Renewable resource - Australian decking

[Loki429]

I'm about to start building a deck and had originally planned on using Merbau (Kwila) mostly because of its availability, pricing, and partly due to its colour.
However I hear that Merbau all comes from New Guinea and the harvesting of this timber is responsible for the destruction of many forests?

What is a suitable Australian alternative? I would like to find an Australian alternative that is reasonably (comparably) priced, readily available, and a renewable resource. (ie it can be and is planted and re-grown.)
BTW it will be in a bush fire prone area so needs to be a naturally fire retardant timber.

The following timbers are listed on www.timber.org and meet AS3959:

• Blackbutt
• Kwila
• Red Iron bark
• River red gum
• Silvertop ash
• Spotted gum
• Turpentine

I would like the timber to have a reddish colour - either naturally or from the application of a light stain/finish. Construction will be in the Sydney area.

Suggestions anyone?

Many thanks.

[erich]

good on you loki... heaven knows where my decking came from and my wife and I could barely walk on it after we had it built for the guilt!

[lorax]

good to hear - it is amazing how much SEA rainforest merbu, balau etc is flooding in here and yes I have heard the same about the lack of sustainability.

pine seems to be the main widely available plantation timber and is quite commonly used for decking boards (stained) but presumably is too flammable and hence not on your list. Of those on your list, I know there are some solidwood plantations of River Redgum and Spotted Gum, but these are quite recent and won't be harvested for quite some years - nevertheless if everyone supported those more commercially viable plantation species it might encourage more solidwood plantations.

Personally I am in pretty much the same boat and will be trying to use recycled material from demolition and salvage yards.

[OBBob]

You can now get Bamboo decking in various colours, which is well and truely sustainable ... but I'm thinking it maybe pricy? May be worth a look and would make a good talking point during the furture BBQs!

[Gaza]

some merbau that is supplied by a major whoesaler to timber yards is certified as being from substainable managed froests. it is even DnA tested.

spotted gum is good value for money deck, should meet fore rating as required iron bark is great but more expensive.

spotted gum is also treated againsty borer attack.

[brynk]

gday loki429
you can check out one of my favourite websites, http://www.australianhardwood.net - for a wealth of information on the sustainably supplied species' & their properties & applications - go into species guide on the top bar, or under the environment section for discussions on forest management & other articles.

also look at http://www.nafi.com.au

r's brynk

[Loki429]

The Australian Hardwood web-site is very useful and I wanted to ensure others saw it.
Many thanks to brynk for this information.

[scooter]

some merbau that is supplied by a major whoesaler to timber yards is certified as being from substainable managed froests.

Second this, some retailers have taken steps to ensure timber they sell is supplied from sustainable sources. You could ask your retailer about this.

You will find, however, that the price of sustainably harvested timber can sometimes be higher than that sourced from other suppliers.


Cheers...................Sean