The town homes at Mississippi Bluffs have five outdoor spaces. There are two balconies and one patio overlooking the river and two decks on the western elevation looking into the 6.2 acre private park. In choosing the best material for these spaces, the developer considered aesthetics and as well as durability.
Ipe Wood, or Brazilian Walnut, also known as Ironwood, is the superior choice for decking. Ipe Decking is naturally resistant to rot and decay, is eight times harder than California Redwood, and has the highest rating for termite resistance.
This imported hardwood is the finest quality wood available for building outdoor decks, furniture and fencing. Ipe’s beauty and durability is a result of its extreme density. The Ipe deck is installed with a hidden fastener called the Ipe Clip. In traditional deck building, nails or screws pierce the individual deck boards in order to attach to the joists below. The Ipe Clip, however allows the deck boards to be attached to each other and the joists without having to comprise the integrity of any of the boards. This contributes to the lifetime durability of the deck, because it prevents water from working its way into the interior of the deck boards.
Furthermore, Ipe has a class A fire rating, the same rating given to concrete & steel.