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Worldwide Hardwoods

We frequently supply a range of constructional and marine hardwoods such as iroko, keruing, ekki (azobe), opepe and balau. These timbers are widely used for external applications such as street furniture, claddings, lorry bodies and sea/river defences. Both sawn and planed finishes are available with additional machining such as profiling, pointing and drilling etc.

Keruing (Dipterocarpus)

Density approx. 880kg/m3 - Malaysia

Product Size (mm) Finished Size Grade Heat Treatment Environmental Scheme
26 x 150mm plus or minus 1-2mm Select & better WET PEFC
38 x 150mm & wider plus or minus 1-2mm Select & better WET PEFC
50 x 150mm & wider plus or minus 1-2mm Select & better WET PEFC
75 x 150mm & wider plus or minus 1-2mm Select & better WET PEFC

Appearance Red/brown appearance
Durability Moderately durable, reasonable resistance to decay but sapwood liable to beetle & termite attack.
Working properties Silica content causes rapid dulling of blades and high resinous levels affects saws during converstion.
Seasoning Kiln drying with care but still causes shrinkage & distortion
Uses Lorry bodies and industrial flooring.

Keruing

Planed & Rebated

Product Size (mm) Finished Size Grade Heat Treatment Environmental Scheme
26 x 150mm 20 x 145mm (130mm cover) Select & better WET PEFC
32 x 150mm 28 x 145mm (130mm cover) Select & better WET PEFC

Ekki/Azobe (Lophira alata)

Density approx. 1070 kg/m3 - West Africa

Appearance Ekki which is also known as azobe or red ironwood in other parts of the world is a reddy brown colour with yellow-brown specks which are the solid deposits in the vessels.
Durability Very resistant to fungal decay and resistant to termites and marine borers.
Working Properties Extremely hard to work with hand tools and requires high powered machines to convert and plane. Requires pre-drilling before fixing.
Seasoning Very slow to dry and liable to distort but shrinkage is low.
Uses Wharf construction, sleepers, bridge decks and other heavy industrial purposes.

Opepe (Nauclea diderrichii)

Density approx. 750kg/m3 - Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon

Appearance Orange/Yellow colour
Durability Durable and resistant to decay
Working properties Machines with moderate ease with both hand & power tooling. Tendency to split in nailing but takes screws and glue moderately well.
Seasoning Air dries moderately rapidly but has tendency to split and check.
Uses Exterior construction, bollards and water environments.

Iroko (Chlorohora excels)

Density approx. 660kg.m3 - West Africa

Appearance Light olive-brown colour darkening to a teak-brown or dark brown on exposure to sunlight.
Durability Very durable, resistant to fungal decay, termites and marine borers except sapwood.
Working properties Reasonably easy to machine with only moderate dulling of cutting edges.
Seasoning Air & kiln dries very well and very stable once seasoned.
Uses Widely used as a teak substitute for claddings, external furniture boat building and other joinery products.

Red/Yellow Balau (shorea atrinervosa S. guiso + others)

Density approx. 980kg/m3

Appearance Yellowy brown for Yellow Balau, red/brown for RED Balau
Durability Durable. Little tendancy to warp or twist
Working properties Interlocked grain and a coarse but even texture but machines well.
Seasoning Difficult to dry, slow drying with a tendency to end split, warping is variable.
Uses Flooring, construction, and outdoor furniture
  • Keruing Planed
  • Keruing Rebated
  • Ekki Pack
  • Opepe Machined Post
  • Iroko
  • Balau Decking Anti Slip