Ipe sound very encouraging.

Any issues with my daughter once she starts walking and suck(she is 6 mos)

From my research so far, I plan on pre drilling and face screwing. I have read something about glueing too? I'd rather not have to deal with glue/epoxy unless it is of great benefit.

Thanks
Brian

You'll find the Ipe even cheaper online than available locally around here. The prices of Ipe at local lumberyards has gone down in the past year, back to the prices of 2005. But for a large deck call the internet vendors for quotes, They'll be even less and lots of contractors use and trust them.

Pros of IPE: all

Pros of Redwood: job security for contractors

Ipe is one of the best materials in consturction today. Right next to concrete and steel. Man could not engineer a superior product than Mother nature has already created. Keeping that in mind, when you pick Ipe boards, throw back any ones with splits in the ends more than a few inches long. From what I can gather they were harvested at the wrong time (during the full moon phase) which somehow causes this ordinarilly indestructible wood to become prone to checking. Waxing the ends has nothing to do with the splitting, because i have cut off the pre-waxed split end just to see a new split form immediately. If you have the lumber delivered, set those aside and ask the supplier to exchange them.

Call around the internet vendors like East Teak. Compare their prices to local suppliers. I know of Beronio Lumber in the city, Broadmoor landscape in South SF, and Empire Lumber in Belmont that all stock Ipe. One of those places should have the lowest price available locally.

Thank you yet again Aiden!!
I appreciate your feedback and recomendations on vendors.

My buddies Dad who is a fine carpenter also recommended the sleeper method for the portion of my deck over the slab.
He recommended 2x4 sleepers with 2x8 joists as he could help me use his Hilti to drive the fasteners saving time and material.

Ipe must be the decking material I have seen that was weathered, but looked beautiful. Not dull grey like redwood, but more of a silvery grey

I'm pretty sure Fisherman's wharf is made of Ipe. You have definitely seen Ipe around the city, and If you like the silver gray color it is the material for you. No question.

Ahh, thats it. I was thinking where I had seen it, and thats it. I have to take the inlaws every year when they fly out from Chicago :)

aidan or anyone else..

What is the going rate for 1x6 or 5/4x for Ape these days???

I'n my brief research, I am seeing between $2-$3/lf

Brian, (bdobs) If you go with IPE it can splinter real bad. It can look smooth but run your hand across it & watch out. So if you have small children watch out you will need to sand it. It may need to be sanded right away, in 6mo. or a year +. Must depend on the grain of the board, when it was milled, & how sharp the milling blades are. Just had a 1.5 year old IPE deck that was very spintery. Had Garapa deck, (similar to IPE) brand new that was so spintery it had to be sanded. Use the SSteel powder coated colored head trim screws through the top of the board. That way you can retighten them every few months as everthing shrinks to keep the board tight so it doesnt cup very much.
By the way, I am a deck restorer & refinisher & also build a few decks here & there, in case you were wondering. Alot of deck builders may not be aware of the things I see down the road. Hope this helps.
Lyle

Yo Ace,what kind of finish do ya use. In 15 years or so I never had screws come lose in ipe. J.

Ace or bdobs, any recommendations on where to but Ipe in the Monterey area? I haven't seen anything close to $2 or $3 per lf. I am going to need approx 2000 lf coming up. Old redwood deck is being torn out in the next week or two.

Steve

John, Maybe its a west coast thing. The PT Doug & Hem fir must shrink more than PT Pine, or the two recent decks I ve seen with loose cupped were in the sun zone. They may have gotten some really wet Pt. I usually try to find pretty dry Pt for my framing. I use Armstrong's primarily www.armclark.com

A quick sanding w/ 60 grit on a RO takes away all the little Ipe splinters.

Drilling the pilot holes into the PT frame will cause the boards to come loose.

Using screws that are longer than necessary amplifies the effect of the head popping up as the joist shrinks. A 3.5" long screw embedded 3" into a 2x8 joist will pop out nearly twice as much as 2" long one with 1.5" embedment in the same joist. Use the shortest screw that will do the job, and do not drill the pilot hole into the joist. Use adhesive to hold the decking to the joist. Think of the screw as a clamp. After one day the adhesive is cured and the clamp can be loosened without losing the bond. Wood decks expand and shrink each season, a lot the first season and a bit less each year as the wood weathers. So the "clamp" gets constantly loosened and tightened a little bit. Retightening the screws one time after installation, or right before plugging may be a smart practice especially in dry climates. However I would not recommend continually retightening the screws manually. You will eventually strip or break the screws. if you overtighten them during the dry season, some may snap during the next wet season.

Pressure treating reduces strength. Doug Fir (the wood available on the west coast) is not quite as strong as Southern Yellow Pine. PT Doug Fir 2x joists should be No. 1 structural grade. That is special order material you will not find on the shelf. It is easy to get but you have to pre-order a few days ahead. The 4x and up PT material is generally No. 1 but ask to make sure.

4/4 $2.55 lineal ft
5/4 $3.39

I saw an add for 5/4 for $2/lf, but the add said Indonesian IPE Ironwood. Sounds too good to be true, and Indonesia????
I'll look into it and report back.

Bull, bunk. Ipe comes from Brazil.

Thats what I am assuming, but I will give em a call to see whats the story

Adian_M where can i get the Ipe locally for that price?

Steve

Empire Lumber in Belmont 650 592 7451. Ask for Mike.

Any recommendations for Ipe vendors in Los Angeles area? It sounds like ordering online is the cheapest but I'm afraid of getting stuck with sub-par boards (vs hand picking them in person).

Also, a couple of questions about installation of tongue and groove Ipe porch flooring:

--I've seen teak porch flooring buckle where I'm from in rainy New York State. Will that be a concern with Ipe in relatively dry SoCal? If so, how much extra space should I leave between boards to prevent it?

--I assume the best installation method is screws in pre-drilled diagonal pilot holes in the tongue side of the boards. Correct?

Hi everybodyelse,

We are a direct source manufacturers of Ipe and other Brazilian exotic hardwoods and have a warehouse in Santa Fe Springs, CA about..30 minutes south east of LA. Stop by or give us a call at 562-205-1872 if you'd like to see our 40,000 sq.ft. warehouse!

T&G installations must be under full shade with no sun hitting it as well as having good air space underneath, and you are correct that is the best way for installation. .

Realizing this thread is pretty dated... any updates on Northern California or online vendors folks would recommend for IPE?