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Thread: Repurposing ipe deck

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    West Lafayette, IN
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    Repurposing ipe deck

    A friend’s parents are moving and offered me a pile (about 500 sqft) of ipe for free. it was used as a deck for a few years, not sure why it was taken down. I checked it out today and took a few pictures.

    We have an enclosed back porch with ugly stained concrete floor, with screen walls. I was thinking about putting down sleepers and installing the ipe over it.

    The ipe has been used of course, and needs a pressure washing. It was installed with plastic biscuits which I think is good because there aren’t existing holes I’d need to plug. It also has 45’s cut at each end which I’m guessing was for a certain look when installed.

    Sontheres work to do - pressure wash (I have one), trim each end square, lay sleepers, install.

    What do do you guys think? Worth it? Hard to beat the price.
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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
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    Central MA
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    Free sounds good. If it were me I'd be running it all through a sander to freshen it up, especially since you want to use it in an enclosed porch.

  3. #3
    Ipe is hard to work, but unbeatable for deck or other uses. I've also been using it for boxing on wooden planes; it polishes to a wonderful surface and is incredibly hard and wear resistant.

    Use very sharp blades or you will A.) wear out your tools, B.) wear out yourself. I've given up on trying to cut it with a band saw; I've lost three blades to Ipe so far. A slow feed rate is your only hope.

    I'm not much for pressure washing any wood. If there is any to stand up to a pressure wash, it's Ipe, but I'm still against it. At least make a small test before you go wild with the pressure action.

    Jim
    Fair winds and following seas,
    Jim Waldron

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    West Lafayette, IN
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    I thought about running it through my drum sander first, I may consider that.

    What’s the concern with pressure washing it? And what would be the alternative to removing dirt/surface mold? Bleach?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    Bellingham, Washington
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    If you have good sharp knives I would run it through the planer. The oiliness of the wood will clog your drum sander. Ipe actually machines well but you want to wear a respirator when machining. If ripping on the table saw, do not run your finger along the newly cut edge. It will cut your finger. I think it will make a nice floor for you.
    Bracken's Pond Woodworks[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    I have an Ipe deck that I used to refinish every couple of years. Deck cleaner & a pressure wash brought it back to nearly new, followed by a coat of oil finish. Now I have decided to just let it go grey.

    For an enclosed porch, I would use the cleaner & pressure wash followed by sanding & then a finish of your choice. The pressure wash will mean less sanding, & as David said, Ipe tends to clog (and wear out) the paper quickly

  7. #7
    There's a reason bugs hate the stuff. You'll find out why after working with it for a while.
    Last edited by Mike Hollingsworth; 11-03-2017 at 3:37 PM.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Hollingsworth View Post
    There's a reason bug's hate the stuff. You'll find out why after working with it for a while.
    That's the truth.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    West Lafayette, IN
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    I think I’m going to end up passing on the stuff. I went to check it out yesterday and it seems to have grayed almost all the way through. I found out it was a deck for at least 10 years and has been stacked for a couple years, I think it is at the last stages of life and I don’t want to waste time with it if it’s just going to be gray. My friend is going to cut a board in half to see if it has any life inside of it.

    Thanks for the comments everyone.

  10. #10
    I've heard of it lasting 20 to 30 years in ocean board walks. Would be quite surprised if grey color goes all the way thru.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
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    North Virginia
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    Great stuff. I got some end cuts from someone's Ipe deck a couple of years ago (they were post/trim pieces, not decking). I decided to turn it into a wooden front door mat for my wife. You've probably seen the type I'm talking about with the wooden slats dadoed in a cross-hatch pattern. Anyway, the Ipe just about killed me. I'm mostly a hand tool user, and the Ipe just laughed at my puny handsaws and chisels. And don't get me started on what it did to my router plane...

    Long and short: Project got completed. Saw got sharpened again. Chisels got sharpened repeatedly. Router plane had a couple of pieces replaced and the blades sharpened again.
    Lesson learned: only tackle Ipe and its ilk with sharp power tools...

    TedP

  12. #12
    The best kind of wood is free wood. Go get it and machine some of it to see how it looks/works. The worse case is you have to dispose of it.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  13. #13
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    I can't imagine it being grayed more than a couple of millimeters. That stuff lasts for decades in wet tropical environments.

  14. #14
    I built a front porch out of recycled IPE. Don't run it through the planer, it's so hard it will eat your knifes. Mine was gray in color due to exposure to the sun but a quick preasure wash and it was like new.

    Another hint. Wear gloves as it is brittle. The splinters are fine and sharp. You will have a dozen before you know it.

  15. #15
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    Well i decided to go for it. My friend crosscut a piece and it looked beautiful. I hauled half the load today and will get the rest Wednesday. Heavy stuff!


    I plan to first just rinse the crud/dirt/rolley poolley’s off with a hose, light pressure wash, then install. After install i’ll rent a vibratory plate sander (think plate compactor with sandpaper), they’re supposedly much better at not eating a divot like a dnum sander would.


    Project is slated for the spring.
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