Dknapp34 Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 I made a shelf for the shower out of ipe and I'm wondering if I can get away with a simple danish or teak oil finish? My dad build some Adirondack chairs out of ipe a few years ago, finished them in teak oil and has had no problems, despite them being outside all year in the upstate NY weather. A shower seems like it might require a more water resistant finish though. Here's a crappy iphone pic of the shelf: On an unrelated note, I cut the strips for the shelf from 8/4 stock and my new Sawstop 1.75 hp went through it like butter. Loving that thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 I'd use an oil finish like you suggest. Just plan in reapplying a couple times a year. I like penofin marine oil. It contains mildewcide, which is important in a shower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Yep, oil finish is the smart way to go. At least twice a year give it a scrub with one of those plastic abrasive pads and re- oil it. Teak oil is fine but a mildewcide would be a very good thing to have as an ingredient. As long as it doesn't have something sitting on the shelf that traps moisture under it you should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew-in-austin Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 I have used Waterlox with very good success on Ipe. This might offer a bit more protection then just an oil. I think they have a marine finish as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Waterlox does have a marine versiom. It can take a long time to cure and the smell lingers for weeks and weeks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlinwi202 Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 What are you putting on it other than a beer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dknapp34 Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 38 minutes ago, atlinwi202 said: What are you putting on it other than a beer? Shower beer is the best beer! Probably shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream. There's a separate soap dish already built in, so that won't go on the shelf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted March 12, 2016 Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 Consider what you will clean the shower with, and how it will co-operate with any finish used. I use Clorox Cleanup in our shower, and made the shelves out of Corian. I think if we had wood inside the shower, it would need to be unfinished or the bleach would probably destroy the finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 12, 2016 Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 39 minutes ago, Tom King said: Consider what you will clean the shower with, and how it will co-operate with any finish used. I use Clorox Cleanup in our shower, and made the shelves out of Corian. I think if we had wood inside the shower, it would need to be unfinished or the bleach would probably destroy the finish. Agreed. I would not use any kind of film finish. A marine oil like penofin will help prevent mildew and is easy to reapply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenMasco Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 I would either rub a little oil on it or nothing at all. I'm pretty sure the Cony Island Boardwalk is made of Ipe and has been performing on the Atlantic Coast unfinished for 50 or more years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 I heard that a chunk of Boardwalk ended up in a guys yard after Sandy. He tried to get them to come remove it. When they blew him off he harvested all the Ipe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dknapp34 Posted March 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 6 hours ago, KenMasco said: I would either rub a little oil on it or nothing at all. I'm pretty sure the Cony Island Boardwalk is made of Ipe and has been performing on the Atlantic Coast unfinished for 50 or more years. I never knew that. You got me interested, so I did some googling. I guess they are replacing (or have replaced) some of the boardwalk with concrete, because it's cheaper. The ipe lasted for nearly a hundred years (built in 1923), but they are replacing it with something that will crack and need repairing every couple of years. I'm sure if you add up the maintenance costs of keeping the concrete in good shape for nearly a hundred years, it would end up costing a whole lot more than just using ipe in the first place. Not to mention the fact that a concrete "boardwalk" is not a boardwalk. It's a sidewalk. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted July 3, 2016 Report Share Posted July 3, 2016 On 3/27/2016 at 3:19 AM, Dknapp34 said: The ipe lasted for nearly a hundred years (built in 1923), but they are replacing it with something that will crack and need repairing every couple of years. And now you understand how to keep people working. CalTrans uses this business model on the left coast. They finally finish up a 10 year freeway project after numerous delays and then immediately tear it up again to fix something that has already failed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 @Dknapp34 How has this fared? I'm embarking on a shower fixture as well and am debating between Ipe (if i can find it) Teak or Iroko. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 Any of those woods should last but only if they are old growth timber. The teak table I built for my " Big Green Egg " in 1995 has no finish, a gray patina and no sign of mildew either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dknapp34 Posted December 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 4 hours ago, Chestnut said: @Dknapp34 How has this fared? I'm embarking on a shower fixture as well and am debating between Ipe (if i can find it) Teak or Iroko. This is a bit embarrassing, but I actually never installed it in the shower. I got distracted with a bunch of other things, then completely forgot about it and eventually bought a plastic shower shelf thing from bed bath & beyond. On a related note -- anyone in the market for an ipe shower shelf? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyokahn Posted December 14, 2017 Report Share Posted December 14, 2017 6 hours ago, Chestnut said: Ipe (if i can find it) Teak or Iroko Don't know iroko, teak would probably be fine and hold its looks for longer, but it's not as tough as ipe. You could probably find ipe from a flooring dealer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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