Teak Wood

Burma Teak is unavailable due to EUTR Regulations. For a price on Teak (Tectona grandis) sourced from other legal well managed forests, please use our contact form with your requirements: Contact Form

Other highly durable timber alternatives suitable for external use:

Teak: A Highly Durable Super-Timber

As teak wood suppliers we can safely say that in the world of hardwoods, teak is a stand-out timber for strength and durability.

Teak wood is one of the most highly durable timbers available. It contains its own natural oils and rubbers giving it extraordinary resistance to chemical and insect attack, including the hardships a marine environment can throw at it.

Teak is also incredibly hard celled, meaning it has extreme strength and resistance to crushing, making it ideal for high-wear areas, such as boat decking.

Uses of Teak Wood

Because of its immense durability and stability, it's commonly used in boatbuilding for decks and marine joinery work.

The stability of teak timber means very little movement when exposed to moisture.

This wood is extremely hardwearing and used wherever the timber is expected to experience a lot of use and weathering.

Teak boards are also very popular as a high-end garden decking.

Teak Boat Decking
Teak Stock
Teak Sawn Boards

Teak Size Availability

Teak is imported in fixed widths and thicknesses.

We can supply Teak in a range of thicknesses. Our most commonly supplied size is a planed finished size of 22mm and 49mm thick Java Teak. With availability up to 80mm thickness.

Treating & Fitting Teak Timber

Teak is only usually treated to maintain the colour and put off fading to silver grey from exposure to sunlight. Because teak is so durable already, treating it doesn't add to its lifespan and is not required if you don't mind or want to actively encourage the silver grey colour.

Because teak is such a hard and dense timber, it must be pre-drilled so it doesn't split, rather than nailing straight through the boards. Teak also glues well on freshly revealed (ie sanded) surfaces.

History and Origins

Teak is a tropical hardwood. The only Teak available on the UK market is from countries such as Indonesia, India and Costa Rica. Burmese Teak is banned.

Why is Teak illegal? Burmese Teak is illegal due to sanctions placed on Myanmar Teak by the UK, US, Canada and the EU for its role in bankrolling the military and its excessive deforestation. The EIA says, 'if deforestation in Myanmar continues at its current rate, the country's forests will disappear by 2035'.

Teak originates from Asia and was first found in Burma, Sri Lanka and India. Teak was then exported to and grown in other parts of the world at the start of the 20th Century (starting in Nigeria). Although the timber was used abroad well before then and even the British Navy in the late 1600’s wanted to use Teak on their own ships.

Native Tribes in Southern Asia found another use for Teak when they started using it to help with digestive difficulties. The bark of the tree was brewed into a tea like drink which tended to help with fever, headaches and stomach pains as well.

Teak is still commonly used for boat building and decking because of its long life. In the past the timber was used exclusively for ship floors and palaces all over the world used Teak for structural support.