White oak is very durable and sustainable. That said, it is also a bit finicky to work with. It machines quite well, but has extreme variation in density between heartwood and sapwood as well as early wood vs. late wood. It also has one of the greatest variations in tangential dimensional stability during moisture cycling. In other words, if it is flat sawn (sawn faces tangential to the growth rings) it expands and contracts significantly based on the ambient moisture content of the environment it is placed in (relative humidity). That is why oak flooring was traditionally quarter sawn (sawn faces perpendicular to the growth rings) which made is much less susceptible to moisture cycling. Unfortunately quarter sawn white oak flooring can be quite costly, although well worth the investment. If you can't get quarter sawn white oak, I would suggest maple or hickory would be a better choice.

As far as sustainable South American wood goes, this spring I was in Peru, looking at a project to build a timber frame community center for the residents of the Pucasana barrio. Pucasana is a coastal desert town south of Lima. I was assured the wood we would be using was being sustainably harvested. I had an opportunity to meet the supplier and was surprised that it was actually a resaw mill. The owner bought large cants of tropical wood and resawed it into timbers and planks which were available rough sawn or planed. He had a watch monkey and a shop full of large ancient machinery that would have made any safety inspector's hair stand straight up which was connected to a distribution center with no cover that he would pull and push wires in and out of fuse clips to make the machine he was using run. I asked him (through an interpreter) where the wood came from. Other than from the mountains, he didn't know. I didn't ask him if he knew what sustainable harvest meant.

Rude E
Helping put the *Shine* on HP




On Dec 4, 2010, at 5:38 AM, Leland Torrence wrote:

> Hello there Ruth of the Green hills.
> No more Trex in VT! Are you working on a ski lodge?  Health spa for out of
> staters?  Flatlanders?  Even in CT we have plenty of people with mills that
> need work and do responsible harvesting of wood.  White oak and cedar can be
> harvested and milled for less than Trex. The General Store should have local
> wood under foot!  As for Ipe:  like Mahogony and basically all woods, it
> comes from different sources, areas and has varying characteristics based on
> how and where it was grown. White oak grown on a rocky ridge is not like
> white oak grown at the edge of a swamp, sorry, I mean wetland. (Not to
> mention, there are probably over 400 species of oak.) When Ipe first came
> out, we did a few decks with it.  We sourced it from three different lumber
> yards.  Each had a different supplier.  In general I lump Ipe with a whole
> variety of hard South American woods, that have squirrely grain, are very
> hard, and quite beautiful when kept oiled or maintained with a clear
> protective coating.  We have always pre-drilled when installing, and have
> done face screws exposed, toe nailed with a clear surface and used a deck
> fastener system so you get a surface with no penetrations.  All the Ipe we
> have used are hard some more than others, but in all cases you will go
> through blades and be sharpening your chisels a lot.  I am working on a
> project where the architect has specified Ipe for the window louvers
> (vertical and horizontal shading) and we were told it was considered a
> sustainable source.  I will ask.  But Ruth, get them to go with the local
> mill and the local woods, thereby sustaining local economy while practicing
> good forestry.
> Best,
> Leland 
> 
> PS  Rudad, you know something of timbers, will you comment?
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The listserv where the buildings do the talking
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ruth Barton
> Sent: Friday, December 03, 2010 10:18 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [BP] Ipe?
> 
> Hi Smart City Folk,  Where does this Ipe wood come from?  I never even
> heard of it until it came on the horizon as a possible porch flooring
> material at our soon to be constructed General Store.  I figure you folks
> probly know all about it.  Unfortunately we can't afford it at any rate.
> Architect is trying to stuff Trex down our throats, and we're not buying
> it!!!!  We have an offer of white oak from a local fella for the same price
> as the Trex and I think we are going to take it.   Just curious about Ipe
> trees, as I've never come across them before.  Thanks, Ruth
> -- 
> Ruth Barton
> [log in to unmask]
> Dummerston, VT
> 
> --
> **Please remember to trim posts, as requested in the Terms of Service**
> 
> To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the uncoffee-ed,
> or to change your settings, go to:
> <http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>
> 
> --
> **Please remember to trim posts, as requested in the Terms of Service**
> 
> To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
> <http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>

--
**Please remember to trim posts, as requested in the Terms of Service**

To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>