Species Guide · Ipe
The hardest decking wood on the market, and the one that outlasts almost everything built on top of it.
Ipe (pronounced "EE-pay") is a Brazilian hardwood dense enough to feel like stone underfoot and dark enough — a deep chocolate to golden brown, with a tight, fine grain and the occasional subtle stripe — to look genuinely premium the day it's installed and for decades after. It's the wood commercial boardwalks and resort decks get built from when the budget allows for it, because it's effectively a one-time purchase.
Characteristics
Ipe carries a Janka hardness of 3,680 — the hardest commercially available decking species — which is exactly why it resists rot, insects, and weathering with almost no intervention from you. It holds up excellently in tropical humidity and coastal salt air alike, staying dimensionally stable across Florida's temperature and moisture swings rather than cupping or splitting. Because it's so dense, installation requires pre-drilling and is best left to an experienced contractor, but the payoff is a deck built for 25 to 30+ years.
Also Used For
The same density and color that make Ipe the top decking choice also make it a striking hardwood floor and a long-lived exterior siding — and it mills into tongue and groove or any custom trim profile just as well as it decks a boardwalk.
Common Questions
Yes. Ipe is the hardest commercially available decking wood and performs excellently in tropical humidity, intense sun, and coastal salt air — exactly the conditions Central Florida brings. It's built to outlast almost anything constructed on top of it, with a 25-30+ year lifespan.
25 to 30+ years with minimal maintenance is typical. Ipe naturally resists rot, insects, and weathering, so it doesn't need the sealing schedule that softer woods require to hit that lifespan.
Yes, if left unfinished. The wood stays dense and durable; the surface weathers to silver. Oil it if you want to keep the brown.
Ipe is harder and typically the longest-lasting. Cumaru is the closest alternative at a lower cost. Both are real hardwood decking suited to Florida. See Cumaru.
It's dense, so boards usually need pre-drilling. An experienced contractor can install it; we're happy to talk through fasteners and lead time before you order.
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