Teak timber is one of the best timber wood for outdoor furniture. This tropical hardwood that is naturally grow in under the tropic in the south-east Asia but also in Africa and South America is extremely strong, durable and what is most important of all, it is naturally resistant to outdoor elements including rain, UV light, rapid temperature changes and wood eating insects…
A good quality teak wood doesn’t require any protection or paint and can be left outdoors all year round.
Is that true? More and more people buying teak furniture at lower prices are disappointed with the quality and the durability of their garden furniture….
Well, it depends of several parameters such as the teak provenance, the part of the timber is used to make the furniture and the techniques and respect of the rule of art during manufacturing.
1) The teak essence and provenance:
Teak timber is an essence of wood (Tectona grandis), which grows in different areas in the world. The difference of the climates give different qualities, such as Indonesia, where teak trees mainly grow in Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi islands. Each provenance of the timber gives a different quality of teak, who is an essential parameter to meet the requirement of an high quality teak wood. As an example, As an example, Sumatra teak is classified in the lowest quality as the Indonsian teak timber because it is subject to important shrinkage. In Java, grows the best essence of teak, called Perhutani, which is the only forest teak available in Indonesia. This forest teak timber comes from the forests are legally administrated by the Indonesian government. This teak has a traceability and the every legal logs are labelled with barcode. This teak timber is of course the more expensive but from far the best and the more durable teak found in Indonesia.
Other quality, such as Kampung teak grows on Java island, it's an other quality of teak available, who is cheaper and less durable than the forest teak. On the middle range of quality and price, the Sulawesi Teak timber named Kempleng is widely use in the Indonesian teak furniture Industry.
The provenance ot the timber is the first consideration, unfortunately, a lot of unscrupulous local factories, use poor quality teak and promote the Indonesian Legal Wood logo to make customer confindent...Some other, even less honest display on their website a logo with Perhutani, but their production of furniture is made with Sumatra or Java Kampung.
For this reason, the prices can vary from 1 to 3 for the same model of furniture depending of the timber teak provenance.
2) The maturity of the teak log:
The international standards and recommendations for log diameter selection in order to process quality furniture in teak preconize a tree log of minimum 30cm diameter, which means the tree is older enough and the heart wood is mature. Teak trees can live over 100 years, with a diameter pass the meter, a mature teak which its log is over 30cm is a minimum of 20 years old. The part of the tree, the timber comes from has is importance, as the lowest part of the log is the more mature, higher and smaller less and the branches not good enough…
Teak furniture in Jepara are made with every all kind and part of timber logs and promote as grade A or outdoor quality...Beware of that !
This is the second major parameter in the choice of the timber teak on which the quality of the manufactured furniture will depend.
4) What is the grade ?
The grade will be decided in the first steps of the carpentry process by drawing the shape of the components on a well kiln dried teak boards. Selecting only the heart of wood will make grade A furniture, using both heart wood and more of less sapwood will lower the classification down to grade C. The Grade also depends of the previous parameters such as the teak log provenance and maturity, the heart of wood of a 10 years old Kampung teak log cannot reach a grade higher than C.
What are the different grades appearance ?
Grade A teak is the highest quality teak wood. It refers to timber that is taken from the very centre of the log (heartwood) of a fully mature tree. Grade A teak can be recognized by a uniform, golden brown color, close grains and glossy surface that feels oily to touch. It is high in teak natural oils which play the key role in teak outstanding resistance to outdoor elements by protecting it from unfavorable weather elements and repelling insects. Unfortunately, it makes up only about a fifth to one quarter of the log and as a result, it has a high price.
Grade B teak refers to timber from the outer heartwood section, making up about one fourth to one third of the log. In comparison to grade A teak, grade B teak has a lighter color, uneven grain and less shine. It contains only traces of teak natural oils and as a result, it is unable to withstand the exposure to the outdoor extremes without protective treatments. But even then, it doesn’t last even close as long as furniture made from the highest quality teak.
Grade C teak is an inferior quality teak wood. It refers to timber from the outer sections of a mature log (sapwood) and logs of immature trees. Grade C teak contains virtually no teak natural protective oils, has a very uneven color and is easily damaged because it is very soft. Furniture that is made from grade C teak is even considered unsuitable for indoor use due to its softness that makes it highly susceptible to damage. Although it is taken from the very same tree species, grade C teak has no similarity to the highest quality teak neither in regard to outdoor performance, beauty or durability. Grade C teak garden furniture is relatively inexpensive but it has a very short lifespan even if it is treated with protective coating or periodically oiled.
A tip to purchase Outdoor Teak Furniture in Indonesia:
Grade B and C teak garden furniture is chemically treated to make it look as if it would be made from the highest quality timber. Lot of Jepara factory even can sell it as grade A, so you should be aware of that...
It can be recognized by a darker color but most people can’t really see the difference between the two, unless seen next to each other. If you are after the highest quality teak garden furniture, you are recommended to buy from reputable manufacturers who offer an extensive guarantee on their products. (cf. Chemical treatment and exposure to the sun standardizes the color of the teak of lower grades).