A woody conundrum

[Twister_Ken]

If teak for boats is so d*mned expensive, why are there always sales for teak garden furniture?

(serious question)

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[steve_cronin]

Have you seen the price of the teak garden furniture?

Six chairs and a table at over £2000 see:-

http://www.westminsterteak.co.uk/main.htm#

Steve Cronin



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[Mirelle]

You can reckon on Pds 120 a cubic foot, more for wide boards and long lengths. Green oak might be thirty quid and green larch about twelve. But prices vary hugely.

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[tome]

A friend was telling me recently about a garden furniture maker who lives locally and imports 2 containers a year of teak. He pays £15 a cube for it, and is willing to sell it for £25 a cube. It's quarter sawn so good for decks etc. I must investigate this further as I want to do some renewals of our interior.

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[Twister_Ken]

If this turns out true, please PM me. Please!

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[tome]

Will do - I'll get his contact details and pay him a visit as his workshop is apparently local. Hope this isn't a tall tale, source is normally quite reliable.

I'll report back in due course. What sections/lengths are you looking for?

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[Peppermint]

Re: The Answer

Raw wood imported to UK timber merchants is from renewable resources Blah Blah Blah. It's machining and processing is done at UK labour rates.
So it costs more.

The garden furniture sold through these "SALES" that you see sign posted is manufactured in third world sweat shops from third rate timber. Often the timber is cut without much care for the planet. Oh! sure it might have a certificate but there is more than a little dilution of the timber used in these countries. The third element is the low overhead of the seller.

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[squidge]

tome, hi i would be interested as i have some interior work to do over the winter.
As for furniture , i did see some good value bits in Holland this year but didnt have any room left .(to full with beer!) /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[Mirelle]

Deforestation

I am afraid that ruthless logging is not now confined to tropical timbers (where it is as bad as ever - I honestly don't know a single country in SE Asia, and I lived there for years, where logging is not intimately associated with outrageous political corruption) but extends to Eastern Europe, where stands of old oak are being clearcut in places like Romania. Very nasty.

I should perhaps add that tectona grandis, the teak tree, varies considerably in timber quality, as does almost all timber.

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[Twister_Ken]

In the first instance, replacing cockpit seats. Exact measure not known until I'm next aboard, but planks, roughly five/eigths by inch and a half, length approx 5 feet, plus some shorter bits running athwartships.

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[tome]

Got the picture - just as long as it isn't 8x6 sections you're looking for.

Funnily enough I just bought an assortment of small sections from Bamptons in Bitterne to improve the galley stowage and I bought quite a respectable pile of teak for £40, even though their prices vary between £90 and £130 per cube.

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