Ipe decking

[Rico dJour]

I just picked up a sample of Ipe from the lumberyard to show a customer. It's really dense pretty stuff, but I'm concerned about a couple of things and I'm hoping someone has experience with the stuff and can answer my questions.

The surface is smooth but kind of "furry". It's milled nice and flat but the surface is pretty much uniformly covered with tiny...splinters, for lack of a better word. I didn't notice it at first as my hands are a wee bit rough. But after the homeowner handled it he was rubbing his hands and saying he had picked up some small splinters. I'm talking tiny, but they're there. Does the deck _have_ to be sanded after installation?

The other question is about end checking. One end of the baluster I picked up as a sample is coated with wax like you get from a quality hardwoods dealer. The other end of the baluster didn't have the wax and it had a couple of small checks. This is in a 2x2 which kind of surprised me. Does Ipe check a lot at the end of the deck boards?

Lastly, what sealer have you used?

Thanks in advance for any advice/answers.

R

[Nehmo Sergheyev]

- Rico dJour -

customer. It's

questions.

- Nehmo - One of my goals in life is to make a deck with that stuff. It's so expensive though, it has to be the right customer. I probably talk somebody into it later this year - if I'm still in this line.

I don't have any experience with ipe except for looking at some and examining an already-built ipe deck. I can say that the ipe I sampled didn't "splinter" as your piece did. And the poster of this article seems to say that splintering is uncommon.

Maybe there's a range in quality. Whatever the case, sanding the touchable surfaces with a high # grit after the deck is done couldn't hurt. Considering the customer is going to pay a bundle anyway, how much trouble could it be?.

- Rico dJour -

- Nehmo - Your presentation backfired. Clean up for it quick by bringing him a better sample. Go to the hardwood showroom and evaluate some pieces by licking with your tongue first. Explain to the employees you always do that.

- Rico dJour -

- Nehmo - You've probably already heard about the Consumer Reports report about wood treatments:

A usenet article about it

   But form what I read, maybe you shouldn't bother at all to treat.

How big will this deck be?

What thickness are you planning the actual decking to be?

[Jimmy Galvin]

My next door neighbor built a deck last summer. He built it out of PT and clad it with Ipe. This kept the costs down plus he was able to route tracks for wiring of the post sconces before cladding. It came out really nice. He also mentioned that the slivers are quite toxic.