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Red Grandis

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Red Grandis

Postby Windows » 06 Aug 2022, 10:41

Does anyone use red grandis? Anyone got any pros & cons for using for exterior doors & frames? It gets points off from me for not being native, but curious about other advantages or disadvantages relative to other hardwoods.
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Re: Red Grandis

Postby RogerS » 06 Aug 2022, 11:04

Never heard of it and no idea if it's even available here.

Do you really need hardwood for external windows ?
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Re: Red Grandis

Postby Trevanion » 06 Aug 2022, 11:27

I had the sample piece off the International Timber representative about four or so years ago now, it’s a type of Eucalyptus and the growth cycle must be quite quick as there was about one growth ring per inch. I’ve personally never used the stuff as I was always a bit skeptic from the outset, a good friend tried a few boards to see what it was like and you would’ve thought they would send as best quality boards as they could to a new user to impress, but I saw the boards myself and they were riddled with severe splits, totally unusable. Perhaps the QC is better now but I still wouldn’t use the stuff.

You will struggle to find a native timber that’s of a decent quality for joinery, the majority of the good stuff was cut down over a century ago. Softwoods like Douglas Fir or Larch that are grown here grow too quickly and don’t develop much of the characteristics that make for a good joinery timber, the main one being water ingress resistance. Back in the day they would’ve used a very nice timber called pitch pine, which was absolutely full of resin and was practically indestructible, some attribute the longevity to the paint, but when you see pitch pine windows with no paint left whatsoever and they’re still standing strong after a century it must be the timber. Scots Pine that’s available now by contrast will last only a handful of years, I’ve seen new windows rot out completely in five years.

I think if I wanted to avoid tropic hardwoods, as well as the expensive Accoya, I would probably look at a very high grade of Douglas fir (Do not use British grown Douglas fir!) or Southern Yellow Pine from North America. You could also use home-grown British Oak but that would be just about as expensive as the Accoya.
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Re: Red Grandis

Postby Windows » 06 Aug 2022, 12:40

I don’t think hardwoods are required for doors windows. I think the main characteristic people look for is water/rot resistance (and dimensional stability under wide humidity ranges). But I don’t know what I’m doing so…

It’s definitely available here. I’m asking because I saw some in Travis Perkins in the South East. I saw a ~4 meter long piece about 2” x 3” which appeared to have zero knots or cracks, and seemed very straight and dry to me. It certainly stood out among the other wood.
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Re: Red Grandis

Postby johnward » 06 Aug 2022, 12:44

I read somewhere that Grandis is a hybrid and grown in plantations in places like Brazil.

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Re: Red Grandis

Postby Woodbloke » 06 Aug 2022, 12:48

Windows wrote: But I don’t know what I’m doing so…

See here. No experience of this stuff but it looks kosher for joinery purposes - Rob
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Re: Red Grandis

Postby 9fingers » 06 Aug 2022, 15:16

AH I knew Red Grandis rang a bell with me when I saw this thread.
I watched this the other day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC2CoUsBO-E


I'm not suggesting the timber was necessarily at fault. The application might have been severe and maybe insufficient attention to sealing the underside.

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Re: Red Grandis

Postby Doug71 » 06 Aug 2022, 16:42

If the wood is for the new front door you are making I would just bite the bullet and go for Accoya.

I made my front door about 13 years ago, it's 3'6" x 7'3" with Gothic arches and mouldings etc. My wife at the time wanted it to look like Oak so I used Idigbo which is a light coloured hardwood (although it has since been painted).

In Summer the lock stile is dead straight but in Winter it has about 12mm of bend in it, also some joints open and close depending on the conditions, these things bug me every time I use my front door :x

If I was making it again I would definitely use Accoya as I know I wouldn't be having these problems, I think it's worth the extra few quid in the long term.
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Re: Red Grandis

Postby Doug » 06 Aug 2022, 18:28

:text-goodpost:
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