Ipe is a noble and very resistant exotic wood, which is why it is often used for outdoor installations and more particularly for ipe terraces around swimming pools. It is the wood species we find most often in the manufacture of outdoor wooden terraces. You may be wondering: how do you maintain an ipe terrace ? To help you, we'll show you the characteristics of ipe that make it unique. We will then show you the most suitable products for protecting your ipe deck.
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF IPE WOOD?
Ipe is a brown to reddish coloured wood, native to South America. Its veining remains very discreet. Exotic ipe wood has very interesting properties. It is rot-proof, which makes it resistant to humidity, wood-eating insects, fungi, etc. This is why ipe terraces near swimming pools are very common nowadays. Moreover, ipe is a very heat-resistant wood. This characteristic is particularly interesting if you live in a hot area in the summer because it prevents your terrace from undergoing strong dimensional variations and deformation.
The main disadvantage of the ipe is its price. It is quite expensive: 50 to 90 euros per square metre, excluding breaks.
WHICH PROTECTION PRODUCTS FOR AN IPE TERRACE?
The characteristics of ipe wood make it a very durable material for use on terraces. Its lifespan can be up to 75 years.
But this does not mean that you can do without regular maintenance of your ipe terrace. Indeed, an outdoor terrace is subject to natural aggressions such as the sun's UV rays, bad weather and humidity. Like all other terraces, a terrace made of ipe planks will tend to become grey and dull over time. This is known as greying or greying of the wood. The main negative impact comes from this change in colour, which is not homogeneous and gives the terrace an unattractive appearance. The other disadvantage of an unprotected ipe deck is that the combination of water penetration and drying out of the wood will result in the ipe boards warping and splitting. Over time, this will lead to additional aesthetic ageing. If this colour change or the risk of premature surface ageing does not bother you, the treatment of an ipe deck is not essential.
On the other hand, to avoid these alterations, we advise you, as with all wooden decks, to regularly maintain and protect your deck with an ipe saturator.
This product protects your ipe terrace from UV rays, sun and humidity. Prefer a water-based saturator to have the least possible impact on the environment. We recommend an ipe wood saturator such as the Ipe Saturator SI600. It nourishes and protects the wood while reviving its original appearance. This ipe wood saturator is formulated with rich and high quality raw materials, which allows it to prolong the aesthetic and physical life of ipe decking boards with little maintenance. On average, one coat nourishes and protects an ipe deck for 2 years. It is resistant to pool chlorine. It can be used either as soon as the ipe deck boards are laid, or in renovation work to waterproof and revive damaged wooden decks.
The application of the Ipe Saturator SI600 is very simple: only one coat is needed! This ipe wood saturator is not a film-forming product, it protects your wood by penetrating inside it and does not create a film. Thus, the natural texture of your ipé deck will be preserved.
To protect new ipe wood, wait at least three weeks of exposure before treating it. If you don't have time to wait, you need to make your wood less "hard" and more able to receive the saturator and allow it to penetrate. To do this, brush the ipe exotic wood with black soap diluted in hot water.
HOW SHOULD IPE WOOD DECKING BE MAINTAINED ?
The maintenance of an ipe terrace is simple, you can carry out a simple surface rinse with black soap and warm water to remove pollen and other frequent pollution. For this, we advise you to use the Liquid Black Soap SN800
When you notice dulling or drying of the wood, simply apply a new coat of Ipe Saturator SI600 as a maintenance treatment. The advantage of this product is that it is easy to apply.
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR IPE TERRACE HAS ALREADY GONE GREY ?
If your ipe outdoor wooden deck has already gone grey, it's never too late to revive it if you use the right products. You can renovate it by following a simple procedure :
Apply a wood degreaser on your terrace like the Degreaser DG105. This product, very easy to use, allows you to eliminate the greying of the wood by restoring the natural aspect to your ipe terrace.
Then apply Ipe Saturator SI600. The product is also very easy to use as it dries quickly and does not need to be wiped with a cloth. As mentioned earlier in this article, this product will enable you to limit water penetration and block the action of the sun's UV rays to combat greying of the wood and premature ageing.
