|
Movies •Books •Music •Food •Tv Shows •Technology •Politics •Video Games •Parenting •Fashion •Green Living •more >

Lunch » Tags » Environment » Reviews » ipe

ipe

1 rating: 5.0
Brazilian Hardwood

Ipe is a Brazilian Hardwood. It is very dense and I have been told it does not float. It does not absorb stain or oil so in order to maintain its beautiful reddish brown appearance it must be oiled a few times a year, like good furniture. Without this … see full wiki

Tags: Environment, Deck, Ipe, Citric Acid, Do It Yourself, Exotic Hardwood, see all
1 review about ipe
Showing 1-1 of 1
Sort by:

Stunning Deck Material

  • Sep 15, 2010
  • by
Rating:
+5
An Ipe deck is absolutely beautiful to look at, like a piece of teak furniture. The wood itself will last for forty years whether it is treated or left to weather in its natural state. It is essentially rot and termite resistant. It is ideal for areas nears water. In order to keep a beautiful exotic wood appearance however, it must be recoated a few times a year as it is a dense wood that does not absorb a finish. 
Our deck was installed in 2007.  The contractor applied a coat of Penofin, and the deck looked like teak furniture.  It should not be power washed or bleached as that will take away from its beautful color. Within two years the deck had turned grey and was no longer beautiful in my eyes. I received a bid to return it to its beautiful, furniture-like look. The price was $3000.00. At the time I thought I would need to spend $3000.00 a year to maintain it, so I did nothing.  This spring I decided that it had to be cleaned. After much research on the internet and talking to local lumber companies, I began cleaning and re-coating it this spring, working in the mornings when the temperature was in the sixties and seventies. It has about 900 square feet of wood including the stairs and railings so it is a major undertaking. I wanted to use the most environmentally safe method for both myself and my landscape plantings surrounding the deck so I chose Wolams Deck and Fence an oxygenated bleach made of  percarbonate, a citric acid rinse and Penofin Exotic hardwood oil. I coated the wood with Wolmans and let it sit for 10 minutes to do its chemical work, scrubbed it  with a stiff brush and rinsed. I did each area at least three times until I no longer got a brown gunk when I scrubbed.  After rinsing with citric acid and letting it dry, I brushed on the Penofin, waited 15 minutes and wiped off the excess with cotton cloths. If the excess is left on it becomes tacky. I got half the deck done before the mornings became too hot and humid for the Penofin to be applied.  (We've had over 80 days over 90 degrees this summer.) That half of the deck looks beautiful! The mornings are now in the sixties again so I have begun work on the second half and the stairs. Of course now I must apply another coat of Penofin to the first half. I do not need to clean with Wolmans and scrub. All I need to do is wash it off with a mild detergent and oil it as though it were a dining room table. I now understand that $3000.00 estimate!

What did you think of this review?

Helpful
5
Thought-Provoking
4
Fun to Read
5
Well-Organized
2
Post a Comment
October 09, 2010
Soon, I am currently reoiling it with Penofin.
 
October 09, 2010
sure would love to see a picture of your deck
 
September 20, 2010
Avoiding the most toxic chemicals for deck cleaning has made this a very labor intensive job. Also 68 degrees might seem like a great physical lobor temperature, but not when the humidity is 81 % with a dew point of 61. I could tell by the dampness of the Ipe that it was humid out, confirmed when I started applying the Wolmans Deck Brite.
 
September 15, 2010
 
1
What's your opinion on ipe?
rate
1 rating: +5.0
You have exceeded the maximum length.
Details
Related Topics
Michael Pollan

Author

cfl

Eco-friendly bulbs designed to save energy and last consider …

Erin Brockovich

A movie

Three Mile Island A Nuclear Crisis in Historical

2004 non-fiction book by J. Samuel Walker

rate more like 'ipe'
First to Review

"Stunning Deck Material"
© 2013 Lunch.com, LLC All Rights Reserved
Lunch.com - Relevant reviews by real people.
()
This is you!
Ranked #
Last login
Member since
reviews
comments
ratings
questions
compliments
lists