Ipe
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Ipe (pronounced EE-pay) is a Brazilian hardwood
that has excellent properties for outdoor applications. It s extremely durable,
weathers well and is very hard. It is
commonly used on higher end decks and in commercial applications where
longevity to harsh environments is a design consideration. It’s a very hard
material that is approx 8 times harder than California redwood.
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Other materials that are contain
similar properties to Ipe include Garapa, Massaranduba, Cumaru, and Tigerwood. Each of these have some unique
characteristics.
Where to Buy
- Many places on the internet sell Ipe and other Brazilian
hardwoods. Some of the more popular
places include:
Pricing
- Shop around,
use the sources above and check locally. Buy from someone with a good turnover of
material.
- Buy your Pressure Treated material from a lumber
yard. You should be able to getter
better material with higher levels of corrosion treatment than Home Depot or
Lowes for roughly the same price.
Hidden Fasteners
- This is a subject with a lot of
controversy. On both Gardenweb and the
Contractortalk websites, the consensus from the pros is to stay away from the
edge and bottom mounts. I understand Tiger
Claw has released a new product that is getting better reviews but has not
stood the test of time yet.
- Bottom line, screw from the top. Use plugs if you want that perfect
finish. The headcote and trim screws
have a small head that looks fine to most. Plugs can be bought from the suppliers
noted above. I bought some from East Teak and they were
delivered very quickly and were reasonably priced.
Finishing
- Make sure you use a stain made for Ipe. Ipe is a dense material that does not take
regular stain well. Make sure the stain
contains UV protection for maximum protection.
Apply with a stain pad or brush.
Make sure you remove excess material after 15 minutes (may show up as
shiny pools of liquid)
- Sand with 50 or 60 grit rotary palm sander on any
bad spots prior to staining
- If you have lots of plugs, consider using a
multimaster to cut plugs before sanding (an excuse to buy a new tool) otherwise a belt sander/palm sander works
fine
- If you need to clean up an old finish or want to
restore the original color, you need to use a mild stripper followed up by an
oxalic acid (sometimes called brightener).
Woodrich and Sunbrite sell materials for this that are relatively
inexpensive.
- Recommended stain manufactures by members of the
Gardenweb forum include:
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Penofin
(apply in the afternoon, hot sunny days can be challenging)
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www.woodrich-brand.com similar to TWP Update: Woodrich now sells samples for
$10. http://www.woodrich-brand.com/Samlpe_Color_Kit_p/samp1.htm
- TWP (buy the 100 series version vs. 500 series
if available) Note: TWP is apparently
not recommended by the manufacture for Ipe but some of the Gardenweb pros swear
by it
- Messeners UV
Update: I personally used this and cannot recommend it. After 3 months it is showing considerable
fading. I have contacted Messeners…. Perhaps it’s the environment (coastal)
Fasteners
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Brooklyn Decks:
“I use #7 and #8 headcotes for my decks. The #2 square drive is easier to
use...less chance of stripping. An impact driver is the best tool for screwing
them in”
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John Hyatt: “I use noting but #7 square drive
trim head ss screws to fasten S American lumber and havent for 15 years or so
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I personally used the #8 brown colored headcotes
on 4/4 Ipe. They worked great but
seemed to be longer than necessary for 4/4 wood. No issues with stripping UNLESS I was attaching
Ipe to Ipe (vs Ipe to Pressure Treated (PT).
In that case, I learned I had to
use a larger drill bit and make sure I drilled deep enough so the screw did not
bottom out. If it did, I would either snap the screw or strip it –
usually snap it.
- Deck Ledger and Timberlock screws work excellent
but you still have to drill a pilot hole if drilling into Ipe or it will split
the wood (or not go into it)
- Use two screws per deckboard board into each
joist. This will help prevent cupping of
the boards
- Some Sources of supplies:
Framing
- You will most likely be using pressure treated
wood for your framing. Lumber
manufactures were required to discontinue using CCA (chromate-copper arsenate
preservatives). New pressure treated
wood contains much higher copper content to assist in preventing rot. These chemicals (copper) can create problems
when you introduce another metal like aluminum, brass mild steel or zinc. Stainless steel is the optimal solution but
is pricey. If your project is near salt
water – use it anyway. If not, make sure
you use fasteners approved for use with PT (ACQ : Alkaline Copper Quaternary or
CA: Copper Azole) wood. Simpson makes
special “Z-max“ coating for their parts.
Nails should also be selected by their finish and approved use in PT
material. Nails must have a rating of
G-185 to be approved for use in ACQ. Another solution is to apply a barrier between
the wood and the fastener such as builders felt or a peel and stick flashing (roofing/window
membrane) material. I used the peel and
stick flashing on my posts and anywhere I sistered a joist or beam. (This was to prevent water getting caught in
between the boards)
- Make sure your using the appropriate tables for
beam and joist spans. Links are
provided below.
- Put joists 16” apart when using 4/4 Ipe unless
the wood is being laid on the diagonal – 12” apart when laid diagonally.
- Put joists 24” apart for when using 5/4 Ipe unless
the wood is being laid on the diagonal.– 16” apart when laid diagonally
Ventilation
- All decks require good ventilation. Do NOT enclose a deck that will get moisture
under it that does not include provisions for good ventilation. The more moisture, the more potential for warping. Note:
I did not see anyone ever recommend using edge mounted deck fasteners
where moisture could be of a concern.
- Some other references I found and liked:
Contractors that have contributed to
Gardenweb or Contractortalk
Gardenweb files showing decks being
built
·
Lighting
- http://www.contractortalk.com/f50/recommendations-low-voltage-lighting-62566/
- One of
the biggest discriminators of a nice deck/landscape installation is what materials were used
and how the connections were handled.
For results that will last ,
use a professional grade transformer, fixtures and proper connectors . There are several landscape lighting
websites where you can do some research or potentially find a contractor
should you decide to subcontract it out.
I could not find the better transformers or fixtures at the big box
stores. They can be bought on line
or landscaping supply houses. In
my research, the professional transforms I saw in use most included:
- Kichler, Vista, Cast, Hadco, Nightscaping, FX
- I have a 900 watt Kichler
multitap and love it. The
multitap transformers are a big help in addressing voltage loss. There is a big difference in providing
10.5 volts or 11.5 volts to a 12
volt lamp.
- Connectors:
ACE connectors, Belden Solder
Seal, Dryconn wirenuts
Balusters
- To
me, a professional installation
means the spacing between all the ballisters are the same (between the
posts). I found a program in excel
that does all the math for you. If
I can figure out where I found it,
I will provide a link .
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