We have Ipe on our covered front porch which faces SW as well as on our uncovered rear deck and we have to re-stain every other year. So one year we do the front and the next the back. It's beautiful when fresh but doesn't last very long. It would actually be best to re-do every year but my DH refuses.

Don't know anything about bamboo.

homeagain-

Thanks for responding! Hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions. Do you stain your Ipe with a clear finish or a colored one? What does the porch look like (color wise) when you are nearing time to restain? Would you use Ipe again if you had to do it over?

While I'm asking questions...what is your front door (that faces SW) made of? Have you had any problems with fading and/or warping? How often do you need to restain/paint it? How deep is your porch covering?

We've never had a wood porch before and we've never had anything other than a standard 6 panel steel door (which faces east) so any insight you can give me is much appreciated. Thanks so much!

Ipe is typically not stained - it is oiled. The best comparison is teak which behaves quite similarly. Ipe is a very beautiful reddish color when fresh. It will stay fresh with annual oiling. If this is not done, then it will gray. The gray is still acceptable if a bit rustic.

So technically no maintenance is required - just know that it will not look the same as new. If you want that new appearance, then annual oilings are required. You can always sand and restore the appearance of the wood if you haven't oiled - to a point.

I think most anyone who is obsessed enough with building to do the research and pick and pay for ipe will likely do the oiling. This is especially true on the front porch. It does smell for a few days to 2 weeks for the truly sensitive after oiling.

david_cary-

Thanks for your input. We do want the wood to keep it's new color and not let it gray. Do you have any experience with what brand of oil works best and how difficult it is to oil? (Is the 'cary' in your username indicative of where you live or is it part of your actual name?) Just wondering if we're neighbors in NC : )

Cary=Cary, NC. I saw the painters do the oiling and that is the extent of my knowledge. It was a wipe on, wait a few minutes, wipe off thing. I just did a teak table and it is nearly the same. It is done while on your knees so that is not exactly fun but I wouldn't call it hard.

mydreamhome-

We used lyptus on our porch and oiled it with Bush Oil (5 coats). We like it a lot, and while we didn't install it (our carpenter did that), we did oil it ourselves. We followed the directions on the can, basically floor an area, wait 20 minutes, wipe off, flood again, wait 10 minutes and follow up with finish coats every 24 hours. Lyptus is an FSC certified wood, fast growing, renewable and all that green jazz, and gave us the color and look we wanted.

Good luck-

sandyponder

sandy - you have good taste as we have the same light fixture but its in our kitchen nook. That wood looks a lot like Ipe except that it has more variation in color.

Sandy- That floor is absolutely beautiful! I hope ours turns out as well as yours did! Thank you so much for sharing.

David_Cary- Yep, we're neighbors. We are just west of you in Graham and we're building in Asheboro. Thanks again for your help!