Using Australian Tallowwood Timber For Deckings
Choose the right Tallowwood timber for deckings

Tallowwood is a popular hardwood species native to Australia. Known for its extreme hardness, long-lasting durability and versatile nature, it is found to be suitable for various types of applications. Often grown in the wet sclerophyll forests, the wood obtained from Tallowood trees is pretty hard, with a hardness rating of 8.6. Due to this, it proves to be an ideal Tallowwood timber for deckings.
Benefits of Using Tallowwood Timber for Deckings

As compared to other types of wood, Tallowwood timber has several advantages to offer. Let’s talk about a few of them:
- Easy to work with: Tallowwood is comparatively easy to work with as compared to other hardwoods. Most hardwoods in Australia have hardness rating of up to 14.0, which is quite difficult to saw into. Tallowwood has a genuine hardness rating of 8.6.
- Variety of colours available: The hardwood from this Tallowwood variety comes in a variety of colours, ranging from dark to pale, yellow-brown, and infrequently shades of olive green. Due to this, you can have your decking made in a wide range of colours, shades and textures.Apart from that, Tallowwood has a moderately even grain pattern, which means that it is not as consistent as some other timbers. The delicate colour variations in the Tallowwood timber naturally blends in together to create a pleasant but exciting pattern. The shiny and waxen pattern appears after dressing the Tallowwood.
- Shiny surface: The surface of Tallowwood timber is relatively abrasive, usually with interlocked grain, often free of gum veins. Due to this, if you are using Tallowwood timber for deckings, you will be able to get a typical shine and ‘greasy’ appearance.
- High durability: Tallowwood is known for its excellent durability in both above ground and ground applications. The durability of this timber can be divided into three main classes: Class 1, 2 and 3. The most durable timber is Class 1, which has a life expectancy of around 25 to 40 years. Several Australian hardwoods have ratings of Class 1 for above ground use, however only a very few have Class 1 rating for use in connection with the ground as well. Tallowwood timber is one of them.
- Versatile use: Apart from using Tallowwood timber for deckings, it is conventionally utilized in designing a variety of highly challenging timber projects and engineering applications too, ranging from bridges and wharf construction to railway sleepers, cross-arms, poles, piles and mining timber. In the construction industry, it has a wide range of uses from external and internal flooring, linings, joinery and even unseasoned timber framing to dresses timber cladding. It is also for making fencing, landscaping and the construction of retaining walls. It is also used in the manufacturing of turnery, joinery and outdoor furniture. Construction of coaches, boat buildings, carriages, agriculture machinery and structural plywood applications also require Tallowwood.
- High resistance power:Due to its high resistance power against fire, it is one of the safest timbers to be used in fire-prone areas. Because of its high density of 990kg/m3, it is also highly resistant to water, due to which it stays free from moisture and mould. Due to its high density, it is also not easy to be attacked by termites. Owing to all these properties, it is known to be a highly durable hardwood that is resistant to decay over time.

Tallowwood timber is sturdy, and with fine surface, it can satisfy the requirement of a deck floor. It also has very high resistance power to decay, owing to its capability to endure damp and wet conditions moderately well. To choose the right Tallowwood timber for deckings, do consult your professional decking suppliers and let them know your requirements and preferences.