Wood Prep

When you get your ipe lumber, you may be excited and eager to get started. Don’t. The wood still needs some preparation before construction begins.

Air Dried vs. Kiln Dried

The difference that you really need to be aware of is that air dried lumber is intended for outdoor use, so is ideal for deck building, while kiln dried lumber is best suited for indoor use. Kiln dried lumber will expand if left outdoors, while air dried lumber will shrink if used indoors.

Storage

Once you get your ipe lumber, store it in a dry, covered area elevated at least 4″ off the ground. Make sure all the ipe is exposed to good air flow.

Acclimation

Let the wood sit for a while. The purpose of acclimation is to allow the ipe to adjust to the air’s moisture content in your area. How long this takes can vary depending on the wood’s exact moisture content and your local climate. It can take anywhere from 2-3 weeks to a couple months, so make sure you plan ahead. If you don’t give the wood a chance to adjust, it can shrink or expand after installation which can cause all sorts of problems down the road.

It is very important to let the wood acclimate in an environment similar to its final installation site.  This means decking should be kept outside, and should not be covered in a tarp.  Storing your decking in your garage is an example of poor acclimation, and will result in the deck boards cupping after installation.

Comments

aaron

November 5, 2010

if ipe wood decking was kiln dried can you let it acclimate outside before using it then for a outdoor wood deck

    jcolton

    July 12, 2011

    Yes, absolutely. All wood must be acclimated, no matter how it was dried.

Ralph

April 4, 2012

i have Kiln dried Ipe. I want to use this for an outdoor kitchen that has roof and walls and opening with no windows. I live in NC. Can i use this Kiln tongue and grove material. It will be install on a plywood floor subfloor. The material will sit two weeks before installation will be sanded and sealed.? Please offer an opinion on this.

    Ipe Deck Builder

    April 4, 2012

    That depends on if you have kiln dried T&G flooring or T&G decking. If it’s flooring, it cannot be used outside, no matter what. If it’s decking you should be fine, except you cannot install it over plywood; you have to use normal deck framing. Also, you need to allow for open air on both sides of the boards for proper ventilation.

Joy

April 5, 2013

We are wanting to build a large deck (approx. 800 sq ft), but I don’t know where to store the wood for acclimation. The garage is not acceptable. There is no where outside that would be a covered area. Any suggestions?

    James

    April 8, 2013

    Once you’ve properly stacked your decking outside, you can cover it with a piece (or pieces) of plywood. Just make sure to use some pieces of scrap lumber to keep the plywood elevated a couple inches off the decking.

Sau

July 2, 2013

I am getting IPE decking boards tomorrow in the Pacific Northwest. Can I store it with elevated height in the garage and leave the garage door say 1 foot open at night? Weather here can be unpredictable even in summer and it can rain one day and heat up the next. Hence, the question.

    Ipe Deck Builder

    July 2, 2013

    I wouldn’t put it in the garage. To protect the wood from rain while it acclimates, I would stack the wood outside as normal, then cover the stack with sheets of plywood elevated a few inches off the tops of the boards.

    There’s a video on this page that illustrates the correct way to stack decking outdoors. At about the 1:00 mark it shows the plywood cover technique: http://www.advantagelumber.com/ipedeckinstall.htm

Henry

August 9, 2014

You say 2 weeks to several months for acclimation. How can I tell when the wood is acclimated to our part of the country?

    Ipe Deck Builder

    August 11, 2014

    In most cases, acclimation will be complete after 2 weeks. In more extreme climates with a lot of variation in temperature and moisture levels, you might need more time. That should be all you need to do, but if you wanted to be super exact about it, you’d have to measure the moisture levels in both the wood and the air, and compare them.

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