This is an intersting subject. I think that it may help if you consider the going export price for 1 x 6 ipe decking from Brazil. These prices are pretty much the same for everyone. Some companies have suppliers that charge a bit more and others a bit less. I would say it is safe to say that the price FOB Amazon ports is around 1,300 USD per cubic meter on an average (and this may even be on the low side today due to the undervaluation of the US dollar). If this were converted into linear feet for 1 x 6 4/4 material (.019 mm x .150 mm x .300 mm) it would run 1.11 USD per linear foot. Then you would have to add shipping cost (ocean freight), USA port costs, import borkerage costs, delivery to the destination warehouse cost and then handling, warehousing, and administration costs for the importer. If you add all these costs up I think you would find that the average pricing in the market provides the direct importer with enough margin to run his business and that their prices are pretty fair. Now, if the company you buy from is not a direct importer their costs would be greater. I have no basis to say if one company in the States is better or not. I would only venture to say that those which have a proven track record and can back up their material would be the best choice. What I can say as stated above is that the cost of the decking when it leaves Brazil is pretty much the same for everyone. John, It doesn't do any good to look at logs. What is important is that the importer works with someone who correctly grades the material they buy. Good logs give better yield for the sawmill, but that does not mean the buyer well get better deck boards. Along from the quality of the deck blanks the manufacturer uses is the quality of the milling to arrive at the finished product is key. And, then the proper grading done to make sure that only meeting the specs placed on the order are met. dk

The John agrees with the woodchuck, looking back on the years I have in Contracting,,ghessss thats a lot of years, I have done busiess with hmmmmm 3 outfits that I can compare with East Teak with George doing duty on point, all of them were mostley 15 years ago. Buying From the George is like drifting into a time warp when the Man's word was his bond, what he said is what you got.With the advantage of all the modern things going on now,and the problems that come along with them,riseing above,using them,dealing with them and coming out on top= East Teak Lumber>> 800 338 5636

I've played with many finishes for Ipe and I haven't seen one yet that is "virtually maintenance free". Even the newer "nano" sealers that say they will last 5 years don't even come close. I don't like Deckmaster for Ipe or any other hardwood where you fasten underneath. I'd much prefer using the CAMO system, I think it will be much more stable. On your pricing, hard to tell since we don't know how he's breaking it down (wood dimension, how much he's charging for the wood vs. labor, if he's upcharging the materials, etc.). There are plenty of reputable dealers out there that have been mentioned on this site many times, including Advantage, eFloor, East Teak, Everlasting, Monteverde, take your pick, just look at the total quote, not the LF price since you will have freight involved and the price will change based on how long you want the boards to be, etc.

I bought dimensional lumber from East Teak and decking from ABS, so it's an apples-to-oranges comparison. But here's my general description of the garapa wood from both. You can also see lots of photos in my "now showing" thread: East Teak: 2x4s, 4x4s, and 2x6's were all straight, uniform color, and smooth, as though fresh from the sawmill. They got fuzzy, gray, and checked a bit between the time they arrived and the time I got the last of them installed. All factory ends were treated with Anchor Seal, but we re-applied after install, as they still started to check. ABS: Deck boards varied in color and were a noticeably different color than the East Teak stuff. They were all a couple inches longer than the nominal length, though not by a consistent amount (e.g, 12-footers were 12'2"-12'5"). The ends were all treated with Anchor Seal. Most were pretty straight and a Bowrench easily took care of them; just a few took a significant amount of brute strength. Some boards had gunches on them (my term for anything that makes it not a perfectly smooth surface), so I had to put that side down or, if near an end, cut it off. The tardiness of both orders was due to the shipping companies they contracted. In the case of ABS, the wood sat bundled up for 4 days while a driver's truck broke down, got fixed, and then the driver decided to quit, so the shipper found an alternate to transport it.