I will be doing my kitchen over in the spring and have been keeping an eye out for good deals on things I will be needing for the remodel.
We will be doing the kitchen in wood and were planning on using red oak to match the rest of the house. I came across someone selling unfinished IPE, 3/4″ x 5″ Tongue and Groove. After looking into it I thought it might be a nice contrast against the rest of the house and would probably hold up better in the kitchen.
Is IPE a viable option for kitchen flooring? Thanks.
Brad
Replies
I can see two obstacles in your path: first is nailing or stapling the flooring down. Ipe is very dense, hard wood, and I don't know if a flooring nailer will punch through it. Never tried it though, and brazilian cherry is also hard and tough, and a flooring nailer works on it.
The second problem is finish. Ipe is hard to finish because it is so non-porous and slightly oily. What sort of finish would you want to do on it? Something like a teak oil might be ok if reapplied every year or two, but that would be a very different look from a glossy polyurethane.
zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"