Frequently Asked Questions about Teak - Teak Facts
Teak Wood and its Use
Teak is a popular wood amongst Furniture Makers (both Outdoor and Indoor) and Ship Builders. This is due to Teak's superior characteristics outlined below. Teak Wood was very popular and heavily used in the past centuries. The Dutch noted that deforestration would limit supply, and therefore they created Teak Plantations in Indonesia some 200 years ago. Now most available teak wood is strictly controlled by governments to ensure a continuous suplly of wood.
Teak Wood has several characteristics that make it the ideal wood for Teak Outdoor Furniture and Ship Building.
Teak Wood is a hard wood that has high quantities of oil, rubber and silica. Further Teak Wood has very fine fibers.
The Oils in the Teak Wood and the Silica content make it reistant to termites and rot. These oils also allow teak to be durable with no top coatings and no maintenance. You may leave teak pieces outside and they will weather to a silvery gray (like driftwood) and stay the same way for the next 20 - 30 years.
The high rubber content and the small fibers make it strong yet slightly fllexible (not brittle), so teak wood is not as probe to cracking and checking. Further the smaller fibers and its resistance to splintering makes Teak Wood ideal for building decks on boats (where people might run bare foot) and for outdoor furniture. The teak fibres also run parallel, making teak pieces less likely to warp and crack especially as compared to Acacia, Eucalytptus and Shorea.
The many benefits of Teak Wood - Strength, Durability, Water Resistance, Insect Resistance and Rot resistance, as well as its tendency not to splinter (due to its small fibers)make Teak Wood ideal for Outdoor and Indoor Furniture and Shipnuilding.
No wood is as good as Teak Wood - and therefore you see words used to link the inferior woods to teak. You will often hear words like "teak like, "teak look", "tek wood", teak color when describing inferior woods like Eucalytus, Acacia, Shorea, Balau and Nyatoh.
Each of the more inferior woods that try to present themselves as teak have their own issues - for eg. Eucalyptus shrinks by 34% when dried - so if its is not dried properly, or it absorbs too much moisture, yoru furniture will crack and bow.Shorea has huge spliners and is prone to splitting. Acacia is most likely available at big box stores and has fibres that are prone to shear (crack in one direction). Acacia also always need a top coat else it will absorb water, soften and deteriorate or crack.
Even within Teak Wood used for Outdoor Furniture - there are grades. The Teak Tree has heartwood (wood closest to the center of the tree) which is hard, has a honey brown color and is oily, and strong. The Teak Tree also has Sap wood which is white or very light brown in color, with streaks. The Sap wood is younger wood, more porous, has less of the beneficial oils and silica nd rubber and is softer than the heart wood. Grade A wood is the best kind of Teak Wood and comes from the Heartwood. Grade B/C are the very cheap grades fo Teak Wood and come from teh Sap Wood. Essentially, manufacturers liek Goldenteak use the Grade A heartwood and the factories generally allocate/sell the sapwood (grade B / C wood) for cheap teak manufacture. See how Grade A Wood is selected in manufacture below.