Western Red Cedar

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.

White Oak

An abundant natural resource here in NY state, White Oak wood is just as welcome in an exterior environment as it is in the interior of our homes.  It is an excellent wood for use in extreme climate conditions where the wood is to be painted or stained a specific color.  It's dense but beautiful flowing grain is best appreciated in a stained application. It however does not contain natural insect repelent oils like Red Cedar or IPE wood and is not recommended for areas with significant problems with termites. A nice choice for exterior gates at similar cost and life expectancy to IPE wood.

IPE (ee-pay) Wood (also known as Brazilian Walnut)

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 gates. The answer is simple – the wood is so hard that it can be difficult to machine into a finished product. Our Amish fabricators use hand tools and specialty blades to cut and craft this beautiful wood.  We are proud to offer you our 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 gates is how heavy it they are. 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 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 applications. 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)