installing 3/4x4 ipe over and existing 3/4x 2 1/4 oak floor ,,was planing on using cleats ,,any suggestions on length? 2 or 1 1/2
thanks

2" for sure, longer is better!

2", the longer is better

Personally I would go with 1&1/2”. The oak holds cleats well and going through Ipe plus oak is going to be a real feat.

Yeah thats kinda what i was thinking
txs

We have nailed miles of IPE ...the nails go right through without a problem. We like nails/cleats better than staples because the staples tend to split the ornery IPE

2" is best.

to someone who has nailed miles of ipe ,mind if i ask you a question?, Not sure if you've installed pre finished ,raw or both,,ok so i bought some pre finished at an auction,, 4 inch x30" pieces. the material was reading around 11 - 12 % on the meter ,,I let it sit in my house in partial open boxs for 2 months with no change ,and another 3 weeks racked out and some material chimney stacked in a few piles,,still no change in readings and on the verge of insanity walking on a racked out floor i installed ,,this was in late June,,long story short im getting some considerable caps,MC is 8-11 now,,,the floor also scratches super easy,leaving that annoying white scratch mark,,iim thinking the A O finish is faulty or just bad,,i cant image a prefinished floor scratching so easily.Short of ripping it out which i have considered AAGGHHHH my question is do you think it can be re finished?,im assuming they make an IPE filler ,,and can it be finished to look as good as it does now ,,,obviously without the caps haha ,,cause it does look good.,,have you ever had the pleasure of dealing with any of these issues/
thanks for taking the time ,,any help would be greatly appreciated
Bill

Yes IPE comes from South America and it often like many South Americans has a mind of it's own.
Shrinkage is a common occurrence.
In the beginning it wood have been Better to have taken it all the way out of the boxes and put sticks in between layers with a dehumidifier close by.

That being said, i realize it is too late for that.
We have installed many IPE floors both UF and prefinished and some have shrunk more than we or the customer wanted.

Her is my suggestion, this is what has worked for us.
Wait as long as you are able, a year wood be great.
Tint some dark walnut Wood Wise or Bona hardwood floor filler to match the hardwood.
Make sure to try an area first as the filler has tendency to dry a different colour/lighter than you think.
Trowel fill the floor as if you were grouting tile.
If you have major cracks you may have to cut wood sliver to fill the gaps.

Maroon pad the floor. clean, clean, clean!
Apply Bona prep as per the directions.
Coat the floor with urethane.
It will look better than new!
IPE is a great wood floor just a little temperamental!

PE is a great wood floor just a little temperamental!,,,now thats an understatement hahaha,,as you know i nailed over an old oak floor with 2 inch cleats and i am finding more and more queaks and i swear some of the boards are higher than others which i dont remember when installing,,,,little toe stuppers but nothing i cant live with,,,whats my option grind it down flat? ,hey thanks so much for the information ,,i feel much better. its soooo stressful to look at your floor with card caps. , so gonna try this myself,,i have no problem waiting a year or more ,,so two more questions ,, will the maroon pad remove superficial A O white scratches ? and are you recommending an over the counter oil based polyurethane or latex ,,not a fan of latex as it does not appear to hold up as well. or would you recommend a Glitsa?

The white blemishes will go away
The kind of finish you use depends on how you want it to look when you are done.
For a High gloss finish use an oil modified, For a Matt finish use a waterborne.
Glitsa is a great finish but more for use for a professional.
You have time so try a sample in a closet.
The oil is thicker so that might help fill in the cracks! (:
It is going to be fine!

I love guys like you ,,quick to respond with an easy and well understood fix backed up with a positive attitude,,thanks for calming my stress level. I will check in mid summer ,,hopefully it wont swell back up . Thanks again and Happy Holidays
Bill

WOOD is GOOD!!!!!!

terryreeb, once you fill the gaps as per your advice above, will the wood no longer show gaps with changes in the season? We have installed 4" Ipe throughout the house last March. The wood sat in the house for several months, exposed to the air prior to installation with the furnace running. The floor was finished after the furnace was off for the season and it looked flawless until we turned the heat back on in November. Now we have gaps throughout, some are large enough to fit a quarter (photos attached). We used a reputable installer who has worked with this material before but he did not warn us about the gaps. We are bringing him back to evaluate but would appreciate any feedback.

Hardwood flooring seems to move the most the first year, after the first year it will move but not so much. Advice for future IPE installations - the dark boards will shrink more the the lighter boards. Best to order some extra and put the really dark boards aside or at least not in the most visible places. After a year you may trowel fill the floor with Woodwise or a similar product remembering that the filler will dry lighter when it dries. We tint the filler and check it before getting too far along. If the gaps are substantial you can cut skinny slices of wood and cram them in the slot. This works better if you are refinishing the floor but if you are careful you can do it on a prefinished floor that is being recoated. Your floor looks great, wait a year for it to get close to done moving and if the gaps bother you then fill it and top coat it with one coat of urethane!

Thank you! Appreciate the quick response.

Looks like you need your own IPE advise hot line ,,,

Looks just like mine,,, it is frustrating ,,,so what did your guy say other than there is nothing he can do other then Terrys suggestions
Bill

Im curious ,,did you ever rectify your issue with caps? and if so hows it looking now ,,,,i have the same issue ,,my pre finished has been down over a year now and i swear its still moving,,95 % of gaps are running length ways ,,,some almost an 1/8 " most butt joints look good
Thanks
Bill