Balau is a tropical hardwood of the family Dipterocarpaceae. Balau is a very dense tightly grained wood that is heavily laden with rich tropical oils and resins. Balau’s texture is very fine and even. Our Yellow Balau looks very much like teak in color.  Although, very similar in characteristics to Teak, we enjoy working with Balau for its durability, strength, seasoning and mechanical properties. For centuries Balau has been used for shipbuilding, heavy-duty furniture, and heavy construction, coveted for it’s excellent strength and weather resistant qualities. Over the years, teak has been more popular than Balau because of its availability. However, in recent years, teak has been over-harvested and the price has skyrocketed. As a result, teak is now plantation grown.  The plantation grown teak, now being a cash crop, has undergone genetic modification and the hybrid version is a faster growing strain of teak.  This hybrid does not possess the same weathering qualities that the original "slow growth" teak had and weighs about 20% less, the result of less natural oils and resins in the wood.  Balau is also a responsibly managed species and although it’s mechanical properties are superior, Balau has not experienced the overpricing that teak has. Below you will find a property comparison between teak and balau.

Group 4 Not Durable

Group B    Very Strong

Group D    Weakest

With the above in mind, Teak is rated as a Medium Hardwood and Balau a Heavy Hardwood. With regard to durability, Teak has a durability rating of Group 3 or Moderately durable and Balau is rated a Group 2, Durable. In the strength category, Teak is rated a Group C or Strong whereby Balau is rated the very best as a Group A or Extremely Strong.

To bring this all into perspective one needs to analyze the working stress data per category as follows:

In summary, Balau has far superior strength characteristics and is a more durable wood than teak by at least a factor of two. 

As Balau’s popularity continues to grow, unfortunately so does the price, but for now we enjoy the undervalue pricing of this beautiful and strong tropical hardwood.

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