I do a lot of architectural research and am constantly on the lookout for wonderful places in America and across the world that use ipe. Recently, I came across a wonderful and truly spectacular banquet hall in Michigan called the Lafayette Grande.
They have just completed renovations to their Grande Ballroom and the results are simply stunning. For the flooring, they specifically chose Brazilian Walnut flooring. As you are aware, Brazilian Walnut is just another name for ipe. Regardless of the name, the result is quite breathtaking.
I can only imagine how nice it would be to have a wedding reception or party at that banquet hall. Frankly, I don’t think they could have chosen a better type of hardwood.
At AdvantageLumber.com, we sell Brazilian Walnut flooring and can even custom mill trim and molding to your specifications. Contact us today for a free quote.
I have an Ipe floor that needs to be re finished, but I am having a hard time finding anyone who knows how to do it, and what finish to use. Can you help me?
Thanks,
Rob Eastman
Robert,
Re-finishing an Ipe Interior floor would be done the same as any interior flooring. The product that we have always found to work great with Ipe flooring is call Fabulon. It’s a polyurethane finish that absorbs better than other finishes. They carry a variety of gloss finishes that would be determined by the look you are trying to achieve. I hope this helps. Please let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with.
Below I have attached a link on a step by step re-finishing process. They only thing I would suggest different than the list is to do 3-4 coats of finish as a posed to 2. Reason being it will give you a stronger and more rigid finish.
http://www.ehow.com/how_1856_refinish-hardwood-floor.html
Fabulon makes a few different finishes to fit what you need. I personally would go with a water base as again this will make for a stronger finish.