When I was younger, I asked my parents if I could paint my room. They urged me to pick a light and unassuming color that I wouldn't end up hating in a few years. I didn't like that advice. As an adult, I still don't like it. I have always thought that painting my walls seems to be a simple way to drastically change up the look of my space and make it my own. Painting a wall an on-trend color … [Read more...] about 2023 Colors of the Year and the Woods that Make them better
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wood Priming Services
We offer 3 different levels of wood priming to suit a wide variety of exterior and interior trim & siding projects. Different wood species will absorb more or less of the finish and may require more surface preparation to mitigate grain raising while keeping moulded details crisp. Primed wood trim for exterior applications should have a fungicide additive for additional protection, and it … [Read more...] about wood Priming Services
Increased Importing Difficulties Plague Spanish Cedar
Spanish Cedar is an excellent exterior grade species that is often viewed as a viable alternate to Genuine Mahogany. In fact the Spanish Cedar is in the same Meliaceae family that Mahogany resides so a case could be made for the similarities. The problem is that importing and sourcing it has become much much harder these days. The introduction of the species into a few new regions is helping, … [Read more...] about Increased Importing Difficulties Plague Spanish Cedar
Understanding Hardwood Lumber Grading
For more than a century, hardwood lumber grading has been an industry standard established by the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA). Thanks to the foresight of the early founders of the NHLA in 1898, some order has been added to the chaos that had become the lumber trade. Finally there was a standardized system of grading to determine quality of lumber. Today we take this lumber grading … [Read more...] about Understanding Hardwood Lumber Grading
Tigerwood Decking or Ipe or Cumaru: Tropical Decking Choices
Spring time is here and with it comes deck building season. This is the time of year when our millwork department spends 75% of the day grooving Ipe decking boards for hidden fasteners. At any given moment there are several trucks being loaded with Ipe or Cumaru or Tigerwood decking to be shipped off to our customers around the country. As we have written about on this blog … [Read more...] about Tigerwood Decking or Ipe or Cumaru: Tropical Decking Choices
Cost of Ipe Decking Price Study
For many people lumber pricing is a mystery. It varies widely from once supplier to another, one week to the next, and even within the same species. So many variables are in play and questions that have to be asked. Board foot or lineal foot? Widths, Thickness, and Length requirements? Specific grade or grain pattern? Delivery or pickup? Milling or moulding needed? All of these elements … [Read more...] about Cost of Ipe Decking Price Study
Utile Is The Best Mahogany Alternative
Mahogany is an iconic wood for furniture and high end millwork. It has been used for hundreds of years as the prime species based on its ease of use, consistent color, and outstanding appearance. These days genuine Mahogany is not used as often.  Not so much because of availability but because the price has been tough to swallow. Regulation of the species has slowed down the supply chain and … [Read more...] about Utile Is The Best Mahogany Alternative
Kiln Drying Wood
Wood is an organic and hydroscopic material. Think of it like a bundle of straws. It will take in moisture and expel moisture as the humidity of it's environment changes. The capillary action of the wood takes in the moisture causing the fibers to swell and the wood moves across the grain. It is this essential element of wood that makes working with it so wonderful and at the same time … [Read more...] about Kiln Drying Wood
Wood Moves, Get Over It
As if it were some kind of perpetual motion machine, wood will never stop moving. No matter how old it is, what has been done to seal it, fasten it, or restrain it, the wood will move. Accept it, and move on. Understanding how and why your wood moves is necessary if you are going to work with this wonderful medium. Understanding how a particular species and cut moves is … [Read more...] about Wood Moves, Get Over It
Types of Hardwood Plywood & Core Comparisons
Did you know that J. Gibson McIlvain sells plywood? It came to my attention recently when visiting customers that this was not a well known fact. Certainly hardwoods is where our legacy lies with hundreds of years in that market, but we decided to jump into plywood several years ago to offer some alternatives to our customers. Despite plywood's popularity, users tend to know very … [Read more...] about Types of Hardwood Plywood & Core Comparisons
Do you really Need Marine Plywood?
That depends (sigh)... How do you plan to use it? What is Marine plywood used for? Marine plywood is any plywood made to withstand the elements of nature, specifically water. So it is used for Marine construction like boats and docks but also water front properties. As you can imagine the amount of exposure the plywood sees varies widely on whether it is used on a boat or on an ocean front … [Read more...] about Do you really Need Marine Plywood?
Value Engineering Millwork and Mouldings
I'm decidedly biased in this statement but I'll say it anyway. Wood is beautiful. Natural wood mouldings make an incredible statement in any home. I think many will agree with me as we are seeing an increase in millwork jobs and the design styles in vogue are starting to feature more natural wood. The issue however is that for several decades the growth of composite and … [Read more...] about Value Engineering Millwork and Mouldings
What Story Does Your Lumber Tell?
Thanksgiving is tomorrow and we are thankful for many things at J. Gibson McIlvain. It is a blessing to be surrounded by so much beautiful wood and to be able to work with so many customers who are passionate about what they do. Whether it be boats, homes, or furniture we are all bound together by the medium we work with: wood. So thank you to all our suppliers, partners, and certainly our … [Read more...] about What Story Does Your Lumber Tell?
Choosing the Best Wood: A Special Customer Request
One of our core value adds here at J. Gibson McIlvain is that we know a LOT about wood. Every day we help our customers pick the best species for their project and advise on care, installation, and maintenance. Recently it seems one of our would- be customers decided to test us to see how good we really are. It was a few weeks ago when one of the jolliest people you have ever heard called in. He … [Read more...] about Choosing the Best Wood: A Special Customer Request
Do I Need Air Dried or Kiln Dried Ipe Decking?
There is no question that the primary use for Ipe is as a decking material. As a decking product, Ipe is surfaced on 4 sides (S4S) and eased on 4 edges (E4E) which prevents splintering and sharp edges in this very, very hard wood. Depending on how our clients choose to install the Ipe decking, we may have to rout a groove for clip fasteners, but at most, that is all we are doing to the wood … [Read more...] about Do I Need Air Dried or Kiln Dried Ipe Decking?
Plenty of Ipe to Rebuild East Coast Hurricane Damage
I have written in the past about the difficulties that come with buying Ipe, due to distinct seasons created by the rainy season. Additionally, there is global competition for the resource, and we have had to get more and more savvy about when we buy and how to extend our buying season in order to take best advantage of sizes that quickly become scarce. This year the playing field was set, … [Read more...] about Plenty of Ipe to Rebuild East Coast Hurricane Damage
Give Your Lumber Room to Move
Winter is just around the corner (less than a week according to my calendar), and while many of us are staying indoors to ride out the colder temperatures, armies of builders and contractors are braving the elements in their day to day jobs. Whether the job be renovating a summer home to get it ready for the next beach season, or making needed repairs to keep the cold out in the coming … [Read more...] about Give Your Lumber Room to Move
Are We Overbuilding Our Boardwalks?
The mad scramble to rebuild the east coast boardwalks after Hurricane Sandy has begun. As usual, many municipalities dragged their feet during the winter, and with tourist season looming just a few months away, our phones are ringing off the hook with people looking for 2x4 and 2x6 Ipe for a boardwalk somewhere along the Atlantic coast. Ipe suppliers such as J. Gibson McIlvain and many of our … [Read more...] about Are We Overbuilding Our Boardwalks?
Replace those Dock Boards with Ipe and Save
Its getting cold out there. The summer tourists have gone home and seasonal repairs and renovation has begun in earnest. This year one simple yet highly effective repair you can do is to replace your dock boards with Ipe. After all a dock is just a deck right? In fact Ipe has become such an effective dock material that many of the sawmills we work with in Brazil produce 4-5 foot Ipe boards … [Read more...] about Replace those Dock Boards with Ipe and Save
Teak Supply Pinch May Be Good News for Home Builders
As the log bans and export regulation changes in Myanmar continue to confuse the Teak market, there is a strong positive for home builders who use Teak that could make a lot of previously difficult-to-obtain lumber a lot easier to get. In general, the Teak industry centers around boat builders. These builders have understandably very high standards due to the dollar amount on their products and … [Read more...] about Teak Supply Pinch May Be Good News for Home Builders