Why we don't use Costa Rica Teak or Melina

In Costa Rica two main softwood species Teak (Tectona grandis) and Melina (Gmelina Arborea) get grown extensively in plantations around the country. Both are fast growing softwoods of non native origin. Their use for "reforestation" is quite questionable since they are asian in origin and quite disruptive to the local ecosystem but still whole hill sides of local secondary forests get cleared and “reforestation” with them.

Melina originally from India is a very fast growing tree and reaches maturity in 10-12 years. The wood is cream colored, lightweight and has a high water content. This makes it an ideal pulp producer for the paper making industry and wood crate production. After being kiln dried properly it can be also used for lower value furniture production and plywood.

Teak is also an asian import originally from India, Indonesia and Burma. Originally the tree grows in semidry tropical climates where it grows slower and produces harder timber. Especially old growth Burmese Teak is world know for its durability. It is used in the manufacture of outdoor furniture, boat decks, and other articles where weather resistance is desired. The Costa Rican version especially the one grown in the southern pacific is a fast growing tree which has almost nothing to do with the “Real Teak” from Asia.

Both wood species get recommended and used nowadays for construction purposes in Costa Rica. The main reasons are that they are fairly cheap and can be sourced easy locally.

The reasons we don't recommend local Teak and Melina are the following:

1. Insects and Fungi: Both local Teak and Melina are softwoods with very limited resistance to fungi and dry wood termites. Melina is poisonous and when kept dry is fairly resistant to termites. But in our studies we found that after a couple years when decay sets in also dry Melina gets eaten by the more dangerous ground termites. Local soft Teak has almost no bug resistance at all and especially the jung teak gets attacked right away by termites.

2. Rot and Water Resistance: Melina has absolutely no resistance against water and rotting and will deteriorate within the first rainy season if kept in the open. Teak fairs a little better and might last a season or two. The problem is that the local teak is immature since it gets cut when only 15-25 years old in Costa Rica and so it has no time to grow hardwood. Burmese and Indonesian Teak of the best quality which gets used for boat building is from old growth trees or plantation wood which is more than 80 years old.

Costa Rica has a very tough climate for construction in general.

Steel rusts within a couple years especially close to the beach. The galvanized perlings which get used a lot here have a “corrosion guarantee” of 10 years maximum which by itself is already too low for quality construction. Near the Coast where we are there is no guarantee at all and those perlings should not be used! the same goes for galvanized steel roofing which is not recommended for the coastal areas. 

Concrete especially if low quality aggregates are used will deteriorate within a century in the humid climate. The same is true for most dry wall materials like fiberlite. We use or recommend Durarock or other waterproof materials only for internal partition walls and sub flooring.

Tropical Hardwood Timbers like Greenheart, IPE Brazilian Cherry are worldwide used for outdoor construction projects and will last centuries without any decay or termite attracts. The famous St. George's Cathedral in Guyana, one of the tallest free-standing wooden buildings in the world is already 120 years old and still looks good. Its located very close to the swampy beach and the area is infested by termites. It is built entirely out of Greenhart and has wood shingles. 

We feel that saving money on structural components of your future house is the wrong way to save money. It makes more sense to save money by shrinking the size of construction!