Ipe Wood Decking Fire Rating

Fire rating for ipe decking.

Ipe wood decking fire rating.

Ipe wood decking is the gold standard for all hardwoods. What makes ipe so great is that this wood is naturally fire bug and water resistant. Q i thought that ipe decking had a class a fire rating making it suitable for use in places such as the urban wildland interface areas prone to wildfire typically a concern in the arid west and on urban high rise rooftop decks. Interestingly enough ipe wood has up to a class a fire rating for flame spread.

The only wood that really can handle fire to any significant degree is ipe. Ipe also won t transfer heat from the bottom of the board to the top like the other decking. Plastic and composite decking is very hot and can create a fire hazard if installed outside a uv reflecting window. With this rating ipe wood meets the building code requirements in many west coast states where class.

Basically it s a naturally non combustible material. Ipe although it s not class a fire rated does operate similar to a class a fire rating because it won t easily catch on fire and the density will allow it to stay structurally sound longer in case you need to walk on the deck to get away from the fire. Up to class a uniform building code class 1. At the time the metrics used to test fire spread were far less stringent than they are today and ipe was given a class a rating the same rating.

Ipe wood decking received the highest classification for flame spread. You may also hear of claims about it having the same fire class rating as concrete. The ipe will darken slightly with the application of the decking oil but will not stain the wood. Our ipe decking exceeds the americans with disabilities act requirements for static coefficient of friction in a wet.

The finish is not a stain but a protectant for the wood. Here is a table that shows the ratings given to ipe decking from the national fire protection agency note there are other third party certification companies that show similar results. Generally inorganic materials such as brick or tile are class a rated and most whole wood products are class b or c. If you are not already familiar with this material it is an exotic hardwood from south america and it is one of the hardest toughest most insect and rot resistant wood on earth.

Several years ago other lumber suppliers tested ipe under the astm e 84 test. Utilizing strategic partnerships and or purchasing large amounts of wood help us so that we may save you money on not only the wood itself but the shipping also. Results will vary based on the moisture content origin and species. Tested by the national fire protection agency astm e84.

Ipe decking flame spread 10 minutes. A class a fire rating means that in testing ipe wood had a smaller flame spread than other woods and took more time to catch on fire. Question answer does ipe have a class a fire rating.