Fiberon Composite Lumber Wood Decking

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dumblond

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Hi everyone, I went to this site and was wondering if anyone knows the difference between IPE and Cedar http://www.wholesaledeckingsupply.com

Thank you for the help
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Wholesale Decking Supply http://www.wholesaledeckingsupply.com would like to offer you a product that may be a perfect match for your deck, dock and lumber needs.
The product I am speaking of is called IPE. A trade name for a durable hardwood produced by large hardwood trees. This product is also referred to as Ironwood because it is a very heavy dense hardwood. It does not scratch or warp.
We also have Cedar at deep discounts in bulk. http://www.wholesaledeckingsupply.com

If you would like to discuss any facets of this wonderful, long lasting product, feel free to contact us at [email protected]

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They are simply made from two different types of trees. Either will work quite well for a deck. I have always used cedar, only because a good friend is a foreman at the local cedar mill, and gets it for me at half the price.
 
I've had a couple customers ask about using Ipe for their decks, but they changed their minds pretty quick when they got the price. It's way more expensive than cedar, and since it's much harder, it's a major pain to work with. Because it's harder, it will hold up much better than cedar, but so far none of my customers have thought it was worth the extra money.
 
dumblond said:
Hi everyone, I went to this site and was wondering if anyone knows the difference between IPE and Cedar http://www.wholesaledeckingsupply.com

Thank you for the help
Click to expand...

I'm an architect, so naturally I was interested in your question.

The basic difference is that Cedar is wood, and this other "stuff" is primarily plastic, with some sawdust mixed in. Depending on how you choose to view it, it's either an improvement over natural wood (more dimensionally stable -- maybe -- and more resistant to rot, or it's a scam (they take the sawdust and wood chips left over from making real lumber, mix it in with some plastic resin, and charge a premium price for selling what they would otherwise throw away or burn as scrap).

Cedar, especially red cedar, is naturally decay-resistant. Not decay "proof," but decay resistant. It lasts longer than standard framing lumber (SPF, Hem-Fir or Douglas Fir) when exposed outdoors, but it doesn't last as long as pressure-treated southern pine (the stuff you can buy at Home Depot with that greenish tint).

Personally, if I want wood I want WOOD, so it's unlikely I would ever use this stuff on my own house, or for a client unless the client insisted on it.

Here's a description of what it is that I found on a web site through Google:

The Fiberon decking and rail system offers a sturdy, low-maintenance and long-lasting alternative to wood. Made of a mixture of premium recycled wood and polymer resins, Fiberon has the traditional beauty and feel of wood, but without its failings. Fiberon Decking will not warp, rot, crack, splinter, cup, split, or get slippery when wet. Best of all, there is no need to stain, paint or seal. Made without toxic or harmful wood preservatives, easy-to-install Fiberon provides years of worry-free use. Fiberon is backed by a 10-year limited warranty.
Click to expand...

FWIW, pressure treated lumber treated for below ground (0.40% impregnation) is supposed to last 50 years. The 10-year guaranty on this stuff doesn't impress me.
 
yeah, IPE is real expensive, not only from the inital cost, but its more more labor intensive to put on. we used weyerhauser choice dek on ours at home, nice enuf to work with, but personally i don' liek the silvery color it turns when weathered. JMHO. if u do use a compposite such as that, a suggestion i ahve is to run a piece around the exterio, so that no deck boards run perpendicular to an edge, the groove pattern in the gbottom isn't very attractive. fwiw, i think cedar, properly maintained and installed, is the best value, most attractive. but thats just me.
 
Redwood is far more durable and most people consider it more attractive than cedar, but I don't know if you can even buy redwood any more. Teak is also more durable, but also more expensive and also an endangered (wood) species, because it's a rain forest tree.

Left untreated, any wood (including cedar and teak) turns that silvery color. (If it turns black, it's not drying between rains and mold is growing in the pores. BIG trouble down the road.) If you like the natural color, you can give it a very light sanding to restore the wood surface and then treat it with a clear water repellant such as Thompson's Water Seal.
 
won't argue, like i said, personal preference. but the key to your statement was sanding, not pressure washing, NEVER pressure washa deck. and while i know all wood will silver as it ages, the weyerhauser silvered in about 6 months. oh well, at least we'll never have to replace it.
 
IIRC the platic wood is used in areas where conditions are much harsher than at your normal house, like at beach houses. if it were me id look into some white cedar. every deck we've had was built from this (my old man is in the specialty lumber industry) and treated with a bleaching/stain(Cabot's brand?). they hold up well as long as you take care of them.

Hunter
 
Hunter-Lynchburg said:
IIRC the platic wood is used in areas where conditions are much harsher than at your normal house, like at beach houses. if it were me id look into some white cedar. every deck we've had was built from this (my old man is in the specialty lumber industry) and treated with a bleaching/stain(Cabot's brand?). they hold up well as long as you take care of them.

Hunter
Click to expand...

I LOVE the look of white cedar, but red cedar is actually more resistant to decay.

I grew up using Cabot's creosote bleaching oil on cedar shingles. Great product. Naturally, it has been outlawed. Can't by anything with creosote in it. Here in Connecticut it was outlawed back in the late 70's. For several years I was sending Connecticut contractors to a paint store in Springfield, MA, to buy the stuff and bring it back to use on houses in Connecticut. Don't know if that was legal or not, but the contractors knew it was better stuff, too, so using it meant less problems for them

Now it's illegal everywhere and Cabots doesn't even make it. They still sell a bleaching oil, but it isn't creosote-based and I'm certain it doesn't provide equivalent protection.
 
FWIW, I installed a Trex composite deck in my yard 2 summers ago and have had a persistent mold on it since about 2 months after I installed it. It's merely a cosmetic problem...looks like leopard spots, but still. I called Trex and they Fed Exed my a huge box full of 5 gallons of Cabot's deck wash, a pump sprayer, brushes, goggles, etc, free of charge, which was really nice and the customer support is great, but the spots came back about two months later. This is in Kentucky in full sun. I have never seen mold like this on any other deck. I dig the Trex, and I don't regret using it, but the maintenance free guarantee is obviously not happening in my region. I'll have to use swimming pool chlorine bleach (26 % NaHCO3) to kill the mold. On the plus side, it does cut, drill and route like wood.

YMMV,
KY Chris
 
I used Weyerhauser Choice-dek on mine and so far I really like it. I don't mind the weathered silver color. Cedar is generally not available here (very costly). Most people use redwood. The construction common redwood is slightly less expensive than the composites and looks like crap. That's what most of the contractors use in new construction housing. The deck grade redwood looks really nice, but is 30-40 percent more expensive than composites.

The Choice-dek is easy to work with. I used treated lumber for the framing and that gave my saw more of a workout. It does need a fascia around the outside to hide the ends of the deck boards. Also, the joist spacing has to be closer together. I found that the decking is pretty reasonable for price - they make their money on the railing components :scared:

For some free plans and interesting discussion forums go here:

http://www.deckplans.com/

They have a product to sell, but are pretty good about answering almost any question.
 
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