Brazilian cherry, tigerwood or ipe: which Brazilian hardwood to choose for a South Florida home

Most homeowners in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale or Coral Gables who research hardwood flooring reach the final decision without understanding the difference between Brazilian cherry and tigerwood beyond color. These two species have different hardness, dimensional stability, price and maintenance expectations — and in South Florida, with average annual humidity above 70% and hurricane season from June through November, choosing wrong is expensive.

This guide was built in partnership with Brazilian flooring professionals operating in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach. It is not a vendor catalog — it is what an experienced installer would tell a client before ordering. Let's start with the number that decides almost everything: the Janka scale.

The Janka scale: why it matters in a South Florida home

The Janka scale measures the force required to embed an 11.28 mm steel ball halfway into a piece of wood. The result, in pound-force (lbf), indicates resistance to dents, scratches and wear. The higher the number, the harder the wood. For reference: White Oak — the American hardwood standard — measures 1,360 lbf. Pine clocks in around 870.

The four most common Brazilian woods in US premium hardwood are all above White Oak — some with more than double the hardness. That is what sustains their price in the US high-end market.

But hardness isn't the only criterion. In South Florida, dimensional stability — the wood's ability not to expand or contract with humidity — can matter more than the Janka number.

Why South Florida changes the rule: humidity, salt air and hurricanes

The Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton region has three climate conditions that worsen solid wood performance:

• Average annual humidity of 73%, with peaks above 85% during summer. Solid wood can expand up to 1% across the grain between 30% and 80% relative humidity — enough to cause cupping in poorly installed floors.
• Concrete subfloor in most post-1970 construction. Unlike the northern US, where wood is installed over wood joists, in South Florida the subfloor is a concrete slab on grade. Concrete retains moisture — and releases it upward for years after construction.
• Hurricane and tropical storm events that can cause water intrusion, temporary loss of air conditioning, and extreme humidity swings within hours — the worst-case scenario for solid wood.

For these three reasons, experienced installers in South Florida rarely recommend solid wood — even of the hardest Brazilian species. The local standard is engineered hardwood: cross-layered wood, with the top layer being the actual hardwood species. This guarantees the look and Janka rating of the wood, with the dimensional stability the climate requires.

Side-by-side comparison: the four woods in real use

The numbers below combine public data (Janka from Wikipedia and USDA Forest Service) with average price ranges observed at suppliers serving South Florida in June 2026. Prices are for engineered hardwood with 4mm top layer, installed, not including removal of the old floor.

Ipe is the most expensive because it is the rarest — and also sold for luxury exterior decking, which pushes up the price. Brazilian cherry is the most common balance point for residential homes: hardness far above any American wood, color that darkens to a premium mahogany tone, and price only slightly above White Oak.

The detail no one tells you: Brazilian cherry color change

Brazilian cherry has a feature that surprises most clients: the color darkens dramatically in the first 6 to 12 months after installation, especially in areas exposed to direct sunlight. The wood that looked light orange in the showroom will turn into a deep reddish-brown, close to mahogany.

This behavior — called photoreactivity or color shift — is normal and irreversible. It is not a defect. But if you expect the light tone you saw at the showroom to be permanent, you will be disappointed. Experienced installers show the client a 5+ year aged jatoba sample before finalizing the order, precisely to avoid this surprise.

The same happens to a lesser degree with tigerwood (it darkens but maintains the stripe contrast) and cumaru (slightly darkens, becoming more uniform). Ipe barely changes.

Finishing: site-finished vs prefinished in South Florida

The second important technical decision is the finish. The options:

Prefinished (factory finish)

The wood arrives with the factory polyurethane finish already applied, usually seven to nine UV-cured coats applied in a controlled environment. Advantages: faster installation (no on-site cure time), more durable finish, and no strong smell or solvents in the home during work. Disadvantage: the joints between planks have a small chamfer (microbevel) that can accumulate dirt over time.

Site-finished (on-site finish)

The wood is installed unfinished and sanded/finished on-site, producing a completely flat surface with no chamfers between planks. Higher-end look and easier to clean. Downsides: a 4 to 7 day process with the home partially uninhabitable, dust and solvent exposure, and finish durability depends entirely on the applicator's skill.

In South Florida, the majority recommendation is prefinished — both for speed and for greater humidity resistance. Site-finished makes sense for luxury projects with long timelines, where the client values the no-chamfer look and has another residence during the work.

Maintenance: what to expect over the next 25 years

Brazilian hardwood properly installed in South Florida lasts between 25 and 40 years without needing replacement. But it requires routine:

• Weekly cleaning: vacuum with soft brush or dry microfiber. Never an over-wet mop.
• Humidity control: keep the home between 35% and 55% relative humidity. This means air conditioning running even during long trips — continuous dehumidification is part of the floor's cost of ownership.
• Recoating every 7 to 10 years: applying a new polyurethane layer over the existing finish without deep sanding. Average cost in South Florida: $2.50 to $4 per sq ft.
• Complete refinishing every 15 to 25 years: sanding down to bare wood, new stain and new polyurethane. Only possible on engineered hardwood with 4mm+ top layer. Cost: $5 to $8 per sq ft.

That top layer thickness detail is the most overlooked technical point in engineered hardwood purchases in Boca, Lauderdale and Pompano. 2mm top layer engineered cannot be refinished — only recoated. 4mm engineered allows one refinish. 6mm engineered allows two or three. The price difference between 2mm and 4mm is typically 20% to 30%, but the difference in lifespan is double.

The final decision: how to choose among the four

For most residential homes in South Florida with normal traffic and common aesthetic taste, the practical criterion is:

• Light tone with dramatic stripes → Tigerwood. It will be the visual focus of the room.
• Uniform warm tone, golden-brown → Cumaru. Pairs with contemporary and traditional decor.
• Deep reddish tone, mahogany look → Brazilian cherry. Bearing in mind the initial color will darken.
• Very dark, near-black tone, modern feel → Ipe. Expensive and rare, but unique.

Regardless of the visual choice, three rules are non-negotiable in South Florida: choose engineered (not solid), ensure a top layer of at least 4mm, and hire an installer who performs moisture testing on the concrete subfloor before installation. Without these three points, even the most expensive wood will show problems within a few years.