Is Ipe wood good for furniture?
The quality of this wood is appreciated because like teak, it’s durable, insect resistant and decay resistant. These superb qualities make it ideal for the fabrication of outdoor furniture, with coloring and grain that give it pleasing tone and quality. Ipe is chocolate colored when new.
How hard is Ipe wood?
Ipe wood’s high density makes it somewhat difficult to work with. It has a severe blunting resistance and the grain tears out in the interlocking areas. Ipe wood hardness of 3510 lbs poses difficulty for gluing properly.
Is Ipe a good outdoor wood?
deserved reputation as the best outdoor wood species for a wide variety of outdoor projects. From backyard decking to famous boardwalks to rain screen siding, Ipe is often the material of choice for beautiful outdoor projects. Ipe wood is hard, strong, long lasting and beautiful.
Is Ipe more expensive than cedar?
Ipe is more expensive than many woods. Ipe is notably more expensive then redwood and cedar. On average, ipe costs $3.50 to $5 per square foot “and the cost of labor will increase the total price to around $20 per square foot,” according to Improvenet.
Is ipe wood dust toxic?
It just so happens that Silica and chemicals embedded in Ipe are extremely toxic. And now Silica and the other chemicals in the tropical hardwood are becoming known to cause health problems. When you breathe the dust from sawing, it can cause immediate sickness.
Should ipe wood be sealed?
Does Ipe need to be sealed? Ipe does not need any “sealer” in fact the wood is dense, that it doesn’t really take sealer anyways. The products used on Ipe are not really sealers as much as UV protectants. It is the sunlight that turns Ipe grey, and using these products can help protect against that.
Why is ipe wood so expensive?
Given Ipe’s popularity, it’s not surprising to learn that the wood is often illegally harvested (as is other rainforest timber.) And because ipe can command high prices, Brazilian loggers and local officials often harvest more Ipe than is legal.
Is ipe wood endangered?
Now don’t panic: Ipe is not endangered, nor is it illegal to import. Ipe is still coming into North America, and it will still be available for your decking projects this season.
What wood is similar to Ipe?
3 Ipe Hardwood Alternatives
- Cumaru. The first Hardwood is Cumaru. Cumaru is almost as dense as Ipe and has a similar color and grain pattern.
- Garapa. The second Hardwood is Garapa. Garapa is golden in color, similar to Western Red Cedar without the knots.
- Tigerwood. The last Hardwood is Tigerwood.
Is Ipe the same as mahogany?
Both genuine mahogany and ipe wood have classic and recognizable wood colours. The colour of genuine mahogany is usually a pink to reddish-brown or reddish-orange colour. In contrast, ipe varies from a dark, blaskish-brown, to a reddish-brown, and even sometimes a yellowish- olive brown colour.
Is Ipe better than mahogany?
Genuine mahogany and ipe are both strong woods for creating your outdoor paradise. As mentioned earlier, they both have long lifespans and this is in part due to them both being durable woods. Without a doubt, Ipe is the harder wood. Ipe wood has been nicknamed “ironwood” due to it’s superior hardness and density.