Lumber Buying for Smarties: The Right Time To Buy Ipe. One thing is for sure: If you’re looking for a premium weather-resistant deck, dock, or boardwalk, the best option is Ipe. It’s more resilient than other tropical hardwoods or pressure-treated Pine, and much better … [Read more...]
What Size Ipe Lumber Should I Buy?
Smart Lumber Buying: Determining the Right Size Ipe To Buy Perhaps you’re likely to balk at the price of Ipe and are having a hard time deciding whether it’s worthwhile to spring for Ipe. Even so, there’s really no debate when it comes to the fact that Ipe is the most durable … [Read more...]
Tropical Decking Recommendations from J. Gibson McIlvain
Both the commercial and the residential markets for tropical hardwood decking are exploding in today’s economy! Why? Tropical decking lasts, requires very little maintenance, and provides an attractive addition to any property. J. Gibson McIlvain maintains an inventory of decking … [Read more...]
2017 Ipe Market Review, Part 3
From both a supplier’s perspective and a buyer’s point of view, the current storm of chaos facing Ipe is more than a little tricky to navigate. In addition to understanding the issues facing other links in the supply chain, you can save money while ensuring you get high-quality … [Read more...]
2017 Ipe Market Review, Part 2
In Part 1, we looked at Brazil’s increased governmental regulation and the added delays and inevitable shifts in the Ipe market that have been the result. As you can imagine, this situation has left J. Gibson McIlvain Lumber with quite the dilemma. While we have many customers … [Read more...]
2017 Ipe Market Review, Part 1
As decking season approaches, many of our customers are wondering about the state of tropical decking availability — especially in regards to Ipe. Unfortunately, our concerns about the continuing fluctuations in the Ipe market — from shortages to vast price fluctuations — have … [Read more...]
Tips for Using Ipe Wood in Your Next Project
Because Ipe is such an incredibly hard wood and is almost always used as a decking product, it’s surfaced on all 4 sides (S4S) in order to prevent splintering and then eased on all 4 edges (E4E) in order to prevent sharp edges. Sometimes, installation intentions require us to … [Read more...]
Jatoba vs. Ipe, Part 2
If you’re looking at the pricing and availability issues surrounding Ipe and wondering if there’s another species that’s comparable, Jatoba may well be a good choice for your next deck. In Part 1 we considered the issues of hardness and stiffness and discovered that even though … [Read more...]
Jatoba vs. Ipe, Part 1
As Ipe pricing continues to climb and availability fluctuates seasonally, one of the top contenders as a premium decking species is Jatoba. If you like Ipe and want to know how Jatoba compares, we hope to arm you with the knowledge you need to make an informed decision about your … [Read more...]
