Pairing gorgeous mid-brown tones with phenomenal physical properties, Thermo-Ayous is an innovative, versatile, sustainable, attractive and high-performance product for any outdoor timber project.

It’s particularly popular as a cheaper alternative to Western Red Cedar. Let’s take a deeper dive into this on-trend timber.

What is Thermo-Ayous and how is it made?

Ayous is a tropical hardwood tree native to the forests of Central and West Africa. With the botanical name Triplochiton scleroxylon, Ayous is also known as African whitewood, Obeche, Samba, Abachi and Wawa. These trees typically grow to around 50m in height.

Ayous’ modification process consists of drying, heating and cooling the timber in a controlled atmosphere. This produces chemical changes to the cell structure of the Ayous that not only alters its appearance, but increases its durability — again, performing similarly to cedar when used outdoors.

By limiting shrinking and swelling, heat treatment provides the wood with additional dimensional stability, guarding the wood against warping as a result of changes in moisture. The process also provides the timber with enhanced resistance to a range of microorganisms and insects — suited for outdoor application and exposure to the elements.

Thermo-Ayous achieves a 1–2 Class durability rating according to EU standards, with a possible service life of over 50 years.

Before treatment, Ayous timber has a creamy white, light yellow appearance. After undergoing its process of sustainable thermal modification and drying, Ayous’ appearance darkens to a luxurious, versatile medium brown — suited to almost any design and similar in tone to Western Red Cedar.

The boards are clear grade, uniform and essentially knot free, again attracting many comparisons to cedar in terms of its feel and ‘fabric’. Easy to maintain and with a smooth feel, Thermo-Ayous takes finishes and stains exceptionally well and machines easily.

What can Thermo-Ayous timber be used for?

Thermal treatment provides the wood with excellent moisture and decay resistance and dimensional stability, making Thermo-Ayous ideal for external cladding applications. Available in vertical or horizontal, the species is also increasingly popular for slatted fencing projects. Thermo-Ayous’ medium-brown tones can be equally at home inside as an internal wall cladding species.

At 330kg/m³ at 8% moisture content, this product is relatively lightweight, which can make it more prone to abrasion, scratches and dents than other hardwoods. But don’t confuse a lack of density with a lack of durability; as mentioned, Ayous is a fabulous outdoor timber. Note that Ayous can react with iron, so be sure to use stainless steel fixings.

How much does Thermo-Ayous cost?

Compared to other popular softwoods popularly applied ourdoors, Thermo-Ayous is typically slightly cheaper. It sits at the mid range.

In a stylish tongue and V-groove cladding profile, Thermo-Ayous sits around the £50 per m² price point. To compare, you’ll be paying roughly £65 for the equivalent in Western Red Cedar. That’s a handy saving for a species with a similar colour tone, appearance, properties and ‘look and feel’.

If you were working on a typical garden room — 3.8 length x 2.4m width, 2.2m height, for example — to clad all walls and allow for an 8’ bifold door, you’ll need in the region of 22m² of cladding. Remember to allow approximately 10% for waste on top, giving a total required of 24m². In Thermo-Ayous, this would cost around £1200. In Western Red Cedar, it would be priced at around £1560.

If you’re planning a slatted fencing project, expect to slightly less for Thermo-Ayous than you would with Western Red Cedar or Siberian Larch (£2.15 versus £2.25 and £2.75 respectively per linear metre for 18x45mm slats).

Note that prices are correct as of May 2024 and can be subject to change!

Is Thermo-Ayous sustainable?

When sourced from well-managed woodland, Ayous is a very sustainable species; the trees grow relatively quickly and the species is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

That’s in addition to the environmentally-friendly treatment process that gives each board dramatically extended service life (and therefore a reduced likelihood of needing replacement). Thermo-Ayous is also a non-toxic product.

The challenge is being sure that your Ayous comes from a sustainably-managed forest. Historically, these trees have been subject to illegal logging, notably in Cameroon. Forest exploitation has multifaceted, dramatic impacts on the environment and biodiversity.

That’s why we have a clear, unequivocal environmental commitment — so you can be confident your timber is coming from an ethical, eco-friendly woodland. We’re delighted to be certified suppliers of PEFC and FSC-certified timber.

Begin your Thermo-Ayous timber project today

Cladding your garden room? Giving your property’s boundary a fencing facelift? Or working on a commercial project? Whatever your project — however big or small — count on us.

As a third-generation family timber importer and machinist, we take great pride in our customer service and the superior quality of all timber products supplied.

When you enquire with us, you’ll be assigned a project handler who’ll be with you at every stage — from scoping out costs, nailing those finer details, solving any stresses and the eventual delivery of your product.

Whether you’re sold on Thermo-Ayous or you’re thinking of a different species for your cladding, fencing or decking project, our team can’t wait to hear from you.