Our house has just started. We have chosen everything except for the hardwood timber that will be used for the decking.
I want it to fit in with the colours we have chosen already. The bricks are
coach house cream (from Austral), and the roof is
Monument with Paperbark fascia (from Colorbond).
The railing will be cable deck railing.
The deck comes out from the dining area which has a
coffee coloured bamboo flooring.
What hardwood timber would fit in well with these?
Please show me yours so I can get some ideas.
well really will come down to the type of stain you want to use....
I really don't even know where to start. I'm clueless about all things timber and staining.
I'm think I'm trying to decide between Merbau and Jarrah.
Well it really comes down to what colour you want and how much maintenance you're willing to do to keep it looking like that.
The majority of hardwood timbers will weather outside to grey unless you maintain the surface coatings, how often you'll need to do that will be determined by the timber itself, how much its exposed to weather and direct sunlight and the product you coat it with (oil, water or polyurethane etc).
If you want something light yellow -> grey , with darker grain you could look at some spotted gum or similar.
If you want something in a red , merbau, iron bark, red gum
If you want something in a brown you could look at blackbutt
That isn't a comprehensive list by any means, nor necessarily all that accurate, but all are fairly commonly available and should give you at least a starting point.
jarrah or merbau unless you want to really stain natural, wont be huge colour variations with darker stains.....
i suggest if it is really bothering you, get a couple of lengths of both, and some sample stains and go for it, stain away until you find the desired result.
also make sure you put 2-3 coats on as it really changes the depth of colour/grain
Thank you. You've both given me some things to think about.
Tengals, I will definitely do that! Heading up to look at the timbers on Monday.
great stuff
get 1.8mt of merbau and 1.8mt of jarrah , head to bunnings and chew the ear off the guy/girl in the paint dept about stains etc, grab your sample pots and away you go........
Also as your in Tas it may be worth looking for a local source or mill.
Timber that's been seasoned locally should present less issues at least in terms of varying moisture content.
Additionally a timberyard or mill should be able to give you some advice.
Not sure what your opinion on the timber industry is, but you should be able to source some very nice local timber.
A list of species here
http://www.tastimber.tas.gov.au/species.aspx And a list of suppliers
http://www.tastimber.tas.gov.au/SearchStateList.aspxAnother somewhat useful link
http://www.privateforestrysthnqld.com.au/wp-content/2010/10/Durability-study-eucs-and-accacias.pdfThe results of a durability study conducted over 30 odd years for in ground use.
The usefulness of this is only that it provides an indication of the useful life of the varying species but only as a yardstick.
If you see one timber that lasts for 30 odd years in ground in melbourne then chances are decking in Tasmania shouldn't pose any difficulty, but if it only lasts 5-10 its may be worth considering alternatives.