Nova is the leading importer of fire rated exterior hardwood decking. Our Batu decking meets or exceeds class A fire ratings for
use in areas of the country that require exterior wood decking with low flame spread ratings. Over the past few years, many county building
material departments have adopted more strict guidelines in the use of fire rated hardwood decking. This is especially true in drier climates such as California, Nevada,
Arizona, Eastern Oregon and Washington, Idaho and Utah.
The class A designation is not easy to achieve for an exterior wood decking product. We were surprised to discover that
our Batu outperformed higher density woods such as Ipe and Cumaru. And in comparison to softwood decking materials, our Batu wood decking
has a rating that exceeds other soft woods by as much a five times.
On top of being known for its strength and durability, Bangkirai is also has a reputation for being blemish and knot free.
This not only boasts high durability but also allows for low-maintenance beauty over its service life.
Bangkirai, Yellow Balau is also naturally resistant to things such as decay, insects and fungus.
Making this species a great candidate for oceanfront and marine environment applications such as decks, boardwalks, as well as residential and commercial applications.
Nova’s Bangkirai is certified by California for WUI (Wild Urban Interface) as a Class A material for decking.
See https://calfire.govmotus.org/BMLSearch.
Our Batu decking meets all of the most popular fire rating criteria - and, we have the test results to prove it! Please contact us by
email if your project requires written fire test ratings for hardwood decking. We will quickly reply with any fire test results available from us here at Nova.
Our fire rated Batu hardwood decking meets or exceeds:
Section 709A, 2010 California Building Code, Chapter 7A; San Diego County Building Code, Section 26.3.6.2.1. United Laboratories of Canada, CAN/ULC-S102.2-10.
The chart shown above illustrates the flame spread of our Batu fire rated decking in comparison to Red Oak lumber. Smoke developed was also reported as superior to Red Oak. Untreated softwood lumber will have even lower ratings compared to Red Oak.
Nova's fire rated Ipe and fire rated Cumaru decking has also been tested. While not quite as fire resistant as the Batu, both Ipe and Cumaru hardwood have very low
flame spread ratings and meet Cal Fir, San Diego County and ASTM-84-10 specifications. Most industry publications show these high density hardwoods as class A fire rated.
Please refer to these individual publications for further information. The USDA Wood Handbook is one of the best sources for information of this type.
