Rich ipe running the length of the black contemporary home, with frameless glass railing keeping the wooded views open.
An ipe hardwood deck and glass railing that wrapped a modern Langhorne home in rich, dark wood.
Dense, rich ipe hardwood running the length of a black contemporary home, with frameless glass railing keeping the wooded views completely open. Dense tropical hardwood that ages like furniture, a sealed deep tone and a clean modern line — built by our own crew.
From a flat back wall to a rich, modern hardwood run.
The challenge
A sleek black contemporary home backing onto woods needed an outdoor space that matched its lines — nothing busy, nothing that walled off the trees. The homeowners wanted a premium, natural material with real depth and a railing that all but disappeared so the wooded view stayed front and center.
What we did
We framed an elevated, code-built deck running the length of the back of the house and decked it in ipe — a dense tropical hardwood that's naturally rot- and insect-resistant and ages beautifully. The boards were laid tight and sealed to a deep, rich tone that plays off the black cladding and glass. For the railing we used frameless glass panels on slim black posts, so the barrier is there for safety but the wooded views read uninterrupted.
The result
A long, low-glare run of rich ipe that looks like it grew out of the architecture — warm, dense hardwood against black walls, with frameless glass keeping the trees in full view from every angle. Built elevated and solid, sealed for the seasons, and finished to the standard a contemporary home like this asks for.
Project at a glance
- Location
- Langhorne, PA 19047
- Home type
- Modern two-story, black exterior
- Scope
- Elevated hardwood deck + glass rail
- Decking
- Ipe tropical hardwood, sealed
- Railing
- Frameless glass, black posts
- Setting
- Wooded, elevated run
- Timeline
- 6 working days
- Crew
- AVI in-house — no subcontractors
What went into this deck.
Dense tropical hardwood and frameless glass over an elevated, code-built frame — a premium surface and a view-first railing, built to last.
Ipe tropical hardwood
One of the densest, most durable decking woods there is — naturally rot- and insect-resistant, ages like furniture, and sealed to a deep, rich tone.
Frameless glass railing
Tempered glass panels on slim black posts — code-compliant safety with an almost invisible barrier that keeps the wooded views wide open.
Elevated code-built frame
A properly engineered, frost-depth-footed elevated structure running the length of the house — solid underfoot and built to carry the span.
Penetrating hardwood seal
A finish matched to dense hardwood that holds the rich tone and protects the boards through Pennsylvania's freeze-thaw seasons.
Ipe & hardwood decks in Langhorne & Lower Bucks County
For a modern home, the deck material does a lot of the design work — and ipe is about as good as it gets: a dense tropical hardwood that's harder and longer-lived than most decking, with a deep grain that pairs perfectly with black cladding and glass. Frameless glass railing finishes the look, holding the line on safety while keeping wooded or open views completely clear.
AVI Exteriors is based in Levittown and builds hardwood and contemporary decks across Lower Bucks County and South Jersey — Langhorne, Newtown, Yardley, Bensalem, Feasterville and beyond. Every deck is engineered to code, permitted and built by our own crews, with careful, quality workmanship. If you want a premium hardwood deck and a view-first railing, we'd be glad to take a look and give you an honest, fixed quote.
“The ipe is stunning — deep, rich, and it matches the house perfectly. The glass railing was exactly what we wanted; you barely see it and the trees are right there. AVI's crew clearly knew how to work hardwood. Feels solid as anything.”