ᐅ Terrace decking: Walaba (also known as Guyana Teak or Itauba)

Hello,

I have a question about decking materials.
We are planning to cover our terrace with Walaba wood (reservoir wood).
The terrace measures 8 meters (26 feet) long along the house and 6 meters (20 feet) wide away from the house.
The 8 meters (26 feet) length is intended to be divided into two segments of 4 meters (13 feet) each.
Now the supplier tells us that they currently do not provide boards longer than 4 meters (13 feet)!

They have now offered us Guyana Teak (also reservoir wood).
The dealer says it is exactly the same as Walaba, just from a different reservoir.
However, they could not show us any samples of how it looks after 6 months of weathering.
Does anyone have experience with Guyana Teak?

As a second alternative, they also offered Itauba.
Has anyone had experience with Itauba as well?

None of our acquaintances have used either Guyana Teak or Itauba for decking.
Therefore, we would appreciate it if you could share your experiences.
Thank you!!!

Hi!

The thread is old, but the topic is still relevant. Does anyone here know about the reservoir timber types?

- Walaba
- Guyana Teak
- Fava

We are interested in Guyana Teak. The substructure would be made of aluminum or Walaba.

Good luck!

This is a wood like any other (Walaba). It doesn’t come from a reservoir but is sustainably harvested. It is very durable but produces a lot of resin. Like other woods, it will turn gray without maintenance. So you need to oil it every year and occasionally sand off the resin.

For this reason, we chose Ipe. It was significantly cheaper. The substructure is made of Bongossi – it lasts longer and is not as expensive.

I haven’t had any experience with the others so far. However, they are probably all similar. There is hardly any wood left from reservoirs. Those have all already been used.

I have had very good experiences with Itauba; it is a wood with high density and therefore very durable.

nordanney schrieb:

This is a wood like any other (Walaba). It does not come from reservoirs but is harvested sustainably. It is very durable but produces a lot of resin. Like other woods, it will turn gray without maintenance. So it needs to be oiled every year and resin should be sanded off occasionally.
We therefore decided on Ipe. It was significantly cheaper. The substructure is made of Bongossi – lasts longer and is not as expensive.

I haven’t dealt with the others so far, but they are probably all similar. There are hardly any woods left from reservoirs. They have all already been used..

Hi!

Thanks for the feedback!

Interesting – where did you get that information? Do you have a link or something similar? Our supplier told us differently...

We are aware that all woods turn gray if not maintained – which is not a problem. Either you maintain them or you get the (also very attractive) gray look. Guyana Teak apparently produces less resin than Walaba and we also liked the grain pattern (more calm) better. The linear meter costs about 13 EUR, so I think it is absolutely comparable to the other hardwoods.

Good luck!

I purchased my decking timber directly from a wholesale distributor/importer in Bremen, basically straight from the source. Only self-collection was possible. This means the advice you get is a bit different than what you’d find at a specialized retailer (there’s no showroom, just acres of wood).

Summary of various discussions: if you’re okay with the wood weathering to gray and want it to be hard and durable, focus on the price rather than the type of wood. After a while, most woods look very similar, and oil finishes can bring out whatever color you want. Don’t be fooled by any planting or cultivation claims.

Since I had to sell the house shortly afterward, I’m not sure if I still have any documents. Regarding the land, I got to know Holzwurm Obersayn as a reliable specialist retailer.