George,

Is that kiln dried material or air dried?

dk

My local supplier has been carrying garapa for several months now, folks seem to like it tho I haven't tried it on a project yet. They are selling it for the same price as tigerwood, what are you all selling it for?

Al

We are seriously thinking about going with garapa for the decking. Has anyone can recommend a sealer/stain that will maintain the nice golden color.
Right now it gos for 1.79 $/lf in austin.
I am tempting to spend the extra time to go the plug route but I will have to do my own since I can't some pre cut one around here.

Mr Pluche

I have found the honey tone color in TWP works perfectly.
100 series # 115. The #101 cedartone will also work but not as well as the honey color. As far as plugs, I can make you as many as you need. Call me with any questions.------
George

Thanks Goerge for the answer.
We will have 6x6 cedar for our porch post so I am hoping to get the garapa and cedar to look somewhat close... First we have to build the thing though....
MrPluche

Pluche Person,,just as a side note>>> if you are thinking garapa or ipe for your decking dont use cedar for your porch posts. J

Thanks john but why? I think Pt pine post are quite ugly (argg that green color...) and I don't think I can find garapa post.
So we figured maybe cedar will look nicer.
Is this a structural or esthetical reason?
let me know
MrPluche

I have 4 x 4 post, 2x2's,2x4's,2x6's in Garapa---George

Mr P,,the second growth ceder will not hold up any place near garapa in a lot of ways, in fact the old growth was not all that good.

Two ways to go>> install pt 4x4 posts and wrap them in garapa, use the George over East Teak way and install garapa 4x4 posts. J

George,

If there is any way you can snap some photos of your Garapa with the various colors of stain that you have tested out it, I would greatly appreciate it.

Riles

Hey Guys, I just tried my mixture on garapa,two parts twp dark oak three parts twp cedartone natural. Man that makes a nice finish on the golden wood just enough to let the color thru and still give a dark brown look.

I am loving the garapa stuff!!! J.

I think I'm gonna sell my 1st garapa deck sat. Folks want a cedar deck, but only 16" above grade. When I tell 'em I've seen several cedar decks here rot out in 7-8 years when that low to the ground they'll spring for the few extra bucks for garapa. Plus with a cedartone stain it will look almost the same.

Al

Your killing me John. You describe this nice color with a mixture of TWP's and then don't post a picture. Doh! I have a good imagination, but a picture is truly worth 1,000 words. What are the chances of you posting some pics? Please!

Riles

Im not going to do all the work for Ya some of this is up to you guys. If I get around to it the site will have a few shots of garapa projects. J

John,

I would like to see a few pictures as well. The area where we are sourcing some material in Bolivia is full of garapa. It has been used for construction in southern Brazil for quite a few years. It is extensively used for roof framing material.

dk

I am in Northern California in the foothills north of Sacramento. Where can I source Garapa here? Is it known by any other names? Is it easier to work with than Ipe?
Thanks,
Joan

I bought some Garapa from Rogers lbr in Farmingdale, Ny
for another deck I had going nobody could touch his low price. Nice people to deal with ask for Jack 516-586-4361

I am getting conflicting information on the expected wood movement for garapa. I have 5/4 x 6" kiln dried boards and am looking to use a hidden fastener like "Ipe clips" for a porch. Some of the information says that I should expect these boards to expand (hence start with 1/4" spacing) but some says that these will actually stay the same or shrink slightly. This would change the type of clip that should be used as it sets the initial spacing.

I'm in the northwest so wet winters and very dry summers.

Any experience one way or the other?

Dont use the clips on any of the S American lumber. J.

John,

Why wouldn't you use the clips, have you had problems with them?

Thanks,

Stuart

Stuart, if you watch the forums, you will see varying success using the clips. The question YOU need to answer is: Is it worth the chance? I think you will find the costs to build a deck accumulate pretty quickly. They sure did on mine! I was hoping to spend $15K and ended up over $20K. Do you want to take a chance that the boards may cup and/or lift due to using an edge connector? Does the risk = the reward?

If you decide to go forward with an edge connector, take a look at the new stainless clips by Tiger Claw.

Best wishes, looking forward to seeing pictures soon!

Yes, I see now that there are a lot of discussion on this topic (I'm new to the forum). In this case, my project is pretty small (11' x 13') and I'm doing the work myself so the risk would be low compared to yours.

In any case, I appreciate the information. Very good forum.