Welcome Message If you are planning to build a deck or replace your old one, you may have already discovered that the decking choices available do not measure up to what your home deserves for beauty, durability and maintenance. It just doesn’t seem that you can get your monies worth. Brazilian hardwood decking provides exactly what you need to go with your well-planned home and it is SAFE to use. It’s difficult to decide on a large home improvement like a deck by reviewing pictures over the internet and the risk of purchasing material sight unseen is unsettling. Boards have individual characteristics that deserve and sometimes require inspection unlike a computer or a book which are made exactly alike every single time. Consumers and professionals all like to touch, feel and examine materials and see finish products before committing to large purchases. Brazilian Wood Depot (BWD) was founded to help provide this service by supplying a reliable variety of quality Brazilian wood to middle Georgia retailers. We help suppliers and contractors show builders and consumers that Brazilian wood decking will fill their decking needs.

Navigation Tip From the top of the page, the “Decking” tab will take you to descriptions and pictures of the variety of species offered by BWD. Click on the BWD logo at any time to return to this home page. “Documents” leads to pages full of information for future reference about decking tips, the latest decking choices available, railing options, finishing choices and much more. “Retailers” lists retailers and installers experienced with Brazilian hardwood decking who can SHOW you samples and displays and even take you to see finished decks if you desire. These installers really know how to build an incredible deck and any of these suppliers can provide tips on how to build a deck that can make Brazilian decking the right choice for anyone.

Which Wood Wins So many choices of Brazilian decking make it difficult for some to decide on the best wood to use. This is easy. Brazilian decking is estimated to last from fifteen to one hundred years . . . without preservation treatment. WOW. Harder woods have longer estimated lives than softer woods. Look at the Janka Scale on the Documents page. Ipé and Cumaru will be on your deck for 100 years while Cambara (Brazilian Cedar) may loose some of its luster in 15 years. All of the other species have life terms somewhere between 15 and 100 years. From our Decking page, you can see pictures of different species and review technical information to help you make your decision. Whether you choose Jatoba for its beautiful red coloring or Garapa’s golden ribbon accents, any of these woods will accent your home’s color and wear better than any traditional decking. So, choose the color that you like best. All of these Brazilian woods will give you a lifetime of enjoyment.

Ipé

Ipé or Brazilian Walnut decking is pronounced ee-pay and is the finest wood decking that you can buy. It is an extremely dense wood with tight grains. Ipé decking is usually a deep rich brown color although some pieces of the wood can display red and amber hues.

Jatoba

Jatoba is also called Brazilian Cherry.  It has a wonderful medium brown color when milled that turns dramatically to auburn red when exposed to the sun.  The grain is very tight and a good texture. 

Massaranduba

Massaranduba's Color Varies from Light Reddish-Brown to a Dark Red. Durability: Heartwood is very resistant to attack by decay fungi and termites.

Cherry Cumaru

Cumaru comes in two distinct varieties yellow or the cherry red color shown here

Garapa

Garapa is honey-yellow with a slight ribbon aspect, it becomes light brown with age. The grain is irregular and interlocked and has a medium texture.

Tigerwood

Tigerwood's wild colors vary from brown to violet-colored heartwood with irregular black streaks that are well distinguished from the cream-colored sapwood. 

Tongue & Groove

Home designs with covered porches or patios like those that were popular on older homes are being built more often. Pine flooring was installed by “locking” boards together then painting used to be the best choice for these porch floors. Pine requires painting to help prevent rot and is also necessary to add character to the floor. Brazilian T&G decking provides rot and insect resistance, beauty and durability like no other T&G product can. Imagine the enjoyment this feature will bring to your home.

Research and Experimentation

Ask the experts and become one. Our friends in South America who have been using Brazilian wood for centuries give us lots of guidance and information. We’ve given installers direction and we’ve done our own crafting. Everyone benefits from the installers’ feedback and the lessons we’ve learned in our own mill shop. Many of the basic tips for deck building are considered “Decking Wisdoms” on our Documents page.

Beautiful

Brazilian hardwood decking offers a variety of color, design and texture choices. In addition to the color variations between different species, some woods offer their own variations between boards. It is exactly this variation that gives Brazilian hardwood decking an inherent beauty that cannot be duplicated. Pine and composite boards can be stained and dyed just about any ONE color but the individual characteristics of Brazilian wood cannot be duplicated. Brazilian flooring has such natural beauty that a clear hard finish is always preferred while oak floors are almost never finished without stain. Other woods simply are not as beautiful as Brazilian wood.

Lone Ipé

Durable

Brazilian wood is very hard. Ipé, one of the hardest woods in the world, has the same fire ratings as concrete because of its density. This same density and durability makes concrete the best choice for foundations and driveways and brick an excellent choice for building houses. This hardness makes it necessary to pre-drill screw holes and use carbon-tipped saw blades but once your deck is built, you’ll enjoy it for a lifetime.

Maintenance

None required. Build it and enjoy it. All wood grays and your Brazilian deck will too eventually. Many enjoy the soft gray of a weathered Brazilian deck but you can slow the weathering process by treating your deck with a good quality sealant if you prefer. Cabots, Messmers and Penofin make high quality deck oils that can preserve your deck’s natural color for a long time. After graying, you can restore the color of Brazilian wood by pressure washing your deck. Deck Sealing & Cleaning directions can be found in detail on our Documents page.

Insect & Rot Protection

Brazilian hardwood grows in a very moist climate that provides a habitat for aggressive insects. To survive, Brazilian species have had to evolve to resist rot and being eaten by these insects. While pine must be pumped with insect repelling chemicals, Brazilian wood is naturally insect repellant. Cedar is a feast for carpenter bees – Brazilian wood is just too hard for them. Man-made composite decking does not display the natural rot resistant qualities of Brazilian wood. Brazilian wood simply could not survive in its natural climate without these insect and rot resistant traits.

Investment

The luxury of enjoying the beauty of your Brazilian deck is a good investment. Considering that you’ll be able to enjoy your Brazilian deck more than four times as long as composite or pine decking, your investment in Brazilian decking will prove to be a smart decision. This financial choice can be made even without including the benefits of beauty and durability that only Brazilian wood offers.

Design Your Deck

From our decking page, you can design your deck to test your choices for railings, color and style. The real wood displays at our retailers and offered by our installers can also stir up some ideas.

Fasteners of the Pros

The best quality decking deserves the same attention to how you will install it. We’ve done the research for you and our retailers can provide you with tips about the most attractive, reliable and easy to install choices available. Technical information about these fasteners can be printed from our Documents page and from links to fastener manufacturer’s sites on our Accessories page.

Take Care of Mother Earth

Brazilian hardwoods are truly reusable and recyclable for generations of continued use. With proper installation, dismantling, refinishing and reconstruction techniques, your Brazilian hardwood can serve many useful purposes for decades. Unlike softwoods that are not durable or tempered enough to withstand insects and rot, Brazilian hardwoods stand the test of time. Man-made “woods” and composite decking, often require earth damaging techniques during manufacturing and may eventually contribute to our landfill problem with non biodegradable refuse. As a buyer of real Brazilian hardwood, you are demonstrating responsible earth stewardship. Take care of these fine earth products, recycle them and show your love for our earth. Using real wood celebrates earth’s natural resources and nourishes hardwood forests for generations to come.

Custom Brazilian Hardwoods

At our factory we take raw hardwoods including Ipé, Cumaru, and Jatoba to create items that are otherwise very expensive, impossible to find or dependant upon a long order filling process.

    Custom Lumber

We have equipment and tools specially designed to craft special wood sizes used for finishing hand-crafted decks like 1x8s and 2x12s. Ipé, Cumaru, Jatoba and other Brazilian woods do not respond well to standard gluing techniques because of their dense and sometimes oily nature. Our techniques are well tested and yield beautiful products perfect for accenting the precise carpentry performed by some deck craftsmen

RealWood

Brazilian Wood Depot only stock Realwood products, like RealIpe, RealCumaru, RealJatoba, RealTigerwood, RealCumaru, RealSucupira, RealTatajuba, RealMasaranduba, and other RealWood.org products.