Teak

Teak has a centuries-old reputation as the king of timbers. It is highly durable, easily worked, attractive, strong and relatively light. With the decreasing availability of teak from natural forests, plantations are an increasingly important source of timber to meet the demand. The growing environmental awareness ha created a substantial opposition towards using teak from natural forests - the answer is of course cultivated teak.

Today teak is the only specie of fine dark wood being planted massively. As the international market mainlywill face a supply of white woods, a dark wood like teak will have little competition. With teak remaining one of the world's most valuable timbers, interest in growing and investing in the species will remain high.

Teak is exceptionally resistant in an outdoor environment. It has a high content of silicon and tannin acids and is a medium heavy wood species with minimal movements during changes in the moisture ratio. It has good resistance to decay and insects, including termites. The wood species also has preservative properties which counter corrosion on metal mountings. After three years, the wood will have developed fireresistant properties, allowing the timber a natural fire protection.

The sapwood* is normally 2-3 cm and the colour varies from white to light grey. The raw heartwood is greenish yellow and, after drying, light brown to dark chestnut, while dark brown to black streaks are often found. The teak's colour varies according to where it is grown. Teak from Java is normally lighter, while teak from Burma (Myanmar) is darker. The wood structure is highly decorative due to its ring-porosity and parenchyma cells. The vessels in the springwood are rough. The vessels may contain dark or chalk-coloured substances. Newly dried surfaces often have light grey markings. However, these normally darken and even out. An untreated teak surface may have an oily feel.

Teak tends to be used mainly for its beautiful appearance and its unique properties which make it invaluable for surfaces which need to be resistant and durable. In Asia, teak has been a sought-after building material for centuries. In Burma (Myanmar), we can still marvel at and travel over the unrivalled 1.5-kilometre-long U-Bein bridge, built entirely of teak in the mid-1880s. Thailand is home to the world's largest golden teak mansion, Vimanmek Teak Palace, built without a single nail.

*Sapwood is the outer part of a tree trunk, between the cambium and heartwood. Sapwood is responsible for transporting water and minerals from root to leaf, which is why it feels wetter than heartwood in a newly felled tree.