What is the difference between teak, garapa and cumaru?

Our decking boards achieve the highest durability (according to DIN EN standard), have good to very good technical properties, are kiln-dried to 14% and come from certified forestry. The following is characteristic of the individual wood species:

Teak – the king wood

Teak decking boards

125 mm, concealed screws

Teak wood is a honey-brown wood that quickly and beautifully silvers outdoors. The great strength of teak is its dimensional stability and its high oil and rubber content. As it hardly works, teak has the lowest tendency of all types of wood to crack and splinter. This is why even old teak decking still looks very good. Our customers often use teak in the pool area, as there is no wood species that is easier on the bare feet and more supple. These properties make teak one of the most valuable types of wood, which is why it is also known as the wood of kings. We offer teak planks in 50 mm, 95 mm and 125 mm widths.

Cumaru – the heavyweight

Cumaru decking boards

120 mm, visibly screwed

Cumaru is a red-brown wood species with a dynamic wood grain. Cumaru has a dry weight of 1200 KG/m3, making it one of the heaviest and hardest woods in the world. Because it is particularly hard-wearing, scratch-resistant and robust, this wood is often used in commercial and public areas and even directly in the water for harbor facilities. Recently, however, many private customers have also been choosing Cumaru as an alternative to Ipe. Cumaru planks are available from us in widths of 90mm, 120mm and 145mm.

Garapa – the light-colored tropical wood

Garapa decking boards

145mm, concealed screws, oiled

Garapa is a relatively light-colored tropical wood. Its color is reminiscent of oak wood. Its hardness lies between cumaru and teak. As Garapa works a little less than Cumaru, we also opted for relatively wide planks in 145mm. Garapa is our cheapest decking board per square meter. Customers who want a light-colored tropical wood with a uniform structure and for whom teak is too expensive opt for Garapa.

We explain which general criteria should be used to select decking wood in our online advice .