We had several inquiries recently, for custom woodworking - including our famous outdoor deck, that asked for two different species: Bangkirai/Yellow Balau (Shorea Laevifolia Endert) or Ulin/Ironwood (Eusideroxylon Zwageri). Although both species come from completely different scientific classification, their propeties are almost similar. Both are fairly easy to work with, yellowish to brownish in color, straight grain, insects resistant, and many more similarities. The important difference is the hardness, which Ulin is considered the most durable and heaviest timber in the world, while Bangkirai can only match it to 30 years of lifespan.

Bangkirai, as our main timber material for outdoor and garden products, is among the world's most naturally termite resistant woods. Tested by the University of Hawaii's Department of Entomology, Bangkirai "..is extremely resistant to termite attack and is a ... replacement for preservative-treated lumber..".
Read the full report here.

These are need to know terms that are used in lumber world.

..and Better: Usually abbreviated "&Btr", indicates that lumber so graded contains a specified percentage of pieces that are of a higher grade than the lowest acceptable grade.

Appearance Grade: A grade of framing lumber intended primarily for exposed use in housing and light construction where fine appearance is required; sound, tight knots are permitted.

Blow: A separation of a portion of veneers in a plywood panel, caused by a steam pocket that develops during the press process.

Board Foot: The basic unit of measurement for lumber. One board foot is equal to a 1-inch board, 12 inches in width and 12 inches in length. Thus, a 10 foot long, 1 inch thick and 12 inch wide piece would contain 10 board feet, as would a 10-foot 2x6. When calculating board feet, nominal sizes are assumed.

Bright: Unstained, fresh material, recently milled, free of discoloration.

Check: A lengthwise separation of the wood, normally occurring across or through the rings of annual growth and usually the result of seasoning.

Clear: Free or practically free of all blemishes, characteristics or defects.

Common: Lumber that is suitable for general construction and utility purposes.

Cull: Lumber of the lowest quality with little or no commercial value.

Dry: Seasoned, usually to a moisture content of 19% or less.

Economy: The lowest recognized grade in lumber. Economy permits serious defects in the lumber, including large knots and holes, unsound wood, splits, wane and others.

Fingerjoint: A method of joining two pieces of lumber end-to-end by sawing into the end of each piece a set of projecting "fingers" that interlock when the two pieces are pushed together, forming a strong glue joint.

Free of Heart Center (FOHC): Lumber sawn to exclude the pith or heart center of a log.

Glue Laminated (Glue Lam): A process in which individual pieces of lumber or veneer are bonded together with an adhesive to make a single piece with the grain of each running parallel to the grain of each of the other pieces.

Hardwood: A general term referring to any of a variety of broad leaved, deciduous trees and the wood from those trees. The term has nothing to do with the actual hardness of the wood; some hardwoods are softer than certain softwood species.

Kiln Dried: Lumber that has been seasoned in a kiln to a predetermined moisture content.

Ply: A single layer or sheet of veneer. One complete layer of veneer in a sheet of plywood.

Pressure Treating: A process of impregnating lumber or other wood products with various chemicals, such as preservatives and fire retardants, by forcing the chemicals into the structure of the wood using high pressure.

Reman: Remanufacture or remanufacturing; a process of converting a common product to a more specialized or higher grade product by further manufacturing.

Ruff Sawn: A designation for plywood paneling or siding which has been saw-textured to provide a decorative, rough sawn appearance.

Sanded: Plywood panels which have been processed through a machine sander to obtain a smooth surface on the outer plies; usually one side carries an A or B face.

Select: A high quality piece of lumber graded for appearance. Uses include interior and exterior trim and cabinetry.

Select Tite Kno4 (STK): A grade term often used for Cedar lumber. Lumber graded STK is selected from the mill run because of tight knots in each piece.

Softwood: A general term referring to any of a variety of trees having narrow, needlelike or scalelike leaves, general coniferous, and the wood from such trees. The term has nothing to do with the actual softness of the wood; some softwoods are harder than certain hardwood species.

Standard and Better (Std&Btr): Lumber containing a mixture of grades, the lowest of which is the Standard grade of light framing; the "and better" signifies that a portion of the lumber is of higher grade or grades. While Std&Btr is fully suitable for general construction purposes, the proportion of higher grades included is a factor in determining market value.

Stud Grade: Lumber of this grade has the strength and stiffness values that make it suitable for use in load baring walls.

T1-11 (plywood): A type of plywood siding, grooved to resemble lumber.

Tally: A numerical breakdown of the various lengths and/or sizes in a load of lumber. The price of a random length load is generally dependent on the tally, with those loads having a high proportion of the desired lengths bringing the higher price.

Utility: A grade of softwood lumber used when a combination of strength and economy is desired. It is suitable for many uses in construction, but lacks the strength of Standard, the next highest light framing grade, and may not be allowed for certain applications where high strength is required.

Utility and Better (Util&Btr): A mixture of light framing lumber grades with the lowest being Utility. The "and Better" signifies that some percentage of the mixture is of a higher grade than Utility (but not necessarily of the highest grade).

Veneer: Wood peeled, sawn or sliced in a given, constant thickness and used in the production of plywood. Plywood consists of two raw materials, glued and veneered.

Vertical grain (VG): Lumber that is sawn at approximately right angles to the annual growth rings so that the rings form an angle of 45 degrees or more with the surface of the piece.

Wane: Bark or lack of wood from any cause on the edge or corner of a piece of lumber.

Warp: Any variation from a true or plan surface, including bow, crook, cup or any combination of these.

White Speck: A fungus that develops in a living tree. It does not develop until after the tree has been harvested. Causes small white areas in the wood.

Timber Decking Association in the UK has developed a detailed guide on how to construct a low level deck and which materials are of DeckMark quality. We, at the WoodPro, have been using this guide as our quality standard on building decks, and now you can use it as your own reference, if you decided to do it yourself.
The document is "Creating a low level deck - TDA Instructions", it contains instructions on how to build a low level deck using DeckMark quality materials.
You can download the pdf file here and start your safe and quality project.

About TDA,
is a technical and advisory organisation in the UK that provides guidance on the materials and practices required to create high quality decks and associated structures. The association is also the voice of authority on decking in the UK and is recognised as setting the standard for all that's best in design, construction practices.

About DeckMark(tm)
is a quality assurance scheme created for the Timber Decking Association by BM TRADA Certification. The scheme is based on existing quality assurance standards - ISO 9000, EN45011/12, ISO Guide 62/65 and is intended to help all those engaged in the specification, design, installation or purchasing of decking ensure that the products they buy or the contractor they commission from a TDA registered firm will be of the highest quality.