IPE Stain

[patriot pressure washing 14]

i am about to stain a IPE deck that is covered for the most part. i was wondering if cabots austrailian timber oil is a decent stain for this deck or maybe ready seal like use on my pt decks?

thanks

[Celeste 341]

What have you told your customer the "lifespan" of stain on ipe is? That will be part of your decision. We personally wouldn't put either.

[Doug Black 18]

IPE is and of itself is so dense that it does not need to be stained if you consider cost versus benefit.

Better to spend the money on better screws and brackets or building ground to earth post reinforcements.

Edited July 10, 2011 by Doug Black

[patriot pressure washing 14]

i told the guy the stain will not last much more than a yr or so and he understands he just wants stain on it. it is a front porch which is covered but will get wet in heavy rains. which stain would you recomend celeste or roger? and how easy is it to get around raleigh?

[James 625]

The type of stain choice on ipe has more to do about understanding how to care for the maintenance of that stain. On a covered porch RS is very easy and last a long time . If parts of it are exposed and hit by weather you have to learn to deal with that issue.

[patriot pressure washing 14]

thank you james. the deck is covered but when it rains heavy the edges do get wet and the previous stain the guy had on there did fade quit a bit. Any help would be great. i have explained to the man that the stain no matter what we go with will not last very long at all so he isnt expecting that. i just want it to look good for the longest time possible for him.

thanks Mike

[anduter 14]

I'd go with Cabot ATO. Service every year (or 2, if the owner want to save some).

Ipe, as any other hardwood, needs sealing, otherwise the boards will dry out, bend and crack real soon.

[James 625]

Boards of ipe do not dry out. I take care of a few decks close to the ground and never sealed.

These deck are over 15 years old one 20 years old. When putting a sealer on them they get hotter to walk on ( one around a pool). Since I change to just cleaning them the customer is much happier with the results and so am I.

Ipe' has so much natural oil in them they dry out with in hours after a rain. Its another reason a sealer will not last.

[RPetry 564]

... Ipe' has so much natural oil in them they dry out with in hours after a rain. Its another reason a sealer will not last.

Yup. Also add in the fact that ipe' is an extremely dense wood. Stain, as well as water, cannot penetrate the wood to any appreciable degree.

[acegot 14]

Ipe, as any other hardwood, needs sealing, otherwise the boards will dry out, bend and crack real soon.

Don't know if the west is getting all the Ipe seconds or what, But I 've seen Ipe dry out, split & warp a lot with full sun. I looked at a 10 yr. old Ipe deck a couple of years ago & it was a mess. It's different climates, hot dry summers here, sun 2/3 of time & pretty much every day from May to Nov.. Everything out here that gets full sun gets fried unless you have UV protection on it.

[RPetry 564]

Lyle,

I'm not sure if the difference is with climate. 5/4" or 1" x 6" ipe' horizontal deck boards will cup, and ends will check slightly even with Anchor Seal applied on installation.

It is a wood. I've seen no difference between a religiously oiled ipe' in those dimensions and an ipe' that has not been treated with a stain for years.

If I was going to rebuild my ipe' deck again, it would be 2 x 4's on the deck flooring. Interesting enough, my 5/4 x 10 vertical fascia has held its dimensions for 7 years now.

[acegot 14]

I think it is just the quality of the wood, just as in Redwood & Cedar(dont know about PTP) there are better cuts out of different parts of the tree,(also age) more dimensionally stable & internal bonding( for cracks or splits). Ive seen both ways here, same age & similar exposure, that one has more cupping & warping & the other looks pretty good.

Edited July 27, 2011 by acegot
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