Thread: Teakhouse

Originally Posted by Arrowtown

Hi Guys
I'm a German Carpenter. I'm living in NZ tough. A friend of mine is going to build a Teakhouse after the Thai model in Panama. Teak is available in 4 meter logs.
I wonder about the moisture content of Teak.
Has anybody an idea, whether we have to store it to get it dry, or are we able to continue processing right after we have cut the logs.

I would appreciate any other hint regarding this topic.

Cheers

The moisture content is fairly low, so needs little drying, Freshly felled teak has about a 40% content, but can easily dry to about 25% in the sun for a short while

it needs kiln drying to get to less

we have cut logs and used it for planks not long after felling

if you want to use it for furniture or windows etc, it is best to dry it for a while

you are lucky to be able to get nice size logs, I hope from sustainable resources

Freshly felled teak has about 40% moisture content. Leave it sit in the sunshine for a while and it would probably dry to a 25% moisture content level on its own.
If you make a piece of furniture out of teak with 25% moisture content and put it on your patio, it will probably dry out and crack. (Kind of like your skin if you sit out on your patio, but we digress.)
If you take that same piece of teak wood and put it in kiln oven for two or three weeks you can take the moisture content down to 15% or so. A chair made from that wood can sit outside in Yuma, Yakima or Yazoo City for as long as you please and hold its own.