Jim Grant
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Jim Grant restores public benches at Sunset Cliffs
Actually Tom according to the Janka hardness scale which is the Industry standard they state this ...." With a Janka hardness rating of 3680, compared to a little over 1100, Ipe is three times harder than teak decking. This advantage means that an Ipe wood deck can handle a lot more traffic and abuse" . And you are correct the greying factor is natural in most woods , deterioration comes from other things like not using end sealer or butting boards together without a 1/16" air dry gap which is what the City workers did and in the case of the end sealer did not do. Hopefully my efforts will counteract the neglect of City workers. In any case I think it is a unanimous decision people would much rather see beautiful benching then grey discolored weathered benching. Ipe, Mangaris and the Tropicals are stunning when properly maintained. Glad you appreciate the Tropicals they are beautiful .— November 4, 2012 4:10 p.m.
Jim Grant restores public benches at Sunset Cliffs
Thanks I go to The Cliffs often and the neglect of the benching really bugged me . The City's reasoning of " it is durable wood and does not need to be sealed" well that's like buying a new car and saying I am never going to wash it it's fine it will last, and in reality it will but it will look like crap in the meantime ...Thanks for appreciating the benching.— November 4, 2012 6:11 a.m.
Jim Grant restores public benches at Sunset Cliffs
@ Surfpuppy: Yes to maintain a rich wood look the Ipe will need periodic maintenance, most lumber in this environment will require re-treatment every 14-18 months. The City determined the wood " does not need to be sealed" That may be the case Ipe and all the hardwoods in that family line are very durable no doubt. The issue with the benches is they become unsightly , dirty , grungy and people treat them as such. When people see a piece of ill-maintained property they have little respect for it. So the refinishing makes the benches much more attractive. In addition despite the City claiming to know a lot about the Ipe , they made a couple critical mistakes: 1. They did not use a end sealer such as Anchor Seal. This sealer MUST be used on all end cuts and end grain that keeps or at least slows down the end grain splitting. 2. They built the benching with NO gaps between the boards. Both of these are critical mistakes according to all the information available when dealing with hardwood NEVER sandwich boards together. It was my intent to make the benching more appealing and as an added benefit slow down the aging process. It is beautiful lumber and I hated seeing it neglected. I was not trying to put the City on the spot or calling them out and will be filing out all the City paperwork to continue with the work. if anyone would like to spend a few hours in the sun enjoying the views they are more then welcome to join me in completing the last 4 benches. Thank you for appreciating the benching. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/0… http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/0…— November 3, 2012 8:33 a.m.