Myths about Teak wood Furniture
Myths about Teak wood Furniture
Let’s debunk the myths about Teak wood.
If you are a timber specialist you already know why teak is one of the most sought-after of all premium woods. People love its golden color and its resistance to rot.
But there is still a lot of misconceptions about teak furniture.
Here in India, we have a genuine love for teak. We love the grain, the feel, the touch, and we even love the smell of it. It makes us pretty sad to hear people say bad things about our beloved timber, because their claims are not even true.
Let’s debunk some myths and learn some simple facts about our teak wood and teak wood furniture.
DOES THE BUSINESS OF TEAK FURNITURE HARMS THE ENVIRONMENT ?
Some people say that teak production hurts Nature. It’s not true. Furniture uses teak wood coming from sustainable farming. Here is a picture of a plantation in Asia.
Our teak comes from legal plantations.
Some people think that buying teak furniture contributes to deforestation and destroy the environment.
In the past decades global warming and extensive logging have threatened old teak forests.
But despite what you may think, teak furniture has now became an ecological business.
This tropical hardwood (called Tectona Grandis) cannot survive in the jungle. The tree grows in dry and hilly terrains, in Southeast Asia.
To keep up sustainability, teak farming is now regulated. The hardwood used in furniture comes from tree farms. This is not a new trend. The first teak plantations appeared in Burma more than 160 years ago.
Once again, the wood we use for our furniture does not come from natural forests. It comes from legal plantations.
Teak furniture is energy-efficient.
When you buy a plastic chair, polluting factories process synthetic resins to produce plastic.
They make the resins by heating chemical materials. They process the resins again to produce the plastic furniture.
We don’t use chemicals to build our teak furniture.
The wood comes from regulated farmed trees, without need for chemicals or manufacturing.
Plastic bottles and metal cans pollute our oceans and natural landscapes. Scraps leftovers from wood production return to the earth without damage to the environment.
Organic by nature, Teak oil is bitter and repels insects. This natural-quality makes teak an ecological option, because there is no need for insecticides.
Teak trees grow without artificial fertilizers or heavy irrigation. Time just make its work. Plantations are a renewable and sustainable.
Next time you think about buying teak furniture, remember it’s an ethical investment.
Make a clever investment.
Teak furniture is now affordable. Other materials like plastic or metal are not sustainable.
Teak wood is the perfect material when it comes to quality furniture.
Attractive, durable, resistant to termites and other insects, teak offers an extreme weather resistance. You can use it both inside or outside your house.
IS TEAK FURNITURE IS EXPENSIVE ?
People tend to think that teak furniture is expensive. Let’s see why it’s not.
People think that teak furniture is expensive. It’s not.
Decades ago, just the richest people could afford teak furniture. Back then teak wood was a rare, exotic and extravagant product.
Today the world seems smaller. Shops from all around the world come to Asia to buy teak furniture. It’s a great news! Once a luxury product, teak furniture is now affordable.
Who would have thought that one day you could buy a premium teak lounge chair for less than Rs 15,000/- ?
Durability and water resistance.
When we talk about the cost, you have to think about more than the retail price. Let’s talk about durability. Teak outdoor furniture and patio furniture is very popular due to its durability and water resistance properties, because of its natural oils.
How cheap do you think that this plastic lounge chair is?
Carpenters use teak wood a lot in furniture, teak is also a favorite in flooring, shipbuilding or boat decking.
For the past 30 years, the most famous designers have all work with teak wood. Why?
This wood is durable and stands well under all-weather conditions.
This hardwood is dense and resists warping, shrinking and swelling.
Without varnish or oil, teak furniture can face the test of time. Its natural high oil content repels termites and resist rot.
Even after years of outdoor exposure teak furniture will keep its strength and its beauty.
Teak will stand for generations.
Did you know that the public benches in all English parks are from this tropical hardwood wood?
Public parks in England use recycled teak wood that are almost a century old.
Teak also is one of the few materials that beautifies with age.
The smooth touch and warm appearance develops over time into a rich and elegant appearance.
I doubt that your grand children will be able to lie down on the cheap plastic lounge chair you buy today.
TYPES OF TEAK WOOD IN INDIAN MARKET
Nilambur (Malabar) teak
• Grows fast, yields larger log dimensions
• Straight grain with golden yellowish brown colour, often with darker steaks
• Reputed in the trade for ship building and furniture/cabinets
West African teak
• Wood with black streaks and wavy or twisted grain
• Wood figure is mostly inferior to that of Asian teak
South and Central American teak
• Wood lighter in colour
• Fetches lower price due to small dimen-sional log and less heartwood
Did you know ?
A variety of teak timbers is noted in Indian market depending on the source of supply as originated from various geographic locations or countries. The recent timber survey re- corded the following types timbers mainly due to variations in log size wood colour/grain and growth rate/rotation age. The price trends of teak timber showed continued increase in India over the decades of later half of 20th century .
The present market price range for round wood (Cu.m) in Indian Rupees and US $ is shown below:
Types Teakwood
Adilabad teak
• Grows in Rajulmaddugu locality of Telangana
• Rose coloured heartwood, attractive surface, fetches high price
Central province teak (CPT)
• Slow grown wood with close grain from drier areas of central India
• Deeper colour, twisted or wavy grain give better appearance and fetches higher price
Dandeli (North Kanara) teak
• Slow grown, close grained
• Darker in
Godavari teak
Home garden/farm grown teak
• Home garden teak has more defects like bends endknots lowering timber value.
• Wood from dry sites has darker golden
brown colour with black streaks, making it more attractive in appearance.
• Wood from wet sites has paler colour affecting adversely the price of the tim- ber.
• Wood from homesteads of wet sites is • more susceptible to brown rot fungi al- though no significant differences exists with respect to white rot fungi among the home garden and plantation grown timbers.
• Higher natural durability of teak wood from drier locality is reflected in higher extractive contents with darker colour
Konni teak
• Slow grown wood with close grain and darker colour
• Stronger than Nilambur teak
Myanmar (Burma) teak
• Slow grown wood from mostly from natural growth
• Close grain with darker colour
• Fetches high price in international trade
South American Teak and West African teak is also available in India. They are not as strong and durable as Indian teak ( Saagwan ) but cheaper than Indian counterpart.