Ipe Wood for Beautiful Enduring Outdoor Projects

When choosing to use wood for outdoor projects, most look at the beauty of the wood when making the selection. Not too many woods can compare to the natural beauty of Ipe. Pronounced ee-pay this tropical hardwood is found throughout parts of Central and South America. It is a large canopy tree that can grow to heights of 120 feet in the natural rain forest and has a truck diameter of up to 3 feet. Some specimens have reached heights of 150 feet with 6-foot trunk diameters. Though it grows indigenously in tropical rainforests, managed foresting has provided a sound ecological way to harvest the trees without doing serious harm to the surrounding jungle. Most of the current stock of this wood that is imported to the United States carries Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.

Ipe is also known as Ironwood, Brazilian Walnut and Pau Lope. The heartwood of this tree is light to olive brown in color and has attractive light and dark stripe patterns that provide striking contrasts. It has a fine texture and medium luster. When used outdoors a single coating of deck oil with an ultraviolet protection rating is all that is needed to preserve the color for up to 40 years. The dense cell structure of the tree is responsible for both its incredible strength and its resistance to insects. Tests conducted by the United States Naval Research Laboratory found that wood left in the ground for 15 years still showed no signs of termite attack. The heartwood is very resistant to mold, fungi and water rot as well can last up to 40 years when left exposed to the elements untreated. A single treatment with a deck oil applied to the surface can extend that 100 years.

When used as decking around pools and hot tubs, Ipe has several naturally inherent characteristics that make it ideal for use in these areas. Again, the dense cell arrangement inside the wood provides unsurpassed slip resistance. This hardwood exceeds the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for Static coefficient of friction in a wet environment, definitely a plus when used where children are likely to run and play on wet surfaces. This wood is also resistant to splintering so there is no concern about tender bare feet continually picking up splinters either.

Most dealers carry the wood in a full range of decking profiles and dimensional lumber sizes so it is quite easy to meet most design needs, even with lengths up to 20 feet. However, do it yourselfers should keep in mind that due to the hardness of the wood, it must be predrilled for fastening. This wood also blunts cutters rather quickly so the use of carbide tipped saw blades is a necessity.

Though the initial investment in the wood can be quite costly, it is still much less expensive than either Teak or Mahogany. When the expense is viewed in terms of how little maintenance and replacement can be expected, the wood more than pays for itself in just a few years of use.


Ronnie Tanner is a contributing writer at Everlasting Hardwoods. He writes about Ipe wood and other industry specific topics.