Such a question. The big deal about teak furniture is that it is teak.
And teak is strong, gorgeous and durable in an outdoor environment. It will force you to peel a few extra bills from the wad in your pocket. That’s a given. But you gets what you pays for. You’re shelling-out for the best with teak.
Think of the cost trade-off this way. By investing more in teak outdoor furniture, you’ll end-up saving all the cash you’d spend on annual weatherproofing and regular treatments. Want some evidence that this brand of wood lasts a long time? Visit a couple of caves in the western part of India. You’ll find teak objects that have been dated back to the birth of Christ.
We can thank the Dutch for figuring out that teak was tops when they dabbled around colonizing Indonesia. Because it’s native to the region, the folks who brought the world wooden shoes discovered that teak was perfect for building ships. Most notably, the Europeans found the timber was hot when it came to resisting dry rot.
How does teak get that way?
It’s all the rubber and oils that saturate the fine grain of the wood. Even when it goes through processing, the protectorants remain locked into the lumber. That makes it resistant to dry rot and weatherproofed, too. The oils likewise create a barrier that discourages parasites and fungus. That translates to not having to treat the stuff. It will handle its own without waterproofing.
This value is not lost on the Indonesians. They’ve been dogged in their management of this resource. While you can harvest teak from Myanmar, Malaysia and Thailand, the government of Indonesia has set-up a corporation that handles the plantations where this wonderful wood is grown.
The love takes time. Like about 70-to-80 years before a tree is considered mature. That’s why there’s such a market for reclaimed teak. It’s not your run-of-the-mill lumber in the construction of outdoor and indoor furniture.
Using teak to build structures that can stand-up to the elements, you’ll see the wood began its color plight from maple syrup brown to a distinguished gray.
Not all teak is created equal. The sapwood – outer layer – won’t give you the same quality that the cave dwellers of India experienced. They used what is called the heartwood. The product found closest to the tree’s core. The rubber and the oil gets more intense the deeper you go.