Red Balau

An FSC Tropical Decking Alternative

Shorea guiso

Using Red Balau hardwood as decking is not a new idea. In fact you have probably already seen it in other products. The Shorea genus brings us a multitude of products known by other names.

• Meranti – commonly seen in decks, marine plywood and as a solid wood in boat building.
• Lauan – another Mahogany variant which is seen in boat building and in low cost plywood.
• Philippine Mahogany – excellent exterior wood that is very lightweight which is seen in boats and homes.

Red Balau is just one of the species in the Shorea genus and has been on the market as a decking product for many years as well. It is an excellent tropical decking solution with superior insect and rot resistance.

Red Balau Decking

It is hard and durable and much more color consistent than other tropical decking species like Meranti, Ipe and Cumaru. The grain is tight with smaller pores and despite its interlocked grain, so you won’t find the striping and raised grain common with other products. Best of all it is a beautiful, rich reddish brown decking board that is clear of defects, so you have much less waste during the installation. The hardness, while still quite high (comparable to Hard Maple), it is soft enough to not burn out drill motors and strip screws like its much harder tropical decking brothers.

Currently we offer 5/4×6 and 1×4 decking in a variety of lengths as a ready to install decking board surfaced on 4 sides (S4S) and eased on 4 edges (E4E). We can also groove it for hidden clip fasteners or provide it un-grooved for face screwing installation. We also supply screws, clips, oil, sealant, etc. Anything you need for your deck build.

Red Balau Decking Price

Not only is it a beautiful and durable alternative to Meranti, Ipe or Cumaru, but it can often be obtained at 1/3 to 1/2 the price of Ipe and Cumaru! The key difference with our Red Balau and the popular Meranti decking products is that we source a specific species of the Shorea genus, and therefore can give you a much more consistent color match between boards. Most Meranti decking is a conglomeration of multiple Shorea species with variegated grain and color.

Sustainably Sourced and FSC® Certified

The hardwood comes from Indonesia, and we are the direct importer of record. All our Balau decking is from sustainable, permanent forests, and carries an FSC® certification. We visit the mills we purchase from in order to ensure they practice sustainable forestry from stump to shipping container. We can provide a chain of custody documentation which you might need to qualify for LEED points.

We have reviewed this as a potential product for years, and we only started to stock it when we were certain we had identified the right mills that could continuously supply us with a single species in order to ensure color consistency and quality from one board to the next and from one shipment to the next.

Red Balau SPECIFICATIONS

Character	Dry	Units
Bending Strength	17730	psi
Max Crushing Strength	10280	psi
Stiffness	2457	1000 psi
Work to Maximum Load	14	in-lbs/in3
Hardness (Janka)	1600	lbs
Specific Gravity	.69	–
Weight	53	lbs/ft3
Density	53	lbs/ft3
Radial Shrinkage	5.5	%
Tangential Shrinkage	10.1	%
T/R Ratio	1.8	–
Volumetric Shrinkage	15.7	%