How to Build With Teak

Often teak wood is used for wet or weathered areas because it stands up to the challenge. This tropical tree has natural oils in it that withstand all types of wet locations. Teak wood is great for building outdoor furniture, bath mats and shower seats, even coasters, but it is best known for marine decking. Read on to learn how to build with teak.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Find a project you'd like to complete. Keep in mind teak wood is great for wet locations and is used in locations as wet as the bottom of your shower stall. Also keep in mind, teak is a fairly small and somewhat slow growing tree; it only gets to be about 12 inches across and it takes approximately 300 years for a teak tree to mature to its 100 foot height. This will limit the amount of teak wood you will use for your project.
2. Find a teak wood supplier. Logsplitters.com has a list of teak suppliers. Be sure the moisture content of the teak wood is less than 20 percent, since building with wood that has not been properly dried will result in the wood shrinking and the joints of your project coming loose.
3. Cut your project wood carefully. Teak wood is about 3 times the cost of oak, so make sure you measure twice and cut once, and try to minimize waste.
4. Put your project together according to the plan. Teak is a very densely grained wood and it is a hard wood as well. It is more difficult to cut and drill than a softer wood, such as pine.
5. Enjoy your teak wood project. Teak wood is a beautiful dark grained wood that will weather to a silver grey. There is no need to paint or varnish; teak will withstand many years of weather and resist insects and rot, all by the oil naturally occurring in the wood.