"Rick Stein" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> We are getting ready to build a deck and someone recommended a wood
> called Meranti. Does anyone have personal experience with this wood? How
> does it compare to cedar, ipe, or other more common deck wood choices.
>
> TIA
> Rick
Hi Rick,
"Meranti" is a kind of generic term for the Shorea genus--over 50 commercial
species of this hardwood were known when I was starting high school [about
40 yrs ago]. There could be more varieties and sources now, though...You'd
probably know it as some kind of "Lauan" or [Philippine/ Borneo] "Mahogany"
/ "Cedar", depending where you live. It's also called Seraya / Serai in some
places where it's grown...Funniest name I've ever heard [or read] for it is
"Pacific Maple"...!!!
Nails, screws and glues well and can be easy to difficult to work, depending
on the density and grain. My old textbooks say it's OK for outdoor use,
being fairly resistant to decay and pests, but I'd really want the deep,
dark-red, dense stuff for a deck. This is the hardest to work, but still
easier than ipe, in my experience. My old books also say to avoid the
"yellow" variety for outdoor use--"White" and "Red" types are OK...It's
known for shrinkage when out in the weather, despite what retailers will
tell you!
Must be OK, though, since a lot of pallet wood and plywood used all over the
world are made from this stuff...Check 'meranti' or 'lauan' on Google
I've used tons of the wood, since it was just about the ONLY hardwood you
could buy where I used to live. Very stable as a furniture wood, but we
rarely used it outdoors...BIG question--Is it any cheaper than the others?
HTH
No personal experience with meranti (which is a mahogany), but I found a
couple of links.
http://www.lakesidelumber.com/documents/Meranti-Decking-Installation-Tips.pdf
http://www.kayu.com/merantideckinginstallationtips/
It looks like it needs to be sealed on all sides before installation. I did
a ipe deck once though. Used EBTY fasteners. I was a huge job cutting the
slots, plus it was ungodly expensive for the boards and fasterners. The
flip-side is the deck is beautiful, and my wife is very happy (which is all
we ever want, isn't it ??)
"Rick Stein" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> We are getting ready to build a deck and someone recommended a wood
> called Meranti. Does anyone have personal experience with this wood? How
> does it compare to cedar, ipe, or other more common deck wood choices.
>
> TIA
> Rick
>
jack states:
>No personal experience with meranti (which is a mahogany),
Not bloody likely. It's Shorea spp., a luaun, or Phillipine mahogany and not
much like any true mahogany (Swietenia spp.).
Darker (more resinous) Shorea groups are durable enough for decking, but
standard light colored meranti is not.
Charlie Self
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character,
give him power." Abraham Lincoln
On Fri, 5 Nov 2004 02:27:53 +0900, "Adam Weber" <[email protected]> wrote:
Meranti is not suitable for outdoor. It crack and warp very easily. In South
East Asia, it is mainly use for indoor furniture's. Meranti is deep to light
brown easily distinguish from other tropical woods, the grain look like oak or
Mahogany but not as hard. "Chengi" (incorrect spelling) are use for outdoor
furniture's and coffin as it will withstand rotting just like Cedar.
>Hi Rick,
>
>"Meranti" is a kind of generic term for the Shorea genus--over 50 commercial
>species of this hardwood were known when I was starting high school [about
>40 yrs ago]. There could be more varieties and sources now, though...You'd
>probably know it as some kind of "Lauan" or [Philippine/ Borneo] "Mahogany"
>/ "Cedar", depending where you live. It's also called Seraya / Serai in some
>places where it's grown...Funniest name I've ever heard [or read] for it is
>"Pacific Maple"...!!!
>
>Nails, screws and glues well and can be easy to difficult to work, depending
>on the density and grain. My old textbooks say it's OK for outdoor use,
>being fairly resistant to decay and pests, but I'd really want the deep,
>dark-red, dense stuff for a deck. This is the hardest to work, but still
>easier than ipe, in my experience. My old books also say to avoid the
>"yellow" variety for outdoor use--"White" and "Red" types are OK...It's
>known for shrinkage when out in the weather, despite what retailers will
>tell you!
>
>Must be OK, though, since a lot of pallet wood and plywood used all over the
>world are made from this stuff...Check 'meranti' or 'lauan' on Google
>
>I've used tons of the wood, since it was just about the ONLY hardwood you
>could buy where I used to live. Very stable as a furniture wood, but we
>rarely used it outdoors...BIG question--Is it any cheaper than the others?
>
>HTH
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
On Fri, 05 Nov 2004 00:20:29 +0000, Andy Dingley
<[email protected]> vaguely proposed a theory
......and in reply I say!:
remove ns from my header address to reply via email
>On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 14:12:49 GMT, Rick Stein <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>>We are getting ready to build a deck and someone recommended a wood
>>called Meranti.
>
>It's several different species, all under one label. It's one of
>those timbers that gets lumped in as "mahogany", but only for really
>poor values of fake mahogany.
>
>Ugly, splintery, turns an unattractive grey, any splinters you get in
>a finger turn septic, but it is tough and will last pretty well. My
>Dad used to use it for decking on his flatbed trucks for years.
This shows how many "merantis" there are. The stuff I knew was two
grades; a quite attractive dark, dense wood, and stuff that was almost
balsa. The balsa stuff was not ugly, but boring. It was not splintery
at all, being more ...well like balsa..powder! <G>
*****************************************************
Have you noticed that people always run from what
they _need_ toward what they want?????
On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 14:12:49 GMT, Rick Stein <[email protected]>
wrote:
>We are getting ready to build a deck and someone recommended a wood
>called Meranti.
It's several different species, all under one label. It's one of
those timbers that gets lumped in as "mahogany", but only for really
poor values of fake mahogany.
Ugly, splintery, turns an unattractive grey, any splinters you get in
a finger turn septic, but it is tough and will last pretty well. My
Dad used to use it for decking on his flatbed trucks for years.
--
Smert' spamionam
On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 14:12:49 GMT, Rick Stein <[email protected]>
vaguely proposed a theory
......and in reply I say!:
remove ns from my header address to reply via email
I replaced the beams on a gazebo.......well...I rebuilt the gazebo. It
was Meranti. Maybe 15 years old? There was a craze for using it here
(Western Oz) for a while. It was badly rotted in the joints where
moisture had got in. It had warped incredibly. I forced the rafters
straight, then placed new purlins and roofed the thing.
This stuff was the lighter grade. There are heavy parts or ytypes to
the wood that would be better, but you have to pick them, and they are
getting rarer at least here. My guess they were old growth heartwood,
because they were completely mixed in wth the lighter stuff. That was
best quality, and now they are grabbing at just about the cambium! <G>
>We are getting ready to build a deck and someone recommended a wood
>called Meranti. Does anyone have personal experience with this wood? How
>does it compare to cedar, ipe, or other more common deck wood choices.
>
>TIA
>Rick
*****************************************************
Have you noticed that people always run from what
they _need_ toward what they want?????