Genuinely harder
Cumaru measures 3,540 on the Janka scale and Sucupira 3,200. Even our softest board, Tauari at 1,466, outranks the European oak this market defaults to. In a hallway with kids, dogs and wet boots, that difference is the whole point.
Global Timber. New Zealand Homes.
Five species the rest of the market can't offer you. Legally sourced, fully certified, and engineered to hold their shape through a New Zealand winter.
Certified and traceable on every plank, every shipment
Brazilian hardwood carries a reputation. We answer it with paperwork: chain-of-custody documentation from the managed forest to your door, on request, for every order we ship.
Why Brazilian hardwood
New Zealand floors have looked the same for a decade. Brazilian hardwoods bring a density, a colour depth and a grain character that European oak and its engineered imitations simply cannot reproduce, and they do it while lasting generations longer.
Cumaru measures 3,540 on the Janka scale and Sucupira 3,200. Even our softest board, Tauari at 1,466, outranks the European oak this market defaults to. In a hallway with kids, dogs and wet boots, that difference is the whole point.
From the pale champagne of Tauari to the chocolate of Sucupira, these are natural tones, not stains sitting on a veneer. They shift with the light and deepen with age.
FSC, PEFC and CERFLOR certified, Lacey Act compliant, and tested at under 0.01ppm formaldehyde. Sustainability you can hand to a client, a council or a Green Star assessor.
Engineered construction with a 3mm hardwood wear layer, built for New Zealand's humidity swings, coastal air and heat-pump summers. Thick enough to resand, stable enough to stay flat.
The collection
Each timber is selected for a different job: traffic, light, scale, mood. Tell us the room and we'll tell you which one belongs in it.
Dipteryx odorata, "Brazilian Teak"
Deep golden-brown with a warm red undertone and a tight, interlocked grain. Exceptionally dense and dimensionally stable. The floor you choose when the space has to survive people.
Bowdichia nitida
Rich chocolate brown, shot through with fine darker striping. Formal, grounding and quietly expensive-looking. At 3,200 Janka it is nearly as hard as Cumaru, so it anchors a room without being precious about it.
Couratari spp.
Pale honey to soft champagne, with a fine and remarkably even grain. The Brazilian answer to white oak: same calm, more warmth. Works as flooring, stair treads and joinery in one continuous language.
Caryocar spp.
A soft wheat blonde with restrained figure and the occasional dark knot for character. Made for pared-back, light-filled interiors where the floor should support the room, not compete with it.
Vochysia spp.
A mid-tone warm brown with genuine board-to-board variation, where some planks lean grey and some lean caramel. Laid across a large floorplate it reads as movement rather than pattern.
Send us a photo of the space and the direction your windows face. We'll come back with two or three species that actually suit it, and arrange samples so you can see them in your own light.
Ask us
Sustainability & legality
You should be asking where this wood comes from. Most people don't, and that's exactly how badly sourced timber ends up in good houses.
Every species we carry comes from legally managed, certified forest concessions with full chain-of-custody documentation. Not a claim on a website, but a paper trail we will send you.
For architects, builders & specifiers
You need documentation, consistency and a supplier who answers the phone during construction. That's the part of this business we take most seriously.
Technical data sheets, certification records, installation and maintenance guides, covering everything your consent and handover documents need.
Full-size boards, not postage stamps. Delivered to your studio or the site so the client sees the real grain variation before they commit.
Batch-matched volume for multi-unit and commercial work, with lead times confirmed in writing and stock held against your programme.
One person who knows your project, from first sample through to the last box on site. No call centres, no ticket numbers.
Janka hardness measured in lbf. For reference, the European oak this market defaults to sits near 1,360, below every board we carry.
| Species | Botanical name | Janka | Tone | Underfloor heating | Typical application |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumaru | Dipteryx odorata | 3,540 | Golden brown / red | Not rated | Commercial, high traffic, entry |
| Sucupira | Bowdichia nitida | 3,200 | Chocolate brown | Rated | Residential living, formal |
| Pequi | Caryocar spp. | 1,945 | Wheat blonde | Rated | Residential, minimal interiors |
| Quaruba | Vochysia spp. | 1,570 | Warm mid-brown | Rated | Open plan, large floorplates |
| Tauari | Couratari spp. | 1,466 | Honey / champagne | Rated | Flooring, stairs, joinery |
Questions people actually ask
It's the right question, and it's why our answer is documentary rather than verbal. Our timber comes from legally managed, certified concessions (FSC, PEFC and CERFLOR) with chain-of-custody records tying the boards you receive back to the forest they came from. We also meet US Lacey Act legality standards, among the strictest in the world.
Ask us for the paperwork on your order. We'll send it. A supplier who can't do that is the one you should worry about.
It's a considered purchase, positioned against quality European oak rather than budget engineered product. What changes the maths is lifespan: these species are substantially harder, so they hold their surface far longer and can be resanded rather than replaced. Talk to us with your square metreage and we'll give you a real number for your project.
Not if it's specified properly. Boards are supplied at a moisture content matched to New Zealand interiors and acclimatised on site before installation, which removes the single biggest cause of cupping.
Every board we supply is engineered rather than solid, which is what makes it forgiving on concrete slabs and in apartments. For underfloor heating, four of the five species are rated: Pequi, Tauari, Quaruba and Sucupira. Cumaru is not, so we will steer you away from it if you are heating the slab. Tell us your substrate and heating system and we will confirm compatibility and temperature limits in writing before you order.
You should. Screens lie about timber, because grain, depth and colour all shift under real light. Message us and we'll arrange samples of the species that suit your space so you can view them in the actual room.
We supply the timber and back the installation: substrate guidance, expansion detailing, adhesive and finish recommendations, and direct support for your installer during the job. If you don't have a flooring contractor yet, tell us where you are and we'll point you toward one.
Let's talk
No forms to fill in and nothing to sign. Send us a message, tell us what you're building, and we'll come back with the species that belong in it.