The majority of Western Red Cedar grows in coastal forests.  Western Red Cedar forests are predominantly managed forests, in which controlled harvests, natural regeneration and reforestation programs ensure a perpetual harvest.  Western Red Cedar is, above all, a wood of exceptional beauty. In its natural, unfinished state, it has a richly textured, tactile grain combined with a palette of warm, mellow tones ranging from light amber to deep honey brown. No man-made material can duplicate the depth of cedar's natural luster. It also remains subtly aromatic, and the characteristic fragrance of cedar adds another dimension to its universal appeal.  Western Red Cedar contains natural oils that act as preservatives to help the wood resist insect attack and decay. Cedar is also a dimensionally stable wood that lies flat and stays straight. Properly finished and maintained, Western Red Cedar ages gracefully and endures for many years.  Western Red Cedar should be preservative treated if intended for use in applications where it comes in contact with the ground.

Teak Wood

Surprisingly Teak wood is not a native species but in fact it is found only in select forests in Indonesia.  Teak is the most durable of all woods.  It grows primarily in damp forests in Indonesia.  The wood is valued for its unparalled strength and longevity in exterior applications.  The only draw back to Teak is the cost of the material.  Due to its limited availability and the costly methods required to prepare it the wood is really more of a luxury wood and is quite expensive in comparison to Western Cedar.  Teak wood is a beautiful wood that exhibits rich amber brown tones.  It is much heavier than cedar and much more resistant to dents and scratches.  Teak is always the number one option. It is a one-time investment and even though you initially pay a lot, maintenance is minimal. Teak is the most durable wood available anywhere.  The wood is a lifetime product and is rated upwards of 80 years or longer with proper care.  Teak wood like Cedar does not warp and exhibits little expansion and contraction.  It is a perfect fit for high humidity or coastal climates that cannot normally tolerate wood.

IPE (ee-pay) Wood
(also known as Brazilian Walnut, Ironwood, Pau Lope or Lapacho)
(stained look with UV protectant)	(weathered naturally to a soft grey)	(driveway gate with UV protectant - stained wood look)

Ipe (pronounced “ee-pay”) is a large tropical hardwood tree that grows abundantly throughout Central and South America. Ipe wood is prized for its durability, strength, and its natural resistance to decay, wet conditions, and insect infestation. Ipe’s remarkable properties have already made it the top choice for commercial and residential decking and outdoor furniture. It is the wood used on the famous Atlantic City boardwalk! In addition to its strength, it has a beautiful dark color and a tight grain that gives it a very consistent coloring.  The only drawback to Ipe's durability and strength is that because it is so dense it does not accept stain or paint well.  It is for these reasons we do not recommend our clients purchase Ipe if they plan to paint the product.  However if you are seeking a stained wood look Ipe offers a beautiful dark warm color when a UV protectant is applied to the wood. (see sample images above, natural and protected - look of a stain)

You may be wondering why Ipe is not more widely used for outdoor furniture. The answer is simple – the wood is so hard that it can be difficult to machine into a finished product. We have solved this problem with advanced manufacturing techniques and we are proud to offer you our exceptional Ipe wood gates at an exceptional cost.

Physical Properties of Ipe

Hardness: The physical hardness of Ipe is remarkable. The graph below shows the relative hardness of Ipe along with several popular woods. The ratings are from the Janka test, commonly used to measure wood hardness. It is the number of pounds per square inch required to drive a small steel ball half its diameter into the surface of the wood. Ipe wood is more than 368% harder then Teak wood!

Density: The first thing you will notice about our Ipe wood furniture is how heavy it is. In fact, Ipe is the heaviest wood that is available for commercial usage. As you can see below, Ipe is super-dense, as measured by the weight of the wood in pounds per cubic foot. Ipe wood is 40% heavier than Teak wood!

Ipe is a commercially valuable tree that grows throughout South America in many types of habitats. Ipe is not an endangered species. Some of our current stock of Ipe wood furniture has a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, which is by far the most respected forestry practices certification in the world. We are constantly assessing the supply of FSC certified Ipe wood and we will strive to offer as much FSC certified product to our customers as possible. We encourage sustainable forestry practices, which offer the best remedy to exploitative deforestation.

These days, there are many claims made about different woods used for outdoor furniture. We encourage you to research Ipe for yourself. Searching the web for “Ipe wood” yields plenty of information, especially about Ipe decking, and you can see for yourself how highly this wood is praised.

Sources: For wood measurements – Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material, US Forest Service; Tropical Timbers of the World, US Forest Service. For above IPE information www.ipe-furniture.com (company features a beautiful selection of IPE outdoor furniture)