Is everything in Thailand made out of teak?

[luther]

I am thinking of building a simple house in the mountains of the NC in the states and wanted to give it a few Thai touches. I went to Global House to get some baseline prices for simple carved doors, porch railings, etc. The doors I looked at had some tasteful carving in them and sell for about 4,000 baht each. I asked a guy what they were made out of. He said teak. I rolled my eyes. I moved on to some well-established wood stores alone the road to Hang Dong, not tourist places, but places where Thais go to buy windows and doors for building. I can speak enough Thai, but also had a Thai friend along. Every door I asked about was teak, although the door frames varied from cheap wood to heavy more expensive wood. Even the porch railing balusters were supposedly teak. See picture. It’s from Global House, but can you even buy this Thai wood trim made out of teak anymore?

I have a couple of pieces of furniture that I know are teak. They are heavy and dense.

If you want to ship wood items legally out of Thailand there are special rules and fees for teak.

Can anyone out there enlighten me?

[kaptainrob]

Not much in the way of solid Teak doors at Global or along Hang Dong Road either. Certainly not @ 4k!

There are specialty manufacturers ... one may chip in here as he exports most product but others can be found via Google.

[northernjohn]

Was involved with a fellow importing that stuff into Canada. The bigger items always had to be oiled to stoop them from splitting in areas where the humidity is low.

[eyecatcher]

Teak is a buzzword. Its like having a label on your jeans and its what supposedly impresses.

Not too long I was looking at the nice tables they sell outside home pro and big C.

without promoting the guy told me they were teak..

Now my father used to make teak dining tables,fruit bowls,coffee tables so I could see even the colour wasn't teak.

But he was flummoxed when I pointed out the underside which was unstained and a white pine like softwood.

He also failed to notice the three termite flightholes on the surface, obviously a very soft teak in disguise.

[JohnGreen]

Hi Luther,

To export teak wood you will need a hardwood license for the transportation from Chiang Mai to the port if you are sending more than one piece. Furniture is fairly straight forward however doors and window frames can be more difficult and you have to be very careful when sending teak planks, not many suppliers in Chiang Mai will be able to provide the correct paperwork.

Importing into the US requires forms, one is the Lacey act where the shipper needs to state the Latin name of the wood being imported, another for all shipments to US is the ISF(10+2) - which means 'import security filing' which needs to be completed before the ship sails.

[kaptainrob]

Hi Luther,

To export teak wood you will need a hardwood license for the transportation from Chiang Mai to the port if you are sending more than one piece. Furniture is fairly straight forward however doors and window frames can be more difficult and you have to be very careful when sending teak planks, not many suppliers in Chiang Mai will be able to provide the correct paperwork.

Importing into the US requires forms, one is the Lacey act where the shipper needs to state the Latin name of the wood being imported, another for all shipments to US is the ISF(10+2) - which means 'import security filing' which needs to be completed before the ship sails.

I recall talking with a shipping agent, with office on the road to Ban Tawai - southern side halfway between Hang Dong and tourist village, who can arrange all paperwork, fumigation and packing. They will only deal with reputable suppliers so it would be prudent to start with someone like this and work backwards to the source.

On another note, I always get a laugh out of Ban Tawai signs "Antiques made to order" ....555

Edited June 12, 2014 by kaptainrob

[Dante99]

They may call it teak if it is only thin teak veneer or they may call it teak when it is not.

Most wood you see here is not teak. There are many woods here that are denser and heavier.

If you do not know teak when you see it, it would be better not to buy or to study up until you know it when you see it.

[northernjohn]

Teak is a buzzword. Its like having a label on your jeans and its what supposedly impresses.

Not too long I was looking at the nice tables they sell outside home pro and big C.

without promoting the guy told me they were teak..

Now my father used to make teak dining tables,fruit bowls,coffee tables so I could see even the colour wasn't teak.

But he was flummoxed when I pointed out the underside which was unstained and a white pine like softwood.

He also failed to notice the three termite flightholes on the surface, obviously a very soft teak in disguise.

Yes it comes in many grades. My friend who was importing also got a lot of stuff from Bali. The items would be inclosed in a frame work type crate made of teak about 1inch by 2 inch slats unsanded.

[northernjohn]

Hi Luther,

To export teak wood you will need a hardwood license for the transportation from Chiang Mai to the port if you are sending more than one piece. Furniture is fairly straight forward however doors and window frames can be more difficult and you have to be very careful when sending teak planks, not many suppliers in Chiang Mai will be able to provide the correct paperwork.

Importing into the US requires forms, one is the Lacey act where the shipper needs to state the Latin name of the wood being imported, another for all shipments to US is the ISF(10+2) - which means 'import security filing' which needs to be completed before the ship sails.

I recall talking with a shipping agent, with office on the road to Ban Tawai - southern side halfway between Hang Dong and tourist village, who can arrange all paperwork, fumigation and packing. They will only deal with reputable suppliers so it would be prudent to start with someone like this and work backwards to the source.

On another note, I always get a laugh out of Ban Tawai signs "Antiques made to order" ....555

In Bali we saw a sign saying made to order the old fashioned way. We walked into the shop and could hear a sander in the back.

I think the word Antiques has a different meaning here in Asia.

[yankee99]

I have to agree the teak here is nothing like what was on my boat. The wood in America Oak, cherry, ash is much better and cheaper then the majority of stuff here.

[sometimewoodworker]

If you are not asking in Thai then it is all teak

If you are asking in Thai then it may be called teak

Even to transport teak logs you need special paper work and often tea money

[IvanLaw]

According to my brother in law,

"Teak tree is made wood teak"

So it must be true

[scorecard]

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Hi Luther,

To export teak wood you will need a hardwood license for the transportation from Chiang Mai to the port if you are sending more than one piece. Furniture is fairly straight forward however doors and window frames can be more difficult and you have to be very careful when sending teak planks, not many suppliers in Chiang Mai will be able to provide the correct paperwork.

Importing into the US requires forms, one is the Lacey act where the shipper needs to state the Latin name of the wood being imported, another for all shipments to US is the ISF(10+2) - which means 'import security filing' which needs to be completed before the ship sails.

And keep your fingers crossed it is actually teak.

My Thai son built a large family house in Chonburi city about 8 years ago. Cabinet maker insisted that he used only teak wood and suggested that my son check his (cabinet makers) documents. Son did request to see the documents which suddenly had been lost.

Son unfortunately believed the guy and had built-in furniture installed in many rooms, approx. 1M Baht.

Within one year 90% gone, eaten by white ants.

Beware.

[joshstiles]

YES...EVERYTHING....cars, food, beer, people, corn, of course all trees, even the air.....it's all teak. Yes, the ocean too.

[maderaroja]

They may call it teak if it is only thin teak veneer or they may call it teak when it is not.

Most wood you see here is not teak. There are many woods here that are denser and heavier.

If you do not know teak when you see it, it would be better not to buy or to study up until you know it when you see it.

What woods are more dense and heavier than Teak?

[kaptainrob]

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Hi Luther,

To export teak wood you will need a hardwood license for the transportation from Chiang Mai to the port if you are sending more than one piece. Furniture is fairly straight forward however doors and window frames can be more difficult and you have to be very careful when sending teak planks, not many suppliers in Chiang Mai will be able to provide the correct paperwork.

Importing into the US requires forms, one is the Lacey act where the shipper needs to state the Latin name of the wood being imported, another for all shipments to US is the ISF(10+2) - which means 'import security filing' which needs to be completed before the ship sails.

And keep your fingers crossed it is actually teak.

My Thai son built a large family house in Chonburi city about 8 years ago. Cabinet maker insisted that he used only teak wood and suggested that my son check his (cabinet makers) documents. Son did request to see the documents which suddenly had been lost.

Son unfortunately believed the guy and had built-in furniture installed in many rooms, approx. 1M Baht.

Within one year 90% gone, eaten by white ants.

Beware.

We recently completed a new house and insisted on an aluminium framed front door assembly as many 'wood frames' are not termite-safe despite what you're told.

[Paulzed]

They may call it teak if it is only thin teak veneer or they may call it teak when it is not.

Most wood you see here is not teak. There are many woods here that are denser and heavier.

If you do not know teak when you see it, it would be better not to buy or to study up until you know it when you see it.

What woods are more dense and heavier than Teak?

Karri, Jarrah, Blackbutt, Ironbark

Edited June 12, 2014 by Paulzed

[Fullstop]

Is everything in Thailand made out of teak?

No. Concrete.

[Dante99]

They may call it teak if it is only thin teak veneer or they may call it teak when it is not.

Most wood you see here is not teak. There are many woods here that are denser and heavier.

If you do not know teak when you see it, it would be better not to buy or to study up until you know it when you see it.

What woods are more dense and heavier than Teak?

Karri, Jarrah, Blackbutt, Ironbark

Burmese teak is 45 lbs/cubic foot.

Some that are or can be more than that include:

Apple as much as 52

White ash as much as 53

Beech as much as 56

Box 59-72

Dogwood

Ebony

Rock Elm

Blue gum

Lignum Vitae

some Oak

Pecan

Persimmon

Pitch Pine

Satin Wood

Zebra Wood

Thai carpenters do not generally consider teak to be a hard wood.

[Eric Loh]

You have to distinquish between forest teak and plantation teak. Thailand started growing plantation teak after most of the forest teak were logged some 40-50 years ago. Plantation teak do not have the same characteristics and durability as forest teak which is very expensive and difficult to obtain. What you see mostly in shops are plantation teak products. Also careful as parawood (rubber wood) can be stained to look like teak. The color in the photo seem very uniform and could be just stain to look like teak. My 2 cents.

[RedQualia]

There's a great wood supply shop in Muang Chiang Mai. Wish I could remember the name of it, but no. And searching for "wood shop chiang mai" results in hundreds and hundreds of tourist shop hits. Ban Tawai, etc.

You want to go there and look and talk and so forth. All I can do is tell you about how to find it. Go north on the Superhighway, past Nawarat Bridge, and get off on the frontage road to the west of the superhighway when you're adjacent to Big-C. Look for a shop that sells plywood, etc., on the right side of the road. It's a not a big chain kind of shop, like HomePro or Global. It's a one-off.

Anyway, that's not the shop you want, but the folks inside can tell you how to get to the shop you DO want. From memory, you want a shop that's up a little soi to the right, but actually a bit BEFORE the plywood shop. Problem is, there are tons of little sois in Chiang Mai, so I can't tell you if it's one, or two, or three sois before. And for that matter, it might be the next one after the plywood shop. There are signs, too, as I recall. I read Thai a bit slowly, myself. But take a Thai friend with you. Surely be of great assistance.

Regardless, go up that soi maybe half a kilometer, and you can't miss it. Big operation, on both sides of the soi. Lots of wood. Lots of doors. All generally unpainted/unvarnished, etc. Lots of "Thai looking stuff." They know wood. If you want a non-teak door for export, I'm sure they can fix you right up. Maybe redwood. Maybe something softer and lighter, but that still looks Thai and is known not to be teak.

Sorry I can't provide a name or better directions, but I think worth your time.

[landtrout]

There's a great wood supply shop in Muang Chiang Mai. Wish I could remember the name of it, but no. And searching for "wood shop chiang mai" results in hundreds and hundreds of tourist shop hits. Ban Tawai, etc.

You want to go there and look and talk and so forth. All I can do is tell you about how to find it. Go north on the Superhighway, past Nawarat Bridge, and get off on the frontage road to the west of the superhighway when you're adjacent to Big-C. Look for a shop that sells plywood, etc., on the right side of the road. It's a not a big chain kind of shop, like HomePro or Global. It's a one-off.

Anyway, that's not the shop you want, but the folks inside can tell you how to get to the shop you DO want. From memory, you want a shop that's up a little soi to the right, but actually a bit BEFORE the plywood shop. Problem is, there are tons of little sois in Chiang Mai, so I can't tell you if it's one, or two, or three sois before. And for that matter, it might be the next one after the plywood shop. There are signs, too, as I recall. I read Thai a bit slowly, myself. But take a Thai friend with you. Surely be of great assistance.

Regardless, go up that soi maybe half a kilometer, and you can't miss it. Big operation, on both sides of the soi. Lots of wood. Lots of doors. All generally unpainted/unvarnished, etc. Lots of "Thai looking stuff." They know wood. If you want a non-teak door for export, I'm sure they can fix you right up. Maybe redwood. Maybe something softer and lighter, but that still looks Thai and is known not to be teak.

Sorry I can't provide a name or better directions, but I think worth your time.

This is quite possibly the most entertaining attempt at providing directions that I've yet seen on this subforum, and.... that's saying something!

Good on ya, RedQualia!

An absolute classic of the genre!

[glcdc]

Yes everything in Thailand is made out of teak..it is one of the most unique places in the world because everything is teak..the streets are teak the toilets are teak i even ate fried rice that was made out of teak. Carpet is teak beds are teak..YES you're right...it's ALL teak. The same as saying if everyone in North Carolina lives in an aluminum home.....

A. the places you go maybe are offering most only teak

B. they want to sell you the best or most expensive.

C. your eyes are open to seeing teak.

is silly; there are many different styles in thailand just have to be open

[RedQualia]

There's a great wood supply shop in Muang Chiang Mai. Wish I could remember the name of it, but no. And searching for "wood shop chiang mai" results in hundreds and hundreds of tourist shop hits. Ban Tawai, etc.

You want to go there and look and talk and so forth. All I can do is tell you about how to find it. Go north on the Superhighway, past Nawarat Bridge, and get off on the frontage road to the west of the superhighway when you're adjacent to Big-C. Look for a shop that sells plywood, etc., on the right side of the road. It's a not a big chain kind of shop, like HomePro or Global. It's a one-off.

Anyway, that's not the shop you want, but the folks inside can tell you how to get to the shop you DO want. From memory, you want a shop that's up a little soi to the right, but actually a bit BEFORE the plywood shop. Problem is, there are tons of little sois in Chiang Mai, so I can't tell you if it's one, or two, or three sois before. And for that matter, it might be the next one after the plywood shop. There are signs, too, as I recall. I read Thai a bit slowly, myself. But take a Thai friend with you. Surely be of great assistance.

Regardless, go up that soi maybe half a kilometer, and you can't miss it. Big operation, on both sides of the soi. Lots of wood. Lots of doors. All generally unpainted/unvarnished, etc. Lots of "Thai looking stuff." They know wood. If you want a non-teak door for export, I'm sure they can fix you right up. Maybe redwood. Maybe something softer and lighter, but that still looks Thai and is known not to be teak.

Sorry I can't provide a name or better directions, but I think worth your time.

This is quite possibly the most entertaining attempt at providing directions that I've yet seen on this subforum, and.... that's saying something!

Good on ya, RedQualia!

An absolute classic of the genre!

Clearly, you are someone who has tried to give directions in Thailand. Or someone who has tried to follow such.(I once spent hours out in San Kamphaeng following some guy's directions.) It's a shame that most businesses shown on google maps are about 5KM off the mark. Ah well... I did try.

[RedQualia]

There's a great wood supply shop in Muang Chiang Mai. Wish I could remember the name of it, but no. And searching for "wood shop chiang mai" results in hundreds and hundreds of tourist shop hits. Ban Tawai, etc.

You want to go there and look and talk and so forth. All I can do is tell you about how to find it. Go north on the Superhighway, past Nawarat Bridge, and get off on the frontage road to the west of the superhighway when you're adjacent to Big-C. Look for a shop that sells plywood, etc., on the right side of the road. It's a not a big chain kind of shop, like HomePro or Global. It's a one-off.

Anyway, that's not the shop you want, but the folks inside can tell you how to get to the shop you DO want. From memory, you want a shop that's up a little soi to the right, but actually a bit BEFORE the plywood shop. Problem is, there are tons of little sois in Chiang Mai, so I can't tell you if it's one, or two, or three sois before. And for that matter, it might be the next one after the plywood shop. There are signs, too, as I recall. I read Thai a bit slowly, myself. But take a Thai friend with you. Surely be of great assistance.

Regardless, go up that soi maybe half a kilometer, and you can't miss it. Big operation, on both sides of the soi. Lots of wood. Lots of doors. All generally unpainted/unvarnished, etc. Lots of "Thai looking stuff." They know wood. If you want a non-teak door for export, I'm sure they can fix you right up. Maybe redwood. Maybe something softer and lighter, but that still looks Thai and is known not to be teak.

Sorry I can't provide a name or better directions, but I think worth your time.

This is quite possibly the most entertaining attempt at providing directions that I've yet seen on this subforum, and.... that's saying something!

Good on ya, RedQualia!

An absolute classic of the genre!

OK... So found info that's a bit better this morning. Name of the place in Thai is "Suksawat Kai Maai" -- "Suksawat sell wood." Google maps looks to be pretty much dead on in this case. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Chiangmai+Suksawat+Wood+Co.,LTD./@18.8064864,99.0128264,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x98ffbaf9a092d3c6

[WinnieTheKhwai]

The beef in Thailand is most definitely solid teak.

[kaptainrob]

The beef in Thailand is most definitely solid teak.

I'll pay that

Global House staff are like old forest teak, hard to find, difficult to work though plentiful when you're not looking for anything. 555

[RedQualia]

The beef in Thailand is most definitely solid teak.

I'll pay that

Global House staff are like old forest teak, hard to find, difficult to work though plentiful when you're not looking for anything. 555

Plentiful when you don't want them, generally. Like mosquitos...