Maui's tropical environment can be particularly harsh on the building products that we use for our renovations. Although there are many new and alternative products in the market in 2023 to choose from, customers, designers and carpenters are still preferring to use popular tropical hardwoods. Some popular tropical hardwoods to use are Teak, Sapele, Ipe. These are some of the best wood products to use for many Maui woodworking projects. They hold up well against weather and insect damage, and they are durable and age well. As a Carpenter on Maui, I have used these woods often, and I enjoy working with them. Yet the exportation of each of these wood species are suffering from issues much larger than just supply chain issues. Let us travel the 4 corners of the globe as I try to explain.
Teak has long been known as the best wood for use in outdoor applications. With proper care teak can hold up for decades. This highly sought after wood has now become one of the most expensive hardwoods products to purchase.
Teak is indigenous to only a few countries, and due to excessive over logging natural teak forests have all but disappeared except from Burma (Myanmar). In 2021 a Military Coup disposed of the government and there has been an ongoing civil conflict since. The country is politically unstable and the citizens of Burma are managing many ongoing conflicts. This has had an effect on every aspect of the local economy, and has roiled the export markets. I've personally seen a bid for teak materials on a project go from $18,000 (original quote) to $47.650 final purchase price. That was a 165% price increase in 7 months. Even with the increase of output from teak farms in Indonesia, there has been no stability in the teak market for the past few years. This trend will should continue going forward in 2023. I have worked with teak, really enjoy how well it holds up, but with its current costs I can only see using teak in very specific replacement applications. I would not recommend it at this time.
Sapele, often confused with but related to African Mahogany, is an absolutely beautiful wood to work with. It has a rich color, beautiful grain, and is a dense and stable hardwood which truly holds up in tropical climates. Not just great for furniture, I have used it for exterior doors and kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has been the largest supplier of Sapele lumber to the North American market for some years. Never truly harvested sustainably, the forests of the Congo are now experiencing a refugee crisis that is leading to massive deforestation and rampant illegal logging. The DRC Army is locked in a deadly battle with a militia group called M23. Between the DRC government hiring mercenaries, to rampant humanitarian atrocities committed by M23, this region of Africa is quickly devolving into chaos. Refugees are fleeing into the National Parks and refuges. In Virunga National Park alone, 500 acres of forest have been reduced to stumps in less than 2 months. Not concerned with resale values of timber, refugees are more concerned with making charcoal for fuel and as a source of income. Peace does not appear to be on the horizon for the Congolese people or their forests. Although there are other countries that can provide Sapele for the global market, this continued unrest will keep prices high. I would recommend finding some older Sapele locally to re-purpose, and definitely look for alternatives to using this product. There are plenty of Mahogany products that could be used as a substitute.
Ipe (ee-pay) has by far been one of the most popular tropical woods I have worked with lately here on Maui. It is a strong, sturdy, and durable hardwood that not only holds up well, it ages beautifully. If you are to use a natural wood decking on the North shore, Ipe is the product of choice. It also is a beautiful product to use for fencing and other exterior applications.
Ipe, also know as Brazilian Walnut, is harvested in the Amazon forest of Brazil. For the past 4 years the government of Brazil was not concerned with environmental laws or previous conservation standards when it came to logging in the Amazon. The Bolsanaro administration was more concerned with profiting from the resources that could be extracted from the forest. Most of us are aware of the important role the Amazon forest has on the overall health of the worlds Eco system, and it has been exploited for its resources for as long as I can recall. One Ipe tree can be found roughly in about every 7 to 25 acres of forest. Not often sustainably harvested, and especially over the past few years, demand has sky rocketed for this hardwood. It has been used for decades, but has really had a moment the past few years when it comes to design, and the prices reflect it. Interestingly enough a new product has come to the market that has many of the same characteristics for about half the price, Garapa. Brazilian Ash, is highly popular for use in South America. Its introduction into the market in North America has been beneficial during this time of popularity of Ipe. I enjoy working with both of these products, and given the right application their use is worth the price per board foot you will pay.
Oh Canada, home to our most frequent winter residents here on Maui. British Columbia is the number 1 provider for wood products here in the Islands. From the Douglas fur that we use to frame our homes, to the Yellow and Red Cedar that is often used in our renovations. Add the proliferation of Hemlock trim and engineered Pine board products BC seems to have us covered.
In most regards there are no political issues effecting the supply chain. It's the environment, and the changing climate, that is causing the most concern. Due to seasonal weather limitations, summer is the main harvesting season for lumber products in BC. Canadian laws have a rule in place to help prevent forest fires that has become a major issue for loggers in recent summers. That is the 30+30 black cross rule which states if it's 30 degrees Celsius (86 F) in temp and less than 30% humidity, forestry workers have to suspend work and leave the forest. Usually workers would just head to higher elevations as the summer days got warmer. Unfortunately as the climate continues to change and the summers keep getting hotter, the higher elevations are now falling victim to the black cross rules in the late summer months. The logging industry is still very resilient in Canada and have been able to continue to provide materials for the market. Yes prices were at a all time high in 2021, but leveled off and even declined in 2022. This trend should continue, but the market will continue to fluctuate as dictated by a traditional supply and demand cycle.
Bring it full circle back to the beautiful State of Hawaii, and the Island of Maui we call home. When considering your next project or home renovation there is always lots of thought and planning that goes into it.
As mentioned in an earlier blog post, the supply chain can always be one of the variables here on Maui that can cause any home renovation to overrun on cost and schedule. Knowing what product you are getting, and where that comes from can hopefully help with some of your upcoming decisions.
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