Information About Wood
As wood is a natural product there are a number of issues to bear in mind when choosing and using your wooden garden product.
General Points
Wood is a natural product which can contain natural defects. Due to weather variations causing differences in moisture content within the wood, cracks and splits can occur. This does not affect the quality or stability of the wood and in fact is normal behaviour. During rain or periods of high humidity, these same cracks will often disappear.
Pressure Treated Softwood
Pressure treating is a method of wood preservation that involves forcing chemical into the wood under pressure. This method can exacerbate the normal cracking and splitting of wood.
Hardwood
Hardwood is an oily wood, which is one of the reasons it resists our wet climate so well. In some hardwoods, such as Bangkirai, the surface oil can seep out from new products in turn staining the surface it sits on, i.e. patios.
Bangkirai
Bangkirai hardwood is an extremely attractive and durable hardwood falling into the class 1-2 for durability and longevity which is about 20-30 years.
The density is about 850-1050 kg/m³ at 12% moisture content. Bankirai is renowned for keeping it's shape and is therefore highly suitable for most applications in the garden.
Apart from some common pin holes, small resin bags and some naturally occuring surface cracks, this timber is virtually fault free. However, it should be noted when hardwood products are new, some leakage of the surface oil may occur, this can occasionally discolour walls and ground surfaces.
