Ipe (spelled ipe and pronounced “ee-pay”), also called Brazilian walnut, is a beautiful exotic wood from South America. These tropical hardwoods are used for decking and as decktiles, as well as for other outdoor applications. Ipe wood structures are hard, strong, and naturally resistant to rot, abrasion, and weathering as well as other tropical hardwoods. It is almost twice as dense as most woods and up to five times harder. It has a dark brown color, like a Mahogany, so it not only lasts a long time, but has the beauty of a fine interior wood. If Ipe lumber is allowed to age, color can be restored to its original tone with a good cleaning and the application of a suitable oil.

Cumaru wood is a dense hardwood from South America, mainly used for exterior decking and interior tropical hardwoods flooring. In some places it is known as Brazilian teak, golden teak or southern chestnut. Cumaru wood is often used as a less expensive hardwood alternative decking. These tropical hardwoods also come in dimensional lumber stock for use in heavy construction, railroad ties, and turnery. It is also extremely stiff, strong, and hard, making it suitable for a wide variety of applications.

Jatoba lumber is better known as “Brazilian Cherry” in the hardwood flooring industry. These tropical hardwoods are also used for other applications where good impact resistance is needed, steam-bent parts, flooring, turnery, furniture, and cabinet work, railroad cross-ties tree-nails, gear cogs, wheel rims, and other specialty items. Jatoba wood is exceptionally stiff, strong, and hard, which is a great value for woodworkers looking for high-strength, low-cost wood tropical hardwoods.

Garapa is a South American wood with a yellow to brown color. These tropical hardwoods have a medium luster, an interlocked grain, and a fine texture that accentuates the rich golden and brown tones of the wood. The tropical hardwoods are also rated with a solid Janka hardness rating of 1,700, about 25% harder than Red Oak. Graded as durable and resistant to fungus and insects, Garapa exterior decking is an attractive and versatile option that is as resilient as it is beautiful.

Tigerwood is unlike any other Brazilian tropical hardwoods, with its reddish brown color and dark stripes that resemble those of a tiger. It inspires and transforms any outdoor living space while adding a unique touch to decks and other products. When you build a deck with Tigerwood, you get a low maintenance surface that does not require chemical treatments like other decking materials. In fact, with sun exposure over time, the rich, deep colors of the wood become even more enhanced. We do recommend using a deck oil twice a year for the first few years, and every two years thereafter to keep your deck looking new. This durable, exotic wood is the third hardest of the Brazilian tropical hardwoods and naturally resistant to rot and decay, with a lifespan of more than 50 years.