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Ipe floors

5/3/17       
Doug Member

Hi, I am a building contractor, have installed and finished hardwood floors in the past but have a situation that I don't have a simple solution to. I built a house for myself and installed Ipe hardwood flooring. We let it dry but not clearly not long enough. After installation it shrank. We filled the gaps with sawdust and clear finish (varathane), left it for a couple of months with the heat on then put the complete finish on the floors. Now I am living in the house for 6 months and the floors are shrinking again. I have gaps between all of the 5" boards. I have under floor heating and no humidifier. I am considering installing a humidifier. Does any one have experience with wide board Ipe hardwood? Will a humidifier expand the Ipe back to where we started?
Any other ideas? tips?
Thanks

5/3/17       #2: Ipe floors ...
Leo G

Was it Ipe decking milled into flooring or Ipe that was kiln dried milled into flooring.

The simple answer is no, it won't swell back up enough to close up the gaps with adding a humidifier.

5/3/17       #3: Ipe floors ...
Jim Baldwin

I've said it before, "Ipe is icky."

It's touted as a teak substitute because it's brownish? Therefore I used it instead of teak, due to teaks' absurd and ridiculous price. Every ipe stick on board, has thus far, shrunk and deformed beyond recognition, even after glue, screws and many coats of finish. I'll have to rip it all off and toss every ipe thing in the dumpster. I wish you better luck.

I sincerely hate the stuff.

5/3/17       #4: Ipe floors ...
rich c.

It's so dense, it's incredibly difficult to dry. Doesn't seem like you checked moisture content before installing. I'm guessing you'll have issues for years. Surprised you aren't seeing cracking in the wood itself.

5/4/17       #5: Ipe floors ...
RobertJ

Jim's response is the best so far. Sadly, I do think the best course of action is to remove all the Ipe and select another wood species.

5/4/17       #6: Ipe floors ...
David R Sochar

Ipe is the worst excuse for wood there is. It will never dry properly enough to be laid as interior flooring, and even then it will move and squirm enough to pull or break fasteners. I have seen two floor guys go broke after they did Ipe floors from trying to fix, then tar outs and replace. And one mill shop went under because the stuff cannot be glued, even though they were spending over $250 a gallon for special epoxy. It all went in, looked great, and within 3 months every glue joint failed.

It is only good for exterior decking, and then only if one of the intensive methods devised to fasten it is used.

It could not make good interior flooring because it is not an attractive wood when finished (that is another story....). Its one and only strength is that it is ornery.

5/4/17       #7: Ipe floors ...
John Member

My Ipe' deck shrank even after I allowed it to acclimate longer than the required 2 weeks. I'd say two months might not be enough. It's beautiful when I oil it, but the sun bleaches it out pretty quickly so I have to do it twice a year for it to look good. I've had no trouble other than the initial shrinkage but it's outside.

There are very few choices for solid wood flooring over radiant heat. I've only seen one or two suppliers warranty it and they require a ridiculous amount of documentation and special monitors to be installed, so I suspect they have never honored the warranty when problems have happened. Of the two I've seen neither offers Ipe'; I think only one of them even offers maple because its seasonal movement is too high, and Ipe' is much higher than that. As others have said, I don't see a happy ending for your floor. It will stop shrinking someday, and you can fill the cracks thinking all is good, only to have it buckle when it gains moisture in the Summer or whenever your season of high RH occurs.

I'm about to install a wood floor over my radiant heated kitchen. I'm using bamboo. Engineered wood is another choice. Both are guaranteed over radiant heat if the max. temp. is less than 85°.

John

5/8/17       #8: Ipe floors ...
JeffD

I'm a bit confused by the responses only b/c I can't imagine ever using Ipe as an interior wood? It's not the materials fault if you use it for something it isn't suited to. Ipe's biggest selling point by far is that it doesn't rot. It's hard as steel and will last a couple lifetimes outside....on a deck! It's difficulty to glue and machine is pretty much common knowledge. I can't even fathom wanting to use a wood like that inside for floors and I've been working with it for about 20 years or so?!?!

For smaller projects it's actually really a decent wood. I have some of it milled up to try out as finger boards for a couple guitars. And I have several smaller jewelry boxes and such I made about 20+ years ago before starting my own business. It's actually a stunning wood when you have the right pieces. It can go anywhere from honey gold, to crimson red, to dark chocolate brown. And it polishes up to a brilliant finish.

As far as the floors in question go I can't offer any advice. Once you've gone that far it's hard to realize that it most likely was a bad decision to begin with, sorry:>(

JeffD

5/9/17       #9: Ipe floors ...
coconu Member

I am a little curious about that.
In the process, what kind of woodworking tools do you use?
http://www.kingdetector.com/tx1001d-handhold-metal-detector-for-woodworking-p-72.h
tml

5/9/17       #10: Ipe floors ...
Adam

We all have had similar poor experiences with ipe. I discourage people from using it as decking. The splits, rough grain, and nasty splinters really ruin a nice deck. The milled handrails are always bad. You can sand them and the splinters always come back.

Your floor...
I would have zero faith in a humidifier having any benefit. You would need a climate controlled building to keep that ipe at bay.

The first idea that popped into my head being a boat guy, was teak decking. They use black sealant in between the boards. They make other colors as well. People used to use black Sikaflex or 3m 5200. The Teak decking system stuff is newer.
The contrast would be very cool between 5" ipe and black stripes.

Teak decking system

5/9/17       #11: Ipe floors ...
Doug

Thanks Adam for your constructive advice. I had a similar idea for trying to save the floor, but was thinking about a color that would match/blend with the Ipe. I have tried a small amount in a closet but the color wasn't quite right. I will consider the contrast color as well. I do like the color variation of Ipe and it will wear forever if I can find a cure for my situation.
Cheers
Doug


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