Just imagine your order of ipe decking arrives just in time. You look over each board and can see right away that each board is definitely premium grade. Satisfied, you start cutting and installing your deck right away.
Things go smoothly and you’re about 75% of the way done when you start to see what looks like cracks in your decking. The worst part? It’s not just one or two boards (That would be manageable). To your horror you see that 90% of your boards are “end checking.”
Unfortunately, this happens to more than one person who fails to properly take care of their decking before they install it.
Thankfully, there’s a very easy way to prevent this disaster from happening.
Simply apply a wax-based hardwood end sealer to each board. Why? Like the tale above, end checking can occur if you don’t apply an end grain sealant and will make a once immaculate looking deck look aged and unattractive very fast.
You benefit most by using a product such as an End Grain Sealant because:
- It’s a one-time application
- It can be applied easily
- Prevents end checking (aka end splits)
Buy Ipe end grain sealer online to protect your ipe decking or contact AdvantageLumber.com today to place your order over the phone.
Special Note: This wax emulsion sealer must be applied to the ends of each board only. Avoid getting it on the surface of your decking.
I need to order a gallon of the End Grain Sealant for Hardwoods, where can i buy this?
Hello Ed,
You can purchase end grain sealant for hardwood decking online here:
End Grain Sealant. If you have questions, you can call the toll free number anytime.
Thank you for your question!
Is you Ipe wood shipped with the ends sealed or do I need to do that as soon as it arrives? Also, is it better to seal all the lumber before installation or wait until the deck is finished?
With regards to the endseal, the boards will come to you already sealed. They will need to be resealed on all fresh cuts. Any fresh cuts will need to be sealed right away to prevent checking.
Hope this helps, if there is anything else I can help you with please don’t hesitate to ask. Thank you.
I did not learn about this end seal until now. My Ipe deck was UV painted but somehow the luster faded after a couple of months. Will I repair this by using the end seal right now? How much will one gallon of sealant covers?
Amy,
The end grain sealant is to be used on the end grain of the decking only and not on the surface. The end grain sealant is to help prevent movement and end grain check in the material and should have been applied prior to installation on the end grain of any fresh cut.
To bring the natural color back to the decking what I would suggest doing is a pressure wash on the surface to make sure you are dealing with a clean surface, allow to dry 24 hours after pressure wash. Then simply apply an oil finish using a paint roller to the surface. The product that we suggest using for this would be Ipe Oil deck finish. We do carry this product for $52.00 per gallon and each gallon will cover approximately 300 square feet of decking.
I hope this helps if there is anything else I can do for you please let me know. Thank you for your time.