How To Choose High Quality Hardwood Deck

Decking is the perfect outdoor living solution.  A well planned, high quality hardwood deck will add living space to your home as well as providing the perfect spot to entertain guests or take in some rays.  If you’re in the process of planning a deck, one of your considerations is sure to be price.  You may be tempted to choose from one of the cheaper options, but if that’s the case, it’s well worth stopping and thinking again.  As you’re probably aware, sometimes these types of decisions are false economies and can end up costing you more in the long run.

So why choose high quality hardwood deck when there are cheaper options available?  First, it’s important to define what we mean by hardwood in this instance.  What we mean by hardwood is that the wood has a density of anywhere between 650 and 1000kg/m3.  Without getting overly complicated the higher the density of the wood, the stronger and more durable it’s likely to be.

When we talk about hardwoods, we include woods such as cumaru, ipe, angilim, teak, iroko.

Cumaru decking is an exotic hardwood from South America.  It is particularly dense Class A wood and has a particularly uniform appearance.  Rated amongst the most durable of the world’s hardwoods it is commonly quoted as being up to 5 times harder than pine and cedar and particularly durable.  Unusually, this wood doesn’t have knots.

Ipe decking, again a product of South America, is richly coloured and is often quoted as being up to 6 times harder than most woods as well as benefiting from a particularly impressive Class A rating.  Ipe is very durable and weather resistant.

Angilim decking, once again originating in South America has a distinctive tan to yellow colouring with dark graining.  Offering hardness and high density, Angelim is particularly recognised for its water resistance.

Teak decking, which is renowned for its use in boat and marine decking as well as swimming pool decking is a popular choice when it comes to durability and strength alongside water resistance and low maintenance.

Iroko decking comes from Africa and has a rich, dark brown colour, is extremely durabe and has a real smoothness to the touch.

So, if you’re seriously thinking about wood decking, we’d encourage you to give due consideration to one of these hardwoods because they’ll:

– Stand up to pretty much any and all weather conditions;
– Will last longer than the cheaper alternatives, saving you money in the long run and
– Are easy to maintain, only needing to be oiled once or twice a year.

All in all, these are beautiful woods, with nice colours, no knots and great strength.