Thread: Merbau. Is it the right material?

My personal preference would be to use locally sourced timber rather than something coming in from Asia.....even better would be locally sourced recycled and remilled timber.

But I accept that both would probably cost more than fresh Merbau...

However, it might be worth having a yarn to the sawmill/timber place on Windsor Rd. at Rouse Hill to see what you can get....

Dressed green (as in freshly cut as opposed to treated) hardwood landscape sleepers are nice too!!

I laid 1000m of the stuff on my deck and i'm fairly happy with it. Has great colour and i'm not worried about bleeding (which it does a lot). Also, it's resisting the effects of salt water splashes from the spa.

However... i think next time i'll go with yellow balau which is roughly the same price (maybe a little more expensive) but i think the colours are outstanding.

A friend just built a small deck undercover using treated pine which he then stained to look similar to merbau. It's strong enough for his needs, doesn't get much weather and cost a helluva lot less. Food for thought.

Thanks for the info, with regards to the Merbau have you sealed it in any way?
I have read that one way to stop the bleeding is to seal all sides and ends to stop water penitration. As my deck will be surrounding a salt pool I will need to seal it.

There are many timbers you could use but if you want a visually striking timber that is hard and wont bleed everywhere. Have a look at spotted gum, the three main sizes are 65 x 19, 86 x 19 and 136 x 19. Also it is a managed species and not a rainforest tree. Take a look at image six here http://www.connollys.com.au/gallery.html

Cheers

Craig

http://www.connollys.com.au

Originally Posted by hmhdyman

Hi all,

I'm new to the Woodwork Forum, so pls be gentle..
I am looking at replacing an old treated pine deck around an i/g swimming pool with Merbau. I have read a lot re the bleeding of Merbau when wet, so does this make it a bad choice for around the pool or will sealing prior to and after installing, fix the problem.

Is there another timber I should consider?

P.s The sub frame is constructed from hardwood and is in very good condition..

Thanks for any thoughts.. Rgds Richard

Richard, you could also think on using Bankirai. Good stuff for outside work like platforms or pergola's

Originally Posted by hmhdyman

Thanks for the info, with regards to the Merbau have you sealed it in any way?

After laying the decking i allowed it to weather for three months. Then i hit it with deck clean and applied cabots natural decking oil (not tinted). Since then it's received another coat of deck oil and we'll do another shortly.

Drool...