stable.

Sun is it's only real enemy.  If you want to keep the color, you need to periodically clean it and oil it once a year or so.

Ipe VS. a top line man made decking and railing system will usually be less then the plastic stuff.

 

[Nick2cd]

how does one go about cleaning it?  pressure washer?

 

[lambeater]

All of a sudden im seeing all these decks built out of ipe.  Prior to joining the FOG, i had never even heard of ipe decking.  now, im hooked on the stuff and want to use it to build a deck onto my dream home someday (a ways down the road).  anyways, how is it as far as durability, weather resistance, cost, etc....? 

I built my deck out of Cumaru, a little cheaper but similar type of deck. Boards tend to be nice, straight and stay flat, (no real cupping). Wood has almost the same fire rating as concrete, so if your house burns your deck will still be there. Cut, sanded,  pre drilled and oiled all my boards before installing. Used stainless 316- 3" torx screws to secure boards, although you can use hidden fasteners. I pressure wash deck before the start of each summer then brush on about a gallon of Penofin rosewood oil, brings my deck but to a nice color. Only takes about 3hrs to oil and wipe off excess.

thx
Lambeater

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

how does one go about cleaning it?  pressure washer?

I refuse to use a pressure washer on anything wood.

I use a product from Messmer's and just use a stiff bristled scrub brush on a long handle.

 

[bullieblue]

Ipe' is an extremely durable wood, doesn't rot and termites don't like it either. The wood is even given a fire rating of class A (the same as steel or concrete)

Keep in mind that the dust and oils from Ipe wood are allergenic and toxic. You should always wear  breathing protection when working with hardwoods but even more so with Ipe'.

With the wood being so dense it will dull your tools quickly and you will probably need to pre-drill for you fasteners.

Post some pictures when you get it complete.

 

[Kevin Stricker]

Although it does not apply to decking per se, it is good to know that Ipe is not a species of wood, rather a general class of hardwoods containing lapacho.  Anyways, why this is relevant to woodworkers is that lapacho is a chemical that destroys glue bonds as it leeches to the surface of the wood, so any glue joint over time is pretty much guaranteed to fail.  There have been lots of tests done with lots of different glues, some work well for days or weeks others fail to take at all.  Here is a good discussion on the topic at Woodweb

So just remember to use mechanical fasteners when working with Ipe, you just might want to skip the glue altogether and save yourself some time and money.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I have had good luck with TBIII.  Fresh cut and glue or wipe down with acetone.

I made a gate and fence out of Ipe and I used West systems Six10 epoxy for it.

 

[jacko9]

I built my deck out of Red Balau it's similar to Ipe and I have had it installed for 12 years now with no problems.  I coat it with Sun Frog clear deck sealer twice a year (when I remember).  The decking I used was a little over 1" thick and is rock solid spanning 24".  This is a 50 to 100 year deck and is much cheaper (total price) than the two redwood decks that I had installed previously over the past 44 years.

If your going to use screws to hold down the decking, use stainless steel screws and pre drill with oversized holes and wax each screw.

Jack

 

[City Properties Inc]

how does one go about cleaning it?  pressure washer?

I refuse to use a pressure washer on anything wood.

I use a product from Messmer's and just use a stiff bristled scrub brush on a long handle.

I too would never pw or should say did. We usually just sand them.
I just power washed my 1st deck ever. it was IPE and about 6years old and was growing what looked like pond scum something on it.
Know keep in mind it's a lil electric washer that has about 1000psi. We only use for roof top washes prior to a white coat.  The decking came out great. It had that perfect silvery grey but super clean. I'll send over a pict tomorrow.

 

[BUTTER]

Although it does not apply to decking per se, it is good to know that Ipe is not a species of wood, rather a general class of hardwoods containing lapacho.  Anyways, why this is relevant to woodworkers is that lapacho is a chemical that destroys glue bonds as it leeches to the surface of the wood, so any glue joint over time is pretty much guaranteed to fail.  There have been lots of tests done with lots of different glues, some work well for days or weeks others fail to take at all.  Here is a good discussion on the topic at Woodweb

So just remember to use mechanical fasteners when working with Ipe, you just might want to skip the glue altogether and save yourself some time and money.

Thanks for the Woodweb reference!

In addition to everything else said here, allow me to warn you away from the hidden fastener systems, ESPECIALLY if it's a first-floor deck.  I have seen some spectacular movement with ipe that has torn itself away from the clip systems. 

Also, fully pre-drill, because no screw will fully sink itself in ipe.
And, of course, seal all endcuts with Anchorseal or similar wax sealer.