Ipe wood quality: FAS grade and what to look for

We sell Ipe in FAS grade. FAS stands for First And Second, the top grade in the ATIBT rules for sawn tropical hardwood. Below it come No. 1 Common and Select and No. 2 Common.

How to spot good Ipe

• Heavy: around 1,050 kg per m³, noticeably heavier than almost any other timber.
• Hard: 15,520 N on the Janka scale. Oak sits at 4,980 N, Douglas fir at 2,760 N.
• Colour: yellow brown to dark olive brown, sometimes with fine veins. Colour variation between boards is normal.
• Stable: 6.4% shrinkage across the width and 5.1% radially, less than bankirai, azobe or oak.
• No sapwood: sapwood is never durable, in any species, and has no place in well graded Ipe.

Why short lengths?

Our decking boards mostly come in 1.2 and 1.5 m lengths. Short boards are always dead straight and do not need forcing into line, unlike a 4 m board. With the end-matched click joint you lay them in a random pattern with very little waste.

How our boards are milled

• A groove along the long edge for the fixing clip.
• Tongue and groove on the ends, so boards click together.
• A chamfer on every end, giving a double V where two boards meet.

Boards with small flaws

Boards with small cosmetic flaws go into our outlet at a lower price.

FAQ

What does FAS mean for Ipe?
First And Second, the top grade for sawn tropical hardwood under the ATIBT rules.

Is colour variation a defect?
No. Ipe ranges from yellow brown to dark olive brown. Outdoors it silvers, or you keep the colour with oil.

Do I need to pre-drill Ipe?
Yes. With our clip fixing it is built into the system.