Hardwood

Certified 100% hardwood with mostly tropical origin

High-standard seat rests require high-standard wood with high density. As a regenerative raw material, hardwood is therefore ideally suited for seat covers – due to its stability, its good machining properties, its relatively easy availability, its natural look and, above all, thanks to its insulating effect. We only use high-quality 100% hardwood from certified suppliers from controlled forest management.

For high-standard building projects the hardwoods of tropical origin have nearly replaced local wood sorts such as larch and pine. This is mainly due to the lower maintenance requirements and the much longer lifespan of tropical hardwood species. So hardwoods have a significantly higher resistance to environmental influences such as UV radiation and moisture. When installed appropriately, the woods are also stable against pest infestation and insensitive to mould.

What means 100% hardwood?

100% hardwood is a collective term for all wood which is best quality, extremely hard and particularly weather-proof. This wood normally comes from tropical origin. All hardwoods processed and supplied by us are characterised by:

- particularly weather-proof
- High wood density and thus high strength and wear stability
- little danger of crack initiation (we only work with kiln-dried wood)
- very few embeddings

Hardwood is formally defined as a collective term for all sorts of wood with a gross density of 0.55 g/cm³ (based on dried condition). Well-known representatives for European hardwood are e.g. beech, oak and ash trees. The actual type of tree chosen depends on the availability of the raw material. At the moment we often use a sort of wood called “Meranti” (other names: “Seraya” or “Balau”). In order to be deliverable we always have a certain amount of raw material on stock.

Hardwood - an (almost) perfect raw material

Wood is and stays a natural product. The irregularities in grain, colour and structure are what make wood what it is: a natural, warm and versatile building material. All woods have stone inclusions, colour differences, cracks, resin deposits and wormholes – sometimes more and sometimes less. All of these are natural phenomena and do not entitle to complaints. If you do not want these “blemishes”, then we recommend that you switch to the natural fibre composite RESYSTA® or the biologically treated KEBONY®.

Oiling as a remedy against greying of wood

The rapid fading of the wood surface is a natural phenomenon: photochemical, physical and biological processes take place under sunlight. In the process, the lignin in the wood is broken down and washed out with the appropriate weathering. What remains is the silvery-white cellulose.
Without treatment, any hardwood will turn grey within a few months and take on the typical silvery appearance. This process can be slowed down by oiling. But oiling has no influence on the life period of the hardwood, which can be more than 30 years in a temperate climate, depending on the type of wood.

Standard dimensions for hardwood seat rests

Sawn timber, the preliminary product for the production of our robust bench seats, is basically available in any size. But for practical and technical reasons, various standard timber dimensions have proved advantageous and we have them in stock. These typical preferred dimensions are: 65 mm x 65 mm and 130 mm x 65 mm. Other dimensions for individual benches are possible by arrangement.

Oak as a material for seat rests?

Many architects and builders are keen to use hardwood of European origin and ask us for good German oak. But we do not recommend the use of solid oak floorboards as a seating surface for a number of reasons:

- Long and deep cracks often form, making it impossible to use as a seat rest.
- Due to its particularly high tannic acid content, oak is very susceptible to contact with iron particles. The surface may then turn black-grey
- The oak planks “bleed” in the first few years and unsightly stains and discolouration form in the near vicinity and on the floor.

Tender text for GaLaBau, for landscape architects and planners

“100% hardwood with certificate, grade 1, low knot, chamber dried with residual moisture below 20%. Surface area planed and sanded on all sides, all edges chamfered 3 x 45°. Surface sliqutly oiled.”

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