Exotic Woods

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(760) 930-6060 (SD)
(949) 573-2471 (OC)
(310) 736-8125 (LA)

Exotic Wood Deck Restoration

Decks can be made from a wide range of exotic hardwoods including Ipe, Mangaris, and Teak. While exotic hardwoods can share many similarities, they also demand to be treated with specific care and attention due to their high densities and unique characteristics. Teak & Deck Professionals work with all wood types and knows exactly what is best for your particular outdoor deck.

Ipe (pronounced e-pay) is a naturally durable hardwood grown in South America, with lower quality Ipe coming from Central America. Ipe is also known as Ironwood, Brazilian Cherry, purple heartwood, and Pau Lope to name just a few. While these are not all Ipe, they are closely related species and are frequently used as a synonym for Ipe. Ipe is so dense that insects like termites don’t mess with it and it won’t rot. The challenge with Ipe is, that, because it is so dense it is very difficult to get a penetrating oil to penetrate it when sealing. There are steps required during both the cleaning, prepping, and sealing of Ipe that must be taken in order to ensure satisfactory results for deck restoration.

Mangaris, also sold as Mangaris Diamond, is a tropical Merbau very close to Ipe. Mangaris is imported from Indonesia and is slightly softer than Ipe but still extremely dense. Grain patterns are slightly more pronounced than in Ipe and will show tannin stains more than found in Ipe. Similar to other hardwoods like Ipe, Mangaris requires specific cleaning and sealing techniques to ensure proper saturation of the wood and complete removal of excess oil for successful deck restoration..

Wood decks can also be made of Teak, which provides many of the same benefits as found when this wood type is used for furniture. Also known as Brazilian Teak, this hardwood provides a variety of beautiful colors, slightly lighter in nature than found in Ipe or Mangaris. While softer than both Ipe and Mangaris, it is still dense enough to ward off insects and resist rot when properly maintained.

What People Are Saying About Us Online

Frequently Asked Questions

This is by far our most frequent question when meeting with prospective customers for the first time. And the easy answer is “Yes, we would not want it any other way”. We don’t do any photoshopping to the pictures on our website. They are all actual pictures of work we’ve done to make the grayest of gray pieces turn into like-new outdoor teak furniture. It’s always an amazing transformation and one we never get tired of seeing – one of the many reasons our crews take such pride in their work!

Most of our teak restoration jobs of 5 – 15 pieces are completed in one day, with the pieces dry and ready for use by the next afternoon. We achieve this turnaround, not by rushing, but rather by our level of experience. All we do is restore and maintain outdoor teak furniture and decks and with that comes the expertise regarding methods and materials that allows us to be in and out of your yard with minimal disruption.

It is true and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are good at what we do, including estimating the time and materials needed to do a job, even just based on a 5-minute phone conversation. We have literally restored more than 10,000 pieces of teak furniture and more than 1,000 decks over the past 10 years so we know what to ask and how to turn those answers into a firm estimate that won’t yield any surprises down the line.

Over 90 percent of our jobs are done at the customer’s location for several reasons. First off, it is always best for the furniture if it is moved the least amount of time. A move of any kind can lead to unnecessary wear and tear on all the joints and connections. Secondly, by doing the work on-site, you have your teak furniture pieces back and ready for use the next day. Lastly, we go to great lengths to ensure that your backyard will look as good as it did when we arrived, actually better because now your teak or deck will be like-new! Many of our customers ensure that they aren’t even home while we are working so that they can return to a transformed backyard.

You can certainly restore and maintain your outdoor teak furniture or hardwood deck yourself just like you can change your own oil in your car or wash your own windows on your home. But there are three major items that keep most people from going this route: materials, method, and expertise. We obtain only the best penetrating sealers not available at traditional big-box retailers like Home Depot or Lowe’s. We also have developed methods that allow us to do most of our work in ¼ the time that any homeowner would be able to do the same. Lastly, our crews have done this hundreds of times so they know issues to look for and ways to ensure a quality finish that only come with being an expert.