Good News for Home Builders: We Have Teak for You!
In Part 1, we looked at the favorable situation for home builders: FEQ Teak passed over by boat builders is now readily available for their use. In Part 2, we’re going to consider the reality of lesser-grade Teak as well as the impact of choosing to either purchase or overlook this wood that’s currently available to you.
What About Lesser Grade?
Let’s be realistic: Not all Teak is FEQ. Some Teak boards are passed over because they’re lesser grade, but even those boards provide opportunities. Most shipping containers come with a certain percentage of B grade material. While the cost isn’t much different (10% less, at best), it’s still a significant bargain. Even more significantly, it’s already here, in our lumber yard, ready for you to pick up or for us to ship for your job site. It’s already come from the other side of the world, so you don’t have to wait the better part of a year or wonder how the newest regulations will affect your order’s pricing and timing.
Why Does It Matter?
Even more than affecting your business and your timetable, the future availability of Teak can be affected by your decision about whether to take advantage of it. As a lumber importer and supplier, we regularly reject material for which there’s no current market here in the U.S. Our theory is that the reason many U.S. home builders don’t buy Teak is simply because they don’t realize it’s a viable option.
Many narrow pieces that can be useful for interior paneling and trim are considered European sizes and rarely make it to our shores simply because we have pre-conceived notions that only wide and long, A grade Teak is suitable for our building needs. With the current situation of high standards driving the Teak market, many smaller pieces are being overlooked. When we are willing to buy only the biggest and best stuff, much good lumber goes to waste.
As home builders demonstrate an increased interest in Teak, we importers can expand on what we purchase and take advantage of the wide selection of Teak available to us. Home builders often use Teak for exterior applications such as decking, siding, windows frames, and doors; some residential builders are starting to use it for interior work, as well. If you haven’t worked with Teak before, we’re glad to educate you about it. We make it a practice to thoroughly communicate the unique specifications of Teak as well as some specific considerations to keep in mind when buying Teak.
Here at J. Gibson McIlvain, we’re enthusiastic about the renewed interest in Teak by home builders and are complementing our already large stock of Teak with more variety in order to continue to serve our boat builder customers as well as the increasing number of home builders who are re-discovering this treasure we call Teak.
