Outdoor Patio Furniture News

Teak wood is often used in building items exposed to the environment such as buildings, boats, furniture, window frames, doors and flooring.  The reasons are many.  Teak wood is a beautiful yellow brown to dark golden brown color.  As teak wood ages the color will change to a soothing silver gray. It is considered one of the most beautiful woods found throughout the world.   However, it is not the just the color that draws people to use teak wood, it is its strength and durability.   The fine grain gives the wood strength and flexibility, and the oils in the wood make it resistant to decay and dry rot.   Furniture or other items made from teak wood is virtually weatherproof and remains weatherproof for many years.   The oil in the teak tree stays in the grain of the wood and protects the wood from fungi and parasites that destroy other woods.   The many benefits of teak make it a perfect wood for outdoor furniture. Outdoor furniture made of other woods requires some type of weather proofing applied annually to prevent decay and dry rot caused by fungi and parasites.  On the other hand, teak furniture is virtually maintenance free.

Teak comes from the tree Tectona.  According to Wikipedia, there are three different Tectona trees.  The Tectona grandis is the most common tree and has a wide distribution in India and Indonesia.  Tectona hamiltoniana is a tree found only in Burma and is endangered due to over harvesting.  There is also the Tectona Philippinenesis which is only found in the Philippines and also considered endangered.   The teak wood harvested from Indonesia is controlled by the Indonesian government through a corporation known as Perum Perhutani.   Perum Perhutani is responsible for the reforestation program in all of Indonesia.   The largest producer of teak is the Island of Java in Indonesia.   The Teak tree needs to grow for a minimum or 40 years before being harvested.  It is the Perum Perhutani’s job to make certain that for every tree harvested there are trees planted for future generations.   It is the teak tree plantation that keeps the Tectona Grandis from becoming endangered like the trees in Burma and the Philippines.  Often teak is described as Java Teak or Indonesian Teak so the user knows that the teak wood is not endangered and being reforested through these environmentally friendly plantations.