25 x 150mm (21 x 145) Yellow Balau Hardwood Smooth / Smooth Deckboard

ex.25 x 150mm (fin.21 x 145) Yellow Balau Hardwood Smooth / Smooth Deckboard 

Smooth hardwood decking

Smooth Hardwood decking boards are approximately three times the price of softwood deckboards. We have stocked profiled, hardwood decking for over 15 years.  These hardwood boards are more durable and ideally they need oiling each year to keep their colour. In 2014 we added a low-slip hardwood deckboards option and then in early 2015 we also added smooth Balau hardwood deckboards as a standard stock product.  If you want durability and top-end appearance you can also consider Millboard decking

Balau or Bangkirai?

Balau, also known as Bangkirai, is a durable hardwood and popular for machining decking boards.  Our Balau stocks are normally TFT (Tropical Forest Trust) certified, the boards are of Malaysian origin and are a yellowish brown colour with a moderately fine grain. Bangkirai, or Balau, is the collective commercial name which covers approximately 40 similar hardwood species.

These hardwood deckboards boards are normally supplied to us in lengths of 3.3 - 3.9 metre lengths.  Balau deckboards are air dried and untreated so there will be colour variations from one decking board to the next. This is particularly noticeable when the decking is first laid. Oiling helps to even out colour differences which will eventually disappear if the boards are allowed to go grey.

Hardwood decking properties

Hardwood decking boards are naturally rot and insect resistant.  During air drying the boards are spaced with narrow hardwood strips which might initially show as lighter strips along the deckboards  length. The boards are dense and hard timber, but they do sometimes have some tiny pinhole marks in the timber face. This pinhole feature is permissible within the products grade. Newer, fresh cut boards might also leach lightly for the first few weeks so care must be taken near light coloured materials.  Leaching can be reduced by using Osmo sealing wax for the cut board ends.

Images of hardwood decks provided by Legendary Landscapes and Clipper Garden Services.