What’s greater than a beautiful deck to enhance the appearance of your home, increase your home’s value and make your entire yard more functional? Barbecues with friends, quiet evenings watching the sunset, waking up to an early morning sunrise with a hot cup of something good – these are all reasons that compel homeowners to build wood decks.
Now, before you actually build your deck or buy one stick of wood, take a few minutes to drive around your neighborhood. Observe visible decks and ask yourself whether they enhance the appearance of the home, or detract from it. We’re not suggesting that you poke around people’s yards here. But, really, do your best to identify the types of wood these decks are made of. It won’t take long for you to realize what kind of wood is most popular, easiest to maintain, inexpensive and of poor quality, etc.
It’s a big job to build a deck. This is a project that requires the use of high-quality materials that are durable, reasonably priced, resistant to rot and pests, and easy to maintain. If you take time to build a beautiful deck with poor quality materials, the deck could end up being an eyesore in a very short time.
Some wood types most commonly used to build decks are:
•Redwood
•Western Red Cedar
•Mahogany
•Pine
Now these wood varieties have been used for building decks for years. They all have their benefits and drawbacks. Some have to be repeatedly maintained with oils and stains while others are less resistant to the elements. It’s becoming more and more common for people to use synthetic materials to build decks, but synthetics come with a whole new set of problems.
We’ve used them all for various projects. Suffice it to say that our winning pick is … not on the list. See, we like Ipé. Ipe is a simply amazing South American hardwood with an extremely fine grain and deep, rich color. We like it because it is:
•Bug resistant
•Rot resistant
•Very hard
•Extremely fire resistant
•UV degradation resistant
•Mold resistant
•Warp resistant
•Absolutely beautiful
Ipe is admittedly more costly than many other wood types, but it’s worth the investment. Ipe is a hardwood. It comes from a tree of the genus Tabebuia. When purchasing this product, which originates in rain forests, it’s important to be sure your product is harvested with environmental responsibility. Don’t be afraid to ask your Ipe vendor for information about how the wood is obtained. You can even ask for an environmental statement.
