Teak Information from the Manufacturer
Real Teak, First Quality Tectona Grandis
No other wood compares to teak when it comes to durability, elegance, stability and low maintenance. It will arrive a honey blonde color and after one or two seasons outdoors it will turn soft, silver gray. And it stays like that, forever, without ever warping, twisting, rotting or splintering. Knot free, beautifully grained, smooth to the touch, pleasing to the eye and quality crafted from the inside out, your furniture will never need replacing.
Teak is a deciduous tree, which grows in dry, hilly terrains of forests in Southeast Asia. It cannot grow in rain forest. Actually, the best hardwood teak comes from Indonesia. Most of the teak furniture, which is sold around the world, not comes from natural forest – tree farms. But still, from planting, growing until be a good teak hardwood will takes at least 50 years.
Recently there have been other companies offering similar furniture made of various obscure woods, claiming these woods to be “teak-like”, “as good as teak”, “family of teak” – one even says “better than teak”. Folks, it just isn’t “better than teak”. For centuries teak has been famous as the finest wood there is for demanding outdoor use – on yachts and the decades old benches in the garden and parks around the world.
Real Teak. First quality Tectona Grandis. This is the best for outdoor furniture and will also be the best for your garden, too.
More About Teak
Trade or Common Name: Teak
Local Name: Jati
Botanical Name: Tectona Grandis
Family: Verbenaceae
The Tree: Teak is not a very fast growing, and on favorable sites may reach 130 to 150 feet in height with clear boles to 80 to 90 feet. The trunks are cylindrical to fluted and may reach 3 to 5 feet in diameter.
The Wood: Teak is a beautiful golden to dark brown, sometimes reddish brown, with a straight grain, sometimes wavy. Teak is rich natural oils, is easily worked, and dresses to a very smooth finish. Because of its natural oils, teak is very durable and resistant to moisture and the drying effects of exposure to weather. Teak is unique in that it does not cause rust or corrosion when in contact with metal.
Uses: Teak is a very valuable wood and is prized throughout the world. It is sought for the decks, trim and detail work in expensive boats, and fine furniture, flooring, carving, joinery, cabinetwork, paneling, turnery and veneer.
The nature characteristic of teak is its durability in all weather conditions. Teak has an extremely dense grained hardwood that resists rot, warping, shrinking and swelling. Its high natural oil content continually preserves the wood so it can be left outdoors for decades. Because of the durability of teak in all weather conditions, in the old days, the sailor use teak as ship’s deck and benches. The decking on these ships was in such good condition when the ships were about to be scrapped; the wood was recycled and remade into outdoor furniture. The still use it for the deck and bench ever since. Now, not only being use by the needs of ship but also recliner on the beach, near the pool, benches at public parks, dining table at snow resources and other public areas are furnished with teak, some of which are nearly a century old.
Beside the durability nature, teak furniture is very smooth and does not splinter. The color of teak also stay very neutral in all weather condition whether its exposed to the sun or cold winter days around the years. Its also has good smell and pleasant aromatic for years and years.
When untreated teak furniture is used indoors (as it is in restaurants, office lobbies, shopping centers, etc.), the wood grain evens in tone, becoming and staying a very rich golden brown color.
Teak / Jati / Tectona Grandis
Tectona Grandis is the Latin name for Teak, and Jati is the Indonesian name for Teak where the lumber come from. Teak is a hardwood of the family Verbenaceae
Characteristics of the teak tree and its location
Tectona Grandis is said to be indigenous to India, Burma, Thailand, Indochina and Java Indonesia. It has been extensively planted for timber or as an ornamental within its natural range and throughout the tropical regions of the world, including East and West Africa, as well as Cuba and the Caribbean, and South America from Panama to Brazil.
Tectona Grandis, is not a timber from tropical rain forests, and indeed, teak cannot grow in rain forests – it is a deciduous tree which grows particularly well in the dry, hilly terrain typical of plantation forests in Southeast Asia.
Specifically in Java Indonesia, Perum Perhutani is the government agency which is responsible for managing Indonesia’s extensive forests and plantations. Java has very large Teak plantations which were first planted by the Dutch in the early 1800’s. These plantations are now well managed by Perum Perhutani.
Perum Perhutani operate a strict policy regulating the number and size of trees which can be felled, as well as with regard to the numbers of trees which are replanted to maintain the productivity of the teak forests for future generations. The teak plantations produce a high value crop that is a very valuable source of income in their local area. And the associated furniture and timber products industry provides regular local employment to many thousands of people.
When plantation grown the tree will attain a height of up to 45 m [150 ft] with a diameter 1 – 1.5 m [3 – 5 ft]. It will be ready for harvesting at around 50 – 60 years. If well maintained the tree can produce a clear stem of up to 30 m in length giving a high timber yield. It produces a very large leaf similar to a tobacco leaf which is around 12″ long and wide.
Characteristics of teak wood
Teak is an extremely dense [40 lbs cu ft when dry] coarse grained hardwood.
Teak wood is generally straight grained, but occasionally wavy. It has a coarse and uneven texture. The wood contains a high level of silica which causes rapid blunting of cutting edges. When fresh cut the surface of the wood is dull in appearance, and the timber has a distinctive, pleasantly aromatic odor which has been likened to the smell of leather. Fresh sawn teak has a slightly ‘oily’ feel due to the high oil content.
One of the most commonly quoted facts about the characteristics of teak is its durability. It is resistant to rot caused by fungal decay, and the high level of resinous oil present in the timber helps to act as a natural insect repellent giving the timber very high resistance to attack by termites and other wood boring insects.
The timber is said to be resistant to water and many chemical reagents, including acids. It does not have a strong reaction when it comes in contact with metals.
All these statements regarding the durability of teak are born out by the fact that we can see many instances of the timber which have withstood the test of time when used as key components in the boat building industry, or more sedately when used for making municipal furniture for our parks.
All our Teak Furniture is manufactured from genuine Teak.