Spotted gum timber decking has interesting features that make it an excellent choice for your decking project. Learn all about its strength and properties.
Spotted gum is an excellent choice of hardwood for decking. Use spotted gum decking timber for those areas that are prone to bushfires. This timber is fire resistant, and it also survives very well under different weather conditions. This is how you use spotted gum for your decking project in just several steps:
- Plan how much-spotted gum decking timber you need.
- Measure and cut the spotted gum timber, as well as the rest of the planks.
- Build the footing and posts.
- Position joists and bridging.
- Use spotted gum to lay the decking on the joists.
- Weather your spotted gum decking.
- Coat your decking
It is best if you leave this project to the professionals. Uneven or inaccurate cutting of your timber decking will ruin your entire project, and you will waste a lot of money. That is a good reason to hire a professional decking expert who will do this work for you.
It may be more expensive than doing it yourself, but the risk of losing too much money is worth it. Additionally, if you shop around for good decking quotes, you can get some great deals.
Is Spotted Gum Good for Decking?
Spotted gum is excellent for decking for many reasons. Due to its great features, it can be worked with manually or using machinery and different tools. It is strong and dense, which are great characteristics for building decking.
Image source: Karmmm Creations
Spotted gum belongs to the natural durability classes 1 and 2. The above-ground durability class 1 means that you can expect the untreated timber to last for over 40 years. However, the in-ground durability is 2, and that means that in contact with the ground, you can expect your spotted gum decking timber to last up to 25 years.
The strength of spotted gum decking ranges from F17 to F34. This is quite a good rating for timber decking. It means that this timber is dense and strong, and quite durable.
What Colour Does Spotted Gum Come In?
Spotted gum comes in a wide variety of pale brown colours. It can be found in colours that range anywhere from almost dirty white shades up to dark chocolate tones. Additionally, there are some reddish hues of spotted gum timber as well.
This amazing variety of colours comes from the fact that the spotted gum is not just one, but four types of trees that come under the same name. The timber has wavy grain and very prominent gum veins. This creates interesting texture in addition to the lovely colour.
Image source: Decking 4 Perth
Another interesting feature of spotted gum is that it receives stains, finishes, and oils quite well. This means that you can greatly influence its colour and change it if you like or simply alter its shade a bit.
Is Spotted Gum Termite Resistant?
Yes. Your spotted gum decking is termite-resistant. However, Lyctid borers are a different story. Unfortunately, untreated spotted gum is susceptible to the attacks of these bugs. They are also called Powderpost beetles. They burrow in the sapwood, leaving the talc-like powdery trail behind them.
If there is not much sapwood, the treatment against these borers is not necessary since it should not damage the integrity of the construction. However, if sapwood is significant, borers need to be eliminated. Even better – the attack of borers should be prevented.
Another thing that spotted gum can resist is fire. If your decking timber is thick enough, it can survive the bushfires even without being treated.
Where Is Spotted Gum Grown?
Spotted gum is growing all along the east coast of Australia, from the very North to the deep South. That includes all the species under the name of Corymbia, which are popularly called ‘spotted gum’. The name comes from the flaking bark that leaves the spotty patches.
Click the image to magnify. Image source: AgriFutures
The majority of the spotted gum timber comes from Queensland. There are plans for spreading the growing area of spotted gum inland and to Tasmania.
When you are buying your decking timber, make sure that it comes from sustainable sources. Unlawful and unplanned tree-cutting is an enormous ecological disaster that can and should be prevented. There are enough plantations that offer trees that come from the controlled environments.
How to Coat a Spotted Gum Decking?
If you want to make sure that your spotted gum decking is in the best possible shape and that it reaches its maximum lifespan, the best idea is to coat it. The first step toward a good decking timber coating is weathering.
It is not advisable to apply a coating to spotted gum before weathering because it is important for the timber to release the oils and tannin. This can last for up to 6 weeks. If the weather is very hot, you need to make sure that your timber decking is not entirely dry. That can lead to cracks that are next to impossible to fix.
Image source: Jenny Smith Gardens
Weathering can cause the change of colours and the texture of the spotted gum decking. Don’t worry because it is just the tannins forming on the surface and timber “bleeding”. You just need to sand it gently enough to remove a thin layer of the faded timber.
In this way, you have prepared the spotted gum decking for the coating. There are two types of coats available for you:
- Oil-based coats
- Water based coats
Oil-based coats are the traditional way of coating decking timber. They take a bit longer to dry as they penetrate into the wood. The effect they have is the traditional oily shine that you expect from treated timber.
Water-based coats are a newer technology, and they also penetrate the timber. However, they also leave a little bit of protective coating on the surface. One of the perks of water-based coats is that they can dry out in a day.
Spotted gum decking is an excellent choice for building decking. This timber decking will last you over 40 years if you treat it right. As for the pricing, this timber is a mid-range decking material, so it is definitely worth looking into. Also, add to that price the price of a decking professional, and you have your budget ready.
Get quotes from several decking professionals so you can choose the one that meets your expectations.