Bidding ipe? tommorow!!

[bigchaz 157]

Alright heres the deal. In the year and half ive been in business Ive restored countless pressure treated decks, one cedar and nothing else. No hardwoods

Got a call from someone wanting a bid on what she said was very dense and had a reddish color when installed, now is silver colored. She didn't know the name but I guesstimated it sounded like ipe.

Deck is 3.5 years old never been touched. Railings are white.

Question is: Ill be doing the bid tomorrow. What kind of things/tidbits should I know before giving my sales presentation? Ill be using woodtux, either honey gold or brown sugar (what would be best?) I understand one year is the average expected lifespan. Ill explain my cleaning procedure, brightening, hand staining with lambswool etc etc. Anything I can tell the customer about her wood to sway her into signing? Or how should my presentation for ipe differ from my pressure treated one.

[Beth n Rod 1,278]

Take a photo of the wood.

It could be:

Ipe

Redwood

Brazilian Redwood

Mahogany

Beth

ps if it is a hardwood, set the expectation that the finish will have a shorter life...don't be afraid to take a photo and tell her you will call her with what type it is.

Edited June 6, 2008 by Beth n Rod
p.s.

[Celeste 341]

Ditto to what Beth says.......

The price bar around here for Ipe has been set higher than PT - don't underbid it!

[bigchaz 157]

The deck is 18x12 and only surface. I was thinking 3 a square to clean and stain (the wood is bare)

too low?

I usually give bid while im there but should I wait and drop it off with her after finding the type of wood? Will it be a big difference in the amount of work I have to do if its ipe vs mahogony vs redwood?

[RPetry 564]

Charlie,

$3 a sq. ft. is a good price for labor, add in materials and any applicable sales tax. Plan to do a quick 60 grit sanding or Makita 3M pad buffing before using WT.

Someone pls. move this to the wood resto thread. Unless Charlie has a vertical ipe' deck up the side of a home.

BTW Charlie, check your spelling on the title of the thread. You don't want to get keel-holed like Ron for being a poor speller. He may be one of the most prosperous contractors here. And you are a college student, so you have no excuse.

Edited June 7, 2008 by RPetry
more additions!

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Redwood pretty much soft to middle of the road in softness..not sure dense would apply to it. If it was really finely finished though a HO may use the term.

[RPetry 564]

Charlie,

Stick a fingernail into the wood. Does it make an impression? Then, it is probably cedar. Redwood is not very abundant in the Northeast or probably the South. Very similar in constitution, you may have an unusual deck.

Does your fingernail bend without breaking? Might be mahogany. Look for a tight grain pattern, some boards will look like compressed rice.

Take a good 6 penny nail and bang it with a hammer. Does the nail spin off into orbit? If so, might be ipe'.

Edited June 7, 2008 by RPetry

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Rick, nah not wrong thread..you got wrong post..lol

Perhaps the Rickster missed where Beth mentioned it maybe redwood? bawhaha :lgbonk:

ps-- do we know it ipe yet?

Edited June 7, 2008 by MMI Enterprises

[RPetry 564]

Kevin,

I reread and did a complete edit. My bad. Kudos to you.

Charlie,

Get a good book on wood. Understanding Wood, A Craftsman's Guide to Wood Technology, written by R. Bruce Hoadley, is considered by many as a seminal reference.

[bigchaz 157]

Without seeing it im sure its not cedar and i doubt redwood. She mentioned to me that her builder said it was a dense wood which to me means she probably just forgot the name ipe. Ive never even heard of a redwood deck around here. The neighborhood the deck is in apparently has lots of ipe decks too. Ill take a picture and post it up tomorrow afternoon to be sure. My only real concern on finding out what the wood is will be to guide her in how its going to look when stained. I figure my price will probably be the same for any of those unusual woods.

[Celeste 341]

Ugh.....the Preserve - there's a band of unmentionable un-nationals running around in there doing ipe for .50 / sq foot....Just ask Kevin Frazier!

Celeste

[RPetry 564]

Charlie,

If it is ipe', the attached pic is of the old "WoodZotic" mix which was 50% brown sugar and 50% western cedar WT mix. Or very close. Guess it is no secret anymore.

The pic is of fairly new ipe'. Lasted less than 8 months on the deck floor in NJ but that is the nature of the wood, not necessarily the stain. But I wonder...

Can I only get a year out of this years' WT on red mahogany?

[Beth n Rod 1,278]

Rick, nah not wrong thread..you got wrong post..lol

Perhaps the Rickster missed where Beth mentioned it maybe redwood? bawhaha :lgbonk:

ps-- do we know it ipe yet?

I mentioned redwood because believe it or not, you do find it outside of CA, and it can be mistaken for a hardwood by owners. The rings are very tight and close together, giving it the appearance of being dense and a hard wood, when yes, it is classified as a softwood. There is no mistaking the red color.

You might want to look at some images of grain before you go.

Ipe Tabebuia SPP Wood – East Teak Fine Hardwoods

Armster Reclaimed Lumber Company

Brazilian Redwood - Massaranduba Decking & Hardwood Floors

Beth

[Beth n Rod 1,278]

Here's another for Mahogany and other types...

Exotic Wood Online - Honduras Mahogany Lumber

Beth :cup:

[bigchaz 157]

Thanks for those links beth

The brazilain redwood mentioned it can be used in 1" thickness. Will I be able to determine anything by the thickness of the deck?

[bigchaz 157]

Someone pls. move this to the wood resto thread. Unless Charlie has a vertical ipe' deck up the side of a home.

BTW Charlie, check your spelling on the title of the thread. You don't want to get keel-holed like Ron for being a poor speller. He may be one of the most prosperous contractors here. And you are a college student, so you have no excuse.

Haha just saw this part Rick. Apparently they're right about summer rotting your brain. If they taught spelling these days I would be all over that class. I'm taking professional writing next semester though so hopefully that will help out a bit.

[bigchaz 157]

alrighty here goes:

[bigchaz 157]

one more

[Beth n Rod 1,278]

It's ipe. :)

Beth

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Yes Beth..I agree with yer post #13... Is why I pointed out "If it was really finely finished though a HO may use the term.".. Just straight up looks hard and rich in some cases. :)

[RPetry 564]

Charlie,

Ditto, what Beth said. That wood is no doubt ipe'. I'll book any contrary opinion at 1 to 10, about what Big Brown will pay in The Belmont later today.

How old is the wood and how long has it weathered without a stain? If less than a year, strip the oils out of it with strong NaOH. Otherwise, clean with a percarb. You can really smack ipe' with water pressure compared to other exterior woods. Oxalic/citric, let dry, quick sand or buff and go at it with whatever stain you prefer.

Not counting any vertical solid stained wood, I think $2 a sq. ft. plus materials is a fair price if located close by. Man, your 1st ipe' job, you are going to love this one. Take a ton of pics.

Edited June 7, 2008 by RPetry
Ron M. spelling burp

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Charlie, Although many woods can show as smoothly finished or hard they do not show the kind of grain in yer pics. So....Hey here an idea, you can be the first of us to test out AC on ipe....Since all fail it won't hurt.. :)

Edited June 7, 2008 by MMI Enterprises