I think I'm being handed a line of bull. I sub'd out the flooring on this job because I've never installed this type of wood and wanted a nice looking floor because this is a high end house. So I sub'd this out to a contractor who said he worked with this wood before. The floor looks like crap and the home owner isn't too happy either. After he stained and applied a finish to the floor, that's when I noticed how bad it was. some boards were lower than others. some, the face grain stood up higher than the surrounding grain on the same board. I was told that because the wood was so hard in some parts of the grain and not in others that this is the result. He used a drum sander and it shows. Because there's also alot of wavey areas. I expected a nice smooth floor and so did the homeowner. Am I being handed a line or is this common with this type of wood. Any info would be greatful. rrbuilders06@gmail .com

Welcome to the site rrbuilders .
Please explain lower boards ?
The use of a drum sander shows in what way ? Chatter marks , stop marks . [etc].
a Wavy floor is in the sanding .
Can you post a photo ?

Put an experienced man on the end of a properly tuned sander, and you will have a fine job, regardless of type of wood. A good man will know the procedure for various woods. In the case of these very hard exotics, a 15 degree cut with 40 grit may be necessary to deal with the overwood before the actual smoothing process begins.
Final sanding and screening should be at 120 grit, if not finer.

BUT!!!! one word of caution: Ipe, aka Brazilian Walnut sanding dust is toxic. All workers must wear oxygen fed respirators for maximum protection, top notch dust masks as a minimum for protection.

Fastidious cleaning of the worksite during and after the sanding process is absolutely necessary for the protection of the home-owner. Consider ballooning off the area of the house to ensure NO transport of dust to other areas.

Nick and Dennis; Thanks for the speedy reply.Yes the floor is rippely or wavey which ever you prefer to call it. It also has cup spots as if it were sanded with an edge sander in certai spots and too much pressure was applied. That information about how toxic this wood is, is scary. In that the 2 home owners have breathing problems as it is and they're in there 70's They are also on oxygen. NO rooms were taped or sealed off The stairwell leading to the downstairs had a makeshift tent around it, But did nothing to keep the dust from going downstairs. NO cold air returns were sealed. Dust went everywhere. There's still dust all over-window sills-floors-tops of doors-and i've been working there for the last couple weeks. They had no dust extracting machines, Hell I don't think they opened any windows when they sanded. By lower boards, I meant that if you have 3 side by side the center one is lower. The edges are not sharp, they're rounded or blended in to meet the next board. I need to get more information on just how toxic this is and what are the health problems associated with it. Any web sites or data on this. Does OSHA have any rules governing this?

Your description of the sanding suggests you are going to have to cut the floor flat and start the finishing process over.
IPE can cause and or aggravate dermatitus, respiratory problems, etc. Info is out there in varous formats; or I can fax to you if you wish, or scan and email what I have.

# Ipe: irritant/respiratory, eye & skin

http://www.mimf.com/archives/toxic.htm


This guy is not understanding his full liability with the dust!!!!!!!
Yikes!


Yes, your getting a line of BS

Yes, I would appreciate any and all information you could send me on the hazards of ipee. rrbuilders06@gmail.com.

It seems to be the general response that despite the hardness of ipee, that there is no reason for this floor not to be flat and smooth. Am I correct in this assumption? Also, would I be out of line to tell this contractor to hire a professional cleaning crew to extract all dust?