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Kwila vs Royal Reds

Kwila vs Royal Reds Decking

Comparison between Kwilia and sustainably sourced alternatives

 

Feature Kwila (Merbau) Sustainably Sourced Australian Hardwoods (e.g. Royal Reds, Spotted Gum, Grey Ironbark)
Sustainability Kwila is not replanted as quickly as it is harvested. At current rates, it’s predicted to be extinct by 2035, with over 50 million trees logged for New Zealand since 1990. These timbers are PEFC-certified and sourced from responsibly managed Australian forests and farms, ensuring full traceability and sustainable harvesting practices.
Durability Durability Class 2: 15–40 years of natural durability above ground. Durability Class 1: Species such as Royal Reds (Turpentine and Red Mahogany) and Grey Ironbark offer over 40 years of natural durability above ground.
How is it Harvested? Swathes of Kwila forest are cleared, destroying the natural habitats of people and animals, as opposed to selective logging, which helps preserve the surrounding ecosystem. Each tree is GPS-tracked and individually selected for harvest, avoiding the destruction of surrounding trees and maintaining the natural balance of the land and wildlife.
Endangered Status Kwila is listed on the IUCN Red List as a vulnerable species. It also faces threats from illegal logging, and FSC tracking does not guarantee full traceability. These Australian hardwoods are not endangered. For every tree harvested, two are replanted, and each unit of timber is tracked by Forest Corp Australia from forest to export.
Leeching / Bleeding Kwila is prone to heavy tannin leeching, which can stain surrounding areas during the first few wet–dry cycles. Royal Reds and other Australian hardwoods have minimal leeching in comparison to Kwila which literally stains your hands.
Board Density Around 850 kg per m³. Approximately 950–995 kg per m³, depending on species.
Aesthetic Appeal Deep reddish-brown colour with a pronounced grain pattern. Warm red and brown tones with distinctive interlocking grain and a clean, architectural face that develops character over time.
Face Defects / Feature Kwila has a moderately coarse texture with a slightly interlocked grain that sometimes shows small yellow mineral deposits. Australian hardwoods such as Royal Reds have an incredibly distinctive interlocking grain and a relatively clean face with minimal defects, displaying an architectural finish.

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Sustainably sourced means we only cut down one tree from every 3 Hectares ensuring mass deforestation does not occur. When harvested from managed Australian/International forests this equates to 2 trees harvested every 5 years forever. Managed forests where older trees are harvested for wood production (carbon storage) sequester carbon at a faster rate than unmanaged forests.

“Responsibly sourced wood is beautiful, versatile and renewable and, by storing carbon, it also helps tackle climate change.” – Planet Ark

Australia has an abundance of reclaimed hardwood telephone poles (200,000 available each year), bridge beams, wharf beams and large inner city warehouses – wool stores. There are in excess of 300 buildings being demolished in NSW, GLD, VIC every week so timber stocks are plentiful!

Our hardwood timbers have significant structural capabilities. As a comparison, our F27 graded hardwoods are 5 times stronger (bending strength) of SG8, nearly triple GL12 and double LVL11.

As mentioned above, there’s an abundance of reclaimed timber in Australia including 35,000 timber bridges which are being replaced year on year.

Blackbutt, Spotted Gum, Tallow Wood, Grey and Red Iron Bark, Sydney Blue Gum amongst many others.

Depending on what is ordered, decking, cladding, flooring takes around 8-12 weeks from order. Shipping takes around 21 days and around 5-7 days to clear customs.

Cladding, Decking, Flooring, Big Structural Beams and Posts, Joinery, Landscaping Timbers, Commercial fit-outs and much more.

Before the timber leaves Australia it is fumigated and kiln dried down to between 9 – 14% moisture.  When it arrives into New Zealand, MPI is then supplied with the Fumigation and Kiln Dried Certificates. They undertake a visual inspection of the timber along with a moisture test to confirm what the documentation states and the timber is then released. We have had countless containers go through this process so we are very efficient with our import systems and processes.

As the timber comes by ship in a container with thousands of other containers, our carbon footprint is less than driving from Christchurch to Kaikoura! Many timbers imported into New Zealand come from North America or the Netherlands so have a considerably greater initial carbon footprint.

With LMA Timber being part of the Caldwell Group, we have been planting hundreds of acres of trees which result in Carbon Credits which in itself is going above and beyond to ensure we look after the future of our environment.

From an oiling / staining perspective once the installation has been undertaken, yes, it is.  Being a class 1 timber with 40 years plus service life, this makes the timber very durable and thus, you can leave the timber to weather and silver off over time without affecting the durability of the product. We do recommend however to wash your cladding down at least once a year to avoid any dirt / grime build up.

LMA Timber Ltd are covered by Marine Transit Insurance via AON for all timber orders between leaving our suppliers yard and being received by the client. A copy of this certificate can be supplied if required.