Balau is used for heavy construction, frames of boats, deck ing, flooring, and. Tinted wood dressing formulated to protect and treat dense wooden decks, such as balau and teak, that do not readily accept a conventional sealer. Balau is a yellowishbrown, brown, or reddishbrown timber vvith interlocked grain, and a moderately fine and even texture. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. Identifying and using hundreds of woods worldwide by eric meier 20151010 by isbn. Either there have been craftoriented books filled with pretty pictures, but. Yellow meranti the wood database lumber identification. Light red meranti the wood database lumber identification. Im working my way alphabetically by botanical name, so check out the latest added wood to see where im at in the queue. Red batu mahogany decking installation and maintenance jul 28 by cedar country lumber our red batu or balau, commonly referred to as mahogany, hardwood decking is sourced only from countries that are leaders in ecological, sustainable forestry practices. It contains the physical properties and illustrations of more than 150 commercial species, reproduced from the popular trada red books and wood information sheets. This was 100% of all the recorded balau s in the usa. Grading guidelines allow for balau to contain small holes known as pinworm these are in no way detrimental to the structure of the timber. Ncsu inside wood project reproduction of the american woods.
Dark red meranti the wood database lumber identification. For centuries balau has been used for shipbuilding. Red balau is a hardwood that hails from indonesia and is highly sought after for decking, the world over. Default grading for solid wood, according to requirements of european standard en 140811 annex c april 2009. The timber of trees of the genus is sold under the common names lauan, luan, lawaan, meranti, seraya, balau, bangkirai, and philippine mahogany. In 1920 there was 1 balau family living in illinois. It should be moderately priced despite the fact that it is imported. Identifying and using hundreds of woods worldwide by. It can of course be clad balau or any other timber, but balau being the most popular outdoor timber for cladding of brick walls. Most popular choices as deckingflooring among hardwood species such as balau and merbau since chengal wood is categorized as sg1 referred back to hardwood species which means that it is the strongest and most durable wood in malaysia certified by malaysian timber industry board.
Balau decking boards for the garden wood and beyond. Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, balau in the shorea genus has been reported to cause eye, throat, and skin irritation. Main reason of choosing balau is it has better durability and longer life cycle when exposing to natural weather. Its moderately fine and even texture presents an interlocked grain, which produces a stripe figure on the radial surface. Yellow balau is usually used for woods imported from malaysia, bangkirai for woods from indonesia. Thus selangan batu is the name used in sabah, brunei and sarawak, while balau. It takes an otherwise boring brick, plaster or concrete look and transforms it into a beautiful wooden clad structure. Bow woods from a mathematical perspective top ten hardest woods. Balau trees common for shorea tree species popular. White meranti the wood database lumber identification. The balau wood fabricated into lamp case that is natural and soothing when the light is on. Shorea is a genus of about 196 species of mainly rainforest trees in the family dipterocarpaceae.
Interactive key, including interactive information retrieval. Our balau boards tend to range from light through to dark brown. Web site for the united states forest service, forest products laboratory. Balau is not a single tree species but used for trees of the shorea genus. In relation to its density, balau is relatively easy to work. The species database will help you choose the most suitable wood species for your project. You can also choose from entry doors balau wood, as well as from wooden, metal balau wood there are 331 suppliers who sells balau wood on, mainly located in asia. The heartwood is durable to moderately durable and very resistant to preservative treatments. You can see how balau families moved over time by selecting different census years. This is a list of woods, most commonly used in the timber and lumber trade. With the lesson that they learned with teak, balau is a responsibly managed specie of wood. Browse woods by common name browse woods by scientific name general wood information.
It is not a class 1 wood but class 3 which is not recommended for outdoor use it is kinda of a shame that distributors of red lauan represents this wood as durable. When the different shades are fitted together, an impressive and contemporary look that is particularly striking in the wet is achieved. Special thanks are in order to those that have contributed wood samples to the wood database. Bloodwood the wood database lumber identification hardwood.
The introductory chapters about wood structure, etc, are really good. Red balau is a purplishred or dark redbrown timber, with an interlocked grain, and a coarse. Treated specimens of balau laut 50 mm x 50 mm x 600 mm gave an average service life of 11 years. A particularly durable wood, it is rigid and doesnt misshape, warp or cup even as a result of harsh outdoor weather conditions. Untreated railway sleepers 125 mm x 237 mm x 1,950 mm of balau kumus and balau laut lasted a minimum of 15 years and 11 years respectively. Balau the wood database lumber identification hardwood. Red balau is a purplishred or dark redbrown timber, with an interlocked grain, and a coarse but even texture. The resin is tapped and used in many different applications. It is one of the applications in cirads wood database, which combines the. Wood properties and uses of australian timbers business. Eric meier, who ownsruns the wood database web site has now published a really good wood book, called wood.
The genus is named after sir john shore, the governorgeneral of the british east india company, 17931798. Selangan batu is a yellowishbrown timber with interlocked grain, and a coarse, but even texture. The key and descriptions were generated from a delta database dallwitz 1980. Wood properties and uses of australian timbers coronavirus covid19. Yellow balau malasyia timber,wood,malaysia sawn timber. Which type of decking materials is suitable for your home. Balau is a heavy, hard, and strong timber that dries slowly with moderate to severe end checks and splits. Balau is a very dense tightly grained wood that is heavily laden with rich tropical oils and resins. Light red meranti, dark red meranti, white meranti, yellow meranti, and balau. The balau family name was found in the usa in 1920. Balau is widely harvested and widely available worldwide.
Understanding earths most fascinating natural resource. It is classified in malaysia as being very durable. Hough us forest products laboratory, characteristics and availability of commercially important wood from the wood handbook pdf 916k. Im slowly grinding my way through roughly 800 wood species that have still yet to be listed on the site. Balau is thus placed in the durable class with some species classified as extremely durable. Default grading for solid wood, according to requirements of european standard en 140811 annex c april. Because this wood is naturally oily, unfinished balau must be oiled regularly. Dipterocarpaceae a tropical hardwood of the family dipterocarpaceae and is a type of shorea hardwood. Balau wood is similar to teak in its maintenance requirements.
The fresh wood has a high resin and moisture content and as such needs to be left to dry well before use. Balau is not listed in the cites appendices, but many species in the shorea genus are on the iucn red list. Shorea balangeran is an evergreen tree growing to 25 m 82ft by 20 m 65ft at a medium rate. Illinois had the highest population of balau families in 1920. Balau lamp case fitted with base connector for fluorescent tune led. The interactive key allows free choice of characters, is easy to use, and can lead to correct identifications in spite of occasional errors. Looking for information on the durability of a certain wood. What do you think about using balau wood for outdoor furniture. Wood type hardwood introduction the hard, heavy timber species of shorea occurring in south east asia are grouped under common trade names peculiar to the area.
Balau, which is grown in the same pacificasia region is rated by the timber council as stronger and more durable than teak. A wide variety of yellow balau wood options are available to you, such as outdoor. The top countries of suppliers are singapore, china, and malaysia, from which the percentage of balau wood supply is 1%, 47%, and 21% respectively. Any comments are appreciated, as information on this wood is quite limited. Balau cladding or screening of brick walls is quite popular and attractive.
Manilkara bidentata is a species of manilkara native to a large area of northern south america, central america and the caribbean. Shorea is a genus of about 196 species of mainly rainforest trees in the family. The following people have donated samples which were used in the creation of this poster. Red batu mahogany decking installation and maintenance. Over 100 fullpage wood profiles over 100 halfpage wood profiles data on over 150 related species. See the articles wood allergies and toxicity and wood dust safety for more information. These trees grow in the tropical rainforests all throughout asia.
The farm is the home of a factory producing wood wool, long lengths of fine wood shavings that can be dyed for use as. Its better than most of the other reference books i have. The heartwood of balau is yellow to brown, which is distinct from the paler sapwood. In balau timber, there is red balau which cannot be used on ground decking. Balau wood, when compared to chengal wood is less dense. The wood weighs more than 750 kgm3 47 lbft3 at 12% moisture content. I have serious doubt about the durability of red balau. The sapwood external wood is paler in colour still with a yellowred undertone. It is ideal for first time treatment and maintenance of these decks. A wide variety of balau wood price options are available to you, there are 33 suppliers who sells balau wood price on, mainly located in asia. It is basically a meranti or lauan which are used primarily as veneer for plywood. Indonesia balau indonesia bangkirai indonesia kedawang indonesia selangan batu kumus indonesia sulawesi pooti.
Helpful online tools provide more information and data on. America is not a true mahogany at all, but a mixture of woods from the genus shorea. Wood is a favored building material because of availability, ease to cut and join, decorative properties, functionality, flexibility, and a favorable strengthtoweight ratio. The balau wood sometimes experiences cracking, so there may be cracks in balau decking.
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