Maranti

[ByronBlack]

I've been offered some Maranti buy my supplier for the greenhouse project i'm about to start for quite a good price.

I know very little about this wood, can't seem to dig up much on the web other than it's sometimes used for windows.

Is it a good wood to work with, does it take a stain well and would it be a good choice for a greenhouse? It's only £1 per linear meter more than bog standard redwood and i'm tempted, but don't know a great deal about it.

 

[Tierney]

Here is my very brief experience.

My nearest supplier (Leigh Timber, near Southend) sells it as 'one step down from Mahogany' or 'similar to mahogany'. I know another timber supplier in Brentwood also sells it (I think they spell it 'Meranti'). I haven't found any reference to it in a couple of books that I have. I have only used it in small pieces for making a shooting board and similar jigs, but it was nice to work with; it saws easily, planes to a good finish (slightly open grain), and holds screws well (but a couple of solid brass screws did shear).

I paid £6 for 4 foot of 3 by 2 planed Meranti, but that is probably not the best benchmark for price.

David

 

[Lord Nibbo]

There is a species guide HERE for Meranti.

 

[Waka]

there are verious types of meranti on the market and they have different uses.

Light Meranti:

Interia joinery, light structural work.

Dark Meranti:

All the above, plus exteria work.

White/Yellow Meranti:

Both groups are used for light construction and interia work.

So I guess if you ewant to use it outside you will need the dark.

Hope this helps

 

[Anonymous]

I've used it alot to make planters etc. I find it weathers better than any other wood and would use it myslef to make a wooden greenhouse.

Never stained it as I detest stains - give me the natural wood every time.

I oiled mine and the colour is very pleasing, with a rich brown colour

It is very easy to work and pretty soft but cuts precisely for dovetials etc. All in all, a good wood for exterior work in my experience

 

[DomValente]

It is used nowadays as a second class Mahogany a lot of it comes from West africa.
Used a lot in window and door joinery.

Dom

 

[JFC]

Hi BB I use it for most of my windows and doors when hardwood is asked for but the price is tight . I wouldn't say it was any better than some softwoods for the job you intend it for . I think it also called lauan (spelling)
Sapele would be better and is the darker of the three off the shelf hardwoods .IMHO.

 

[houtslager]

Meranti is the prime timber choice for ALL joinery in Amsterdam , nearly all the building contractors I worked with use it for both internal and external joinery , only when their client is " tight with money " do they use pine ( in all forms )

HS back in the boatyards.

 

[ByronBlack]

Hi Chaps,

Thanks for all the input regarding Maranti, seems like it might be worth using over the redwood. SWMBO is paying and I have to build two lean-to greenhouses so It seems to be a good compromise between cost and quality.

Sapele was my other first initial idea as I've used it breifly in the past for a small table project, but that would have worked out a lot more expensive.

The price of 2"x2" redwood is £1.50 + VAT and the Maranti is £2.50 + Vat for a running metre, does that seem to be a good price? My initial calculations work out to be about £140-ish for two lean-to's which seems to be a good price, any thoughts?

JFC - by your comment, are you saying that redwood would be just as good as Maranti for my purposes? Isn't softwood a bit harder to work with to make crisp joints, or is that just crappy pine?

 

[BrianD]

Byron,

I can tell you that Meranti is used for doors, greenhouses, exterior structures all over South Africa. It is very common. It cuts well, is strong and weathers fantastically. Depending on moisture levels in the environment it can change to silvery or dark green to black. It takes oil, polish and paint very well.

Good stuff, with straight grain.

 

[JFC]

Byron , I think Meranti is about the same as a good redwood for exterior work . I assume you mean white wood when you say cheap pine ? Most timber yards sell contract range (white wood ) and prime range (redwood)
Well most i deal with anyway . As Mr Grimsdale often says , Trad joinery used good redwood on windows that are a hundred years old and still going strong .
Then again you are putting the timber into a humid situation so Meranti may be more stable than a softwood but no more resistant to wet rot .
IMHO .

 

[devonwoody]

I took out my meranti window frames which had been installed over 20 years (ali windows) last year and the wood cleaned up to as good as new, I eventually used the timber to remake all our indoor picture frames, and there was not a knot or bad piece of timber around.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

a lot of it comes from West africa.

Used a lot in window and door joinery. Dom

Dom, the latter statement is true, but meranti is actually one of the Shorea spp.. There are more than seventy of this member of the Dipterocarpaceae family sold commercially. They are all native to Asia, e.g., Malaysia, the Philippines, etc., although it's possible I suppose that someone is planting forests of the stuff in West Africa, but I haven't heard of it.

As I've mentioned that meranti is one of the Shoreas I suppose I should mention the commercial names of others of this genus that are moderately durable to durable for exterior work, e.g., dark red meranti (Shorea pauciflora, S. acuminata and S. curtisii), red lauan (S. negrosensis), and dark red seraya (S. pauciflora), again. Slainte.