Today's homeowner is taking more time and care than ever before to ensure their lawn and garden area is a sanctuary from the world. As such they are choosing richly appointed garden furnishings, decorations and ornaments for their outdoor pleasure.

In general wood is a great choice for outdoor garden furniture because it does not take away from its natural element of the outdoors and remains a neutral temperature in cold or hot weather. The problem is that not all woods are created equal. Many woods are particularly fragile and will not endure the test of time when placed outdoors.

If you’re planning on investing in outdoor wood furniture you should know that teak and shorea woods are remarkably similar, except in the pricing category where teak will generally cost about twice as much as shorea.

Shorea is a member of the Dipterocarpaceae family. Shorea is a hardwood and hosts hundreds of species in its genus. The balau group is the most dominant group of shorea. Furthermore, yellow balau is the densest of the balau group and the best species of shorea used in manufacturing outdoor hardwood furniture. Yellow balau is the species of shorea used in the manufacturing of our outdoor garden furniture, Park Bench Designs.

POPULARITY: Shorea has been providing for centuries a great reliable source of hardwood blessed with the flexibility of being suitable for several different industries. While teak has long since been considered one of the most desirable household hardwoods, shorea has only just recently developed its rapidly growing following as a source for outdoor garden furniture. Shorea is becoming one of the most widely sought after hardwoods in the world today due to shorea’s rapidly growing retail success as fashionable outdoor wood furniture than endures the test of time.

PRICE: The absolute best thing about shorea is its price. Shorea is less than half the price of teak. The reason shorea is priced considerably less than teak is because it is a more abundant and available supply of wood than teak.
This lower cost for shorea has nothing to do with the quality of shorea being inferior to teak.

STRENGHT: Shorea furniture can be expected to retain excellent condition for up to fifty years when used outside. The biggest attribute of shorea is undoubtedly the strength of the wood. Shorea is classified as “Group A” heavy hardwood because of its impressive strength. It is also renowned for its excellent resistance to bug infestations, elements of decay and every day wear and tear. Shorea is an extremely durable and tightly grained hardwood. Shorea produces a density that makes it twice as strong as teak. This exceptional density of the timber can sometimes lead to more visible “checking” than teak, but does not affect the integrity of the wood or furniture.

LOOKS: It is easy to focus on the strength and durability of shorea (yellow balau) and forget about the beauty of this hardwood. Shorea’s look is trademarked by its fine and even textured grain. Our shorea furniture is pre-sealed and looks similar to teak in color, texture and grain. It takes a wood expert to distinguish the difference in looksbetween teak and our shorea furniture.

CARE: Like teak (or any other wood) left outdoors, shorea will slowly lose its original color and develop an inviting gray patina. Some prefer this silvery look and encourage the shorea to take on its usual discoloring process. Others will naturally prefer the original look of shorea wood.

During the first season, shorea wood will hold the stain that was originally placed on it. Afterwards, it will take on a nice silver-gray tone. You can stave off this aged look by applying a wood sealer on your furniture at least once per season.

ENVIRONMENTLY CORRECT: There are strict government regulations regarding the harvesting of shorea. Shorea trees aren't allowed to be harvested for wood until they reach a certain diameter. Diameter is usually indicative of age and therefore the more mature trees are harvested, allowing the younger trees to grow and reproduce. Shorea is not an endangered hardwood.