To all interested in Merbau timber,
Please be aware it is not supplied in some states due to the devastation merbau foresting is causing in Asia. Merbau foresting is killing the Orangatan in Asia, PNG and Solomons. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SUSTAINABLE MERBAU. Many major companies around the world including Europe, USA and UK have banned the supply of Merbau. Australia has been slow to catch on. We need to use different timbers and not instantly think of Merbau when we think of decking etc. Please Google the following for more information. You can copy and paste these directly into your website section.
www.wilderness.org.au/articles/merbau
http://www.milieudefensie.nl/globaliser ... nitief.pdf
thank you to all who read this and reconsider their timber decision for new projects.
MERBAU
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I believe there are issues with teak as well, which makes me wonder about some of garden furniture I've seen. It doesn't help that timbers sometimes go by different names, and some can be sourced in different ways. Trying to find out what is the best thing to use and locate the most appropriate supplier can be difficult. We should keep these issues in mind when shopping around.
I agree Macy. We cannot blindly trust our suppliers. My husband and I were horrified when we went to look at display houses in the USA when on holiday recently. It is very taboo to even ask about many of these timbers as their supply is virtually banned. When I spoke to a Metricon sales rep recently he d me their policy is only to use ecologically sustainable timber, so I found that impressive. Unsure if any other builders are doing this.
That still doesn't mean it won't come from a rainforest
To all interested in Merbau timber,
Please be aware it is not supplied in some states due to the devastation merbau foresting is causing in Asia. Merbau foresting is killing the Orangatan in Asia, PNG and Solomons. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SUSTAINABLE MERBAU. Many major companies around the world including Europe, USA and UK have banned the supply of Merbau. Australia has been slow to catch on. We need to use different timbers and not instantly think of Merbau when we think of decking etc. Please Google the following for more information. You can copy and paste these directly into your website section.
http://www.wilderness.org.au/articles/merbau
http://www.milieudefensie.nl/globaliser ... nitief.pdf
thank you to all who read this and reconsider their timber decision for new projects.
Please be aware it is not supplied in some states due to the devastation merbau foresting is causing in Asia. Merbau foresting is killing the Orangatan in Asia, PNG and Solomons. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SUSTAINABLE MERBAU. Many major companies around the world including Europe, USA and UK have banned the supply of Merbau. Australia has been slow to catch on. We need to use different timbers and not instantly think of Merbau when we think of decking etc. Please Google the following for more information. You can copy and paste these directly into your website section.
http://www.wilderness.org.au/articles/merbau
http://www.milieudefensie.nl/globaliser ... nitief.pdf
thank you to all who read this and reconsider their timber decision for new projects.
So which timber do you suggest should be used?
Which doesn't involve either degradation of existing forests or the use of so-called sustainable forests?
And which will give a life of several decades to avoid the need to reduce more forest to replace a short-lived timber which lasts only a decade or so?
Id like to know what a good timber is also. We are about to get a timber fence.. but using kwila ? (or something similar) is this stuff ok ?
edit: found this link http://www.converge.org.nz/gwg/Decisions.htm
so in light of all that.. what on earth can I use on my fence instead... pine is not an option as it just doesnt last as long.
edit: found this link http://www.converge.org.nz/gwg/Decisions.htm
Quote:
The following is a list of old growth timbers not to buy:
A’asa, African mahogany, Agathis species, asi-toa, amoora, Aucomea, balau, Bauvadi,
beech (native, from NZ), blackbutt, blackwood, ironbark, Calophyllum species, Castanopsis, cedar (pencil), Chengal, Chlorophora, damanu, Dacrydium, Decussocarpus, Dipterocarpus, Dryanobalanops, Dyera, Pometia, Endospermum, Entrandrophragma, eucalyptus (all species from Australia), Fiji kauri, Gonystylus species, Homalium, Hopea species, giam, Intsia species, iroko, ironbark, jarrah, jelutong, kahikatea, kalantas, kapur, karri, kaudamu, kauri (Fiji), Kauvula, kempas, keruing, khaya, Koilo, Koompassia, kwila, lauan, lithocarpus, mahogany, malas, matai, meranti, merbau, Milicia, narra, nemesu, Neobalanocarpus, New Guinea oak, nyatoh, obeche, odum, okoume, oregon, Palaqium, pencil cedar, Pterocarpus, ramin, red cedar, red seraya, redwood, rewarewa, rimu, rosawa, rosewood, tawa, sapele, salu salu, sapele, Shorea species, sipo, spotted gum, Syncarpa, Syzgium, Tasmanian oak, taun, teak, Tectona, Toona species, totara, Triplochiton, turpentine, vesi, Vitex, watergum, western red cedar, yaka, yasiyasi - and anything else which is not proven to be from sources other than old-growth forest . See also page 21 of the 1992 Good Wood Guide.
A’asa, African mahogany, Agathis species, asi-toa, amoora, Aucomea, balau, Bauvadi,
beech (native, from NZ), blackbutt, blackwood, ironbark, Calophyllum species, Castanopsis, cedar (pencil), Chengal, Chlorophora, damanu, Dacrydium, Decussocarpus, Dipterocarpus, Dryanobalanops, Dyera, Pometia, Endospermum, Entrandrophragma, eucalyptus (all species from Australia), Fiji kauri, Gonystylus species, Homalium, Hopea species, giam, Intsia species, iroko, ironbark, jarrah, jelutong, kahikatea, kalantas, kapur, karri, kaudamu, kauri (Fiji), Kauvula, kempas, keruing, khaya, Koilo, Koompassia, kwila, lauan, lithocarpus, mahogany, malas, matai, meranti, merbau, Milicia, narra, nemesu, Neobalanocarpus, New Guinea oak, nyatoh, obeche, odum, okoume, oregon, Palaqium, pencil cedar, Pterocarpus, ramin, red cedar, red seraya, redwood, rewarewa, rimu, rosawa, rosewood, tawa, sapele, salu salu, sapele, Shorea species, sipo, spotted gum, Syncarpa, Syzgium, Tasmanian oak, taun, teak, Tectona, Toona species, totara, Triplochiton, turpentine, vesi, Vitex, watergum, western red cedar, yaka, yasiyasi - and anything else which is not proven to be from sources other than old-growth forest . See also page 21 of the 1992 Good Wood Guide.
so in light of all that.. what on earth can I use on my fence instead... pine is not an option as it just doesnt last as long.
Apparently kwila IS merbau.
http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/hardwoodsqld/8271.html
I found another site that claims its kwila comes from "managed" forests, but what exactly does that mean? It's complicated.
http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/hardwoodsqld/8271.html
Quote:
Local names: Johnstone River teak, scrub mahogany (north Queensland), merbau (Malaysia), vesi (Fiji), Moluccan ironwood (United Kingdom), go-nux (Vietnam), ipil (Philippines), hintzy (Madagascar), melila, bendora (Papua New Guinea), lumpho, lum-paw, makamong (Thailand), kivoli, vuvula (Solomon Islands)
I found another site that claims its kwila comes from "managed" forests, but what exactly does that mean? It's complicated.
Im not keen to leave little pygmies homeless.. but its a shame that alternatives cost 50x the amount. i.e. to get aluminium slats instead of timber...I may as well have had a pure gold fence for the astronomical cost
I found this link in my council brochures which I found helpful for anyone interested.
www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/council/enviro/good_wood.asp
And I thought this was a great store that has a good website (ps I dont work for them!!)
www.australiansustainabletimbers.com
www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/council/enviro/good_wood.asp
And I thought this was a great store that has a good website (ps I dont work for them!!)
www.australiansustainabletimbers.com
Yes Kwila and Merbau are the same timber - depends on which part of Asia its from.
There are not really any mass harvested rainforest timbers available for outdoor applications. Australian hardwoods such as Blackbutt and Spotted gum for example are both good alternatives and are harvested from sustainably managed plantations - they are both fire-rated and suitable for outdoor use. Decking and screening prices are on par with merbau. Ironbark is another good alternative
Burmese Teak is that ridiculously exspensive, its use is predominantly restricted to yachts and other high-end situations.
I was unaware of merbaus restrictions in other countries - I read only last year that it was the biggest selling T&G flooring in the USA
There are not really any mass harvested rainforest timbers available for outdoor applications. Australian hardwoods such as Blackbutt and Spotted gum for example are both good alternatives and are harvested from sustainably managed plantations - they are both fire-rated and suitable for outdoor use. Decking and screening prices are on par with merbau. Ironbark is another good alternative
Burmese Teak is that ridiculously exspensive, its use is predominantly restricted to yachts and other high-end situations.
I was unaware of merbaus restrictions in other countries - I read only last year that it was the biggest selling T&G flooring in the USA
I am very late, but great to have come across this thread!
Merbau is definitely a no-no wood, which I have been dropping comments about on H1 for a while now.
Current dilemma is just discovered that the front doors (Corinthian) our builder uses are Merbau, which I just cannot accept. So we are looking to source our own front door (proving more difficult than I expected). Anyway, I won't rave any more in case this thread really is dead and buried...
Merbau is definitely a no-no wood, which I have been dropping comments about on H1 for a while now.
Current dilemma is just discovered that the front doors (Corinthian) our builder uses are Merbau, which I just cannot accept. So we are looking to source our own front door (proving more difficult than I expected). Anyway, I won't rave any more in case this thread really is dead and buried...
I suspect that while you may want to avoid Merbau, you're probably already using a range of other products that result in the same problems ecologically. eg. palm oil and its many derivatives (soaps, shampoos, cosmetics, food etc etc).
Hi there - if someone is reading this in the future - we found a solution to our front door so that we didn't have to use MERBAU (which is what many of the commercial doors are made of). DH found a great guy, at North Coast Doors (in Toormina), who is custom making our door:
- Spotted Gum
- 1000mm x 2340mm
- plus frame
for $1500. Sounds like a small operation, but it's nice to support small businesses and the guy sounds like a really hands-on old fashioned sort. SO we are pretty happy. So glad we don't have to use merbau or to resort to sourcing it through a nasty big company.
- Spotted Gum
- 1000mm x 2340mm
- plus frame
for $1500. Sounds like a small operation, but it's nice to support small businesses and the guy sounds like a really hands-on old fashioned sort. SO we are pretty happy. So glad we don't have to use merbau or to resort to sourcing it through a nasty big company.
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