DEBUNKING THE HIGH DENSITY HARDWOOD DECKING MYTHS
High density hardwoods are widely recognized as the highest quality, strongest, all natural, real wood decking products on earth. Additionally, high density hardwood decking is eco-friendly, stunningly beautiful and extremely long lasting.
Myth #1: “Ipe is soooo hard to install!”
While this statement may have had some merit when Ipe decking first hit the US residential decking markets and pre-drilling was the only installation method available to install decks, two recent technological advances have made it obsolete; hidden deck fasteners and self drilling decking screws. When choosing either of these two installation methods, high density hardwood decking will take you no longer to install than other decking options.
Myth #2: “I’ve heard Ipe is really expensive!”
There are several high density hardwood decking products to choose from. While all of them have an initial cost that is higher than chemically treated decking, they last up to three or four times longer and offer enduring beauty as well as significant long term savings over the life cycle of the deck. Additionally:
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Cumaru, Garapa and many sizes of Ipe decking cost less than many synthetic decking products
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When factoring all the costs of building a deck (including labor costs, framing and railings), the decking itself only represents about 20% of the total initial cost of the project.
