Which hardwood decking is best?

which decking is the best, the following is in my opinion the best decking for outdoor use. I base my opinion on years and years of experience exporting to different countries with different climates (hot, strong sun, wet, dry etc). In order of best to worst: teak – ipe – itauba – merbau – garapa – cumaru – iroko – massaranduba.

Why: many people confuse hardness with ‘good qaulity’ and durability. This is only party true. What makes the difference is weather the hardwood has raisin, a kind of a glue which is from the type of wood itself. For a mill that cuts the wood, this raisin is bad news because the blades need to be sharpened every other hour. However, for durability and gainst decay, this wood is perfect. Cumaru for example is very hard but does not contain this raisin with the result that it is cracks and decays at the ground level (where the air meets the soil and the wood is continuously either wet or dry). Massaranduba is known for twisting, cupping and bending. So if you want these woods, make sure that they are KD (kiln dried) which reduces these aforementioned problems significantly. If you really want to go into the detail, this is maybe a good resource for your digging: http://www.roquevalente.com/hardwood-species.htm Here we have listed most species on the market and you can compare them with the most relevant numbers (traction, Janka hardness etc).

hello, I have itauba in Portuguese and German fact sheet, how do I post that here?

Karl Harrison said:

Great reply Roque,

I am working on data sheets that will appear on this site under the menu heading “Decking Advice”, I would be greatful if you could mail me details for Itauba, I can then add to my list.

I do agree that hardness should not be the only consideration, we have to consider stability and durability. If and when using some of the species that are more volatile in terms of stability then more substantial fixings should be considered.

Karl