Ipe is the gold standard of hardwood. It is what all other woods really aspire to be. It is not only the hardest and longest lasting wood. But it is also bug resistant and fire resistant. Ipe is one of the only woods that has a class “A” fire rating. This rating is the same as steel or concrete. When deciding what wood to build your deck out of, Ipe is really the best. So the question is why do people use anything besides Ipe for their deck? Simply Ipe is a bit more expensive, but also not everyone can just buy Ipe! The other woods do offer more color variety than Ipe. Ipe requires little or no maintenance and lasts over 75 years in the right conditions. Ipe can be used for all aspects of a structure, including supporting structure. Ipe is most commonly used for decking, but is also becoming more common in siding and fencing. It is an extremely dense wood, which makes it harder to cut and to work with. But that’s a small prices to pay for a product that has 10 times the life of its competing woods!

Infographic by Ipe Decking