About Chengal Wood?

[dtgarden 0]

i got a quotation of $40/sqf for a 120sqf roof garden...designer said they are using the real chengai while the cheap ones like $20-$25 range is not chengai wood at all and will corrode after 1 or 2 years...he sounds serious about it and I am quoted almost $1k plus more than normal market rate? how do you guys think?

[watchthewaves 0]

Did he show you how to tell his "real" chengai from the other cheaper types? And if the others are not chengai, then what wood is he saying that they are using? I'm curious to hear what he has to say.

[mafacifa 0]

this is an interesting thread. i'm also looking for those sun-roof kinda wood structure (beams). planning to just find some shop that can cut and varnish the wood for me...

I know Ban Heng Leong sells wood ranging from plywood to teak. pretty affordable but i dont think they can varnish it for me. anybody tried before?

[dtgarden 0]

He said those at $20-$25 are balau or merbau woods. But I asked around even balau or merbau cannot be cheaper by $15-$20 to chengal wood...maybe he is using old chengal wood while cheaper ones are using young ones? In fact, what are the main difference on age for wood anyway? They will be exposed under sun and rain after all...any opinions?

Did he show you how to tell his "real" chengai from the other cheaper types? And if the others are not chengai, then what wood is he saying that they are using? I'm curious to hear what he has to say.

[CChuan 0]

Someone told me that composite wood (wood + plastic) is better for balcony decking as real wood will fade if exposed to sunlight/rain etc... then must revarnish again.

Could anyone recommend a good decking contact that does composite wood?

Hi, composite wood is the one that fades over time in the sun. Plus it tends to warp due to uneven expansion and contraction of the plastic content inside. Check out Iluma Bugis Gong Cha area and you'll see.

It's a fair statement to say all wood changes color over time under sun exposure. Unvarnished, some fades, but some actually turns darker. Just like leather, it was something once alive. Chemistry changes like that is unavoidable.

[w3ngal 0]

I also wanna deck my planter bed but...still confuse after reading this thread. I was told chengai wood is suitable...

[Monstar 0]

I am also looking to deck my planter....but after reading...seem like WPC is a safer choice?

[Bunnymummy 0]

I ended up using 100% recycled plastic decking instead (which has colour and texture of real wood). Happy with it so far as it withstand sun and rain with no fading/shrinkage and even my pets pee on it and can be wiped off with no stain (it's completely non-absorbent). 1.5 months already and so far so good. After calling around the price of it was cheaper than WPC by a lot and cheaper than quite a few of the Chengai wood quotes too (those from reputable cos).

[70wood 0]

Perhaps let me offer a fair comparison between natural wood and wpc. Both has their pros and cons, and it really depends on what features you are looking for, or prefer. Generally timbers used for deckings are classified under the hardwood category, and changal are the most common breed proposed by contractors. Whatever timber it may be, requires treatment and colouring. This may be a cause of concern to some users as treatments and colouring are basically chemical coating. When exposed outdoors, the coatings protects the timber by taking the heat literally. In another word, instead of the wood gets deteriorated, it is the coating that gets deteriorated. The good thing is that you can redo the treatment every year or so. Whether the chemical treatment gives out invisible harmful fumes, I guessed the chemical supplier has to ascertain that. WPC is in short for Wood, Plastic, Composite. It is manufactured using wood flour put through the plastic extrusion process at very high temperature, hence wpc has the inate properties of withstanding heat from the sun. Molecular structure of wpc is different from that of timber. Wpc is structured finely, smooth, and closer together, while timber is fibrous, rougher and sparsely. That's why wood produces splinters, and wpc does not. Given a piece of timber and a piece of wpc of similar thickness, and putting a similar weight at the centre, wpc would be able to take the weight better. However, if a sudden weight impact were to thrown down right at the centre of each piece, the wpc will be prone to give way. These are the difference is structural properties of the two materials.

Bottom line in selecting who, besides price, it is integrity. There are contractors who did an excellent job for one customer, but not for another. Most of the time it is not because workmanship by any contractor is good or bad, but it is whether the contractor is willing to see through a job with integrity. Integrity also involves being true to customers. Taking more jobs then one can deliver is not about integrity. By the way, WPC does not necessary mean 100% recycled plastic, nor does it mean using recycled wood.

Hope this little contribution helps.

http://70wood.blogspot.com

[DarkAlucard 0]

To supply and construct composite wood decking for living's balcony & planter area $2782.

5500 by 750.

Is the quotation expensive?

Pls advice.

[70wood 0]

To supply and construct composite wood decking for living's balcony & planter area $2782.

5500 by 750.

Is the quotation expensive?

Pls advice.

We have developed a system to allow for total movable decks by fabricating a metal structure to put into the planter, and then lay the decks over the metal structure. In this way, if it is a HDB apartment, then there should be no compliance issue. Can call us for quote 93657637

[morgulboy 0]

My ID from ***** done this Chengal planter 2.5 years ago. Now, it is discoloured at the sides, some whitish lines r formed, and some lightening in colour of the wood.

Now I am considering between WPC or Merbau Decking from this company http://www2.goodhill.com/index.php.

I am contradicting between the advantages of natural wood and WPC. I hate the termites problem as I encounter this headache in my kitchen, so WPC is a better choice? I am also worried that the surface would be easily scratched as I use a roller rack in my balcony to dry my clothes, so natural wood is a better choice?

I intend to remove my chengal wood to construct them into balcony shelf and deck up my whole balcony. Advices from the gurus please. Thanks!

Edited March 29, 2012 by morgulboy

[morgulboy 0]

Hi there, thanks for dropping by our showroom this afternoon. I recognised the picture of your balcony.

Please do visit our Facebook page at Goodhill Facebook for more updated pictures of completed decks. You may reach me at 93666246 for any further enquiries.

Cheers!

Hi Darren, no prob, was worth the 16km drive there. Will confirm with u soon, as there are really too many materials to choose from. I just want to make sure I got the right choice.

[GreenWoodTimber 0]

Dear All,

We do alot of wooden planter deckings, mainly Ashwood and Chengai. There are many factors that contributes to the pricing for decking.

1. Quality of wood.

Yup, probably get a lot of that. The thing is, we seldom come across a hundred year old tree nowadays. However, there are treatments to make it more durable. Firstly, insist on Kiln dry wood. It dries up the moisture from the wood so that it is more resistant to termite attacks and such. All our wood are also stored for at least 6 mths to air dry before using it to fabricate into deckings. Air drying encourages the wood to 'expand' to its maximum potential so that it prevents warping.

2. Installation methods

Some contractors will install the reinforcements of the decking by directly securing it onto the wall. This is NOT allowed for external walls. Nailing into the walls can cause hairline cracks that cause costly and troublesome waterproofing issues to the building. contractors does this to save on labor and material cost.

Decking should be prefabricated in the factory and assembled on site so that cutting is more uniformed.

I strongly encourage that deckings are made removable to clear drain clogs and general cleaning.

3. For smaller areas, usually there's an additional charge. So if u have more than one area to deck, it's more economical to do it at one go.

As for maintenance, it's usually advised to have ur decking revarnished once a year. WPC does not require maintenance, but the color usually fades and it's very hot to step on with a 'sticky' feeling. This is just a general feedback from customers. I'm not condemning WPC. I'm sure there will be a few good brands out there.

I hope my very long post will answer most of the questions out there! Good luck with ur home renovations!

God Bless!

[GSCCOATINGS70 0]

Hi Guys,

Does anyone here have any knowledge of chengal wood and its pricing range? I went to a couple of IDs and was quoted with a wide price range for a planter size of chengal wood.

The cheapest one quoted me $450 for my planter size. The most expensive one from another ID was quoted at 1.5K for the same size. Some others quoted me 600+ and some 800+.

Is there any differences in the chengal wood given?

I asked the ID who quoted me 1.5K and she said that theirs are the better ones.. they wait for the free to mature 60 yrs then they can chop it off for the wood. She kept emplasizing that $450 for that size is definitely not achievable.

I also asked the rest of the IDs why some quote me 1.5K and they gave me the shocked expression and told me that the price is over quoted. The knowledge they told me is that....there is a minimum size that they will quote for the chengal wood. So for a planter size, they can only quote me the minimum size to be sold. 1 even told me the minimum size is abt $400. Then another amount arnd $300 is meant for the support below the chengal wood.

This is sooooo confusing and i don't know which is which and who is saying the real thing.....

Need the advise of you who knows about this chengal wood.

Thanks in advance