Materials, 6 min read
Timber selection in a two season climate
Movement is not a defect. Choosing and drying timber for interiors that swing between dry heat and heavy humidity.
Joseph Mnyika, 29 April 2026
Solid timber moves. Anyone who tells a client otherwise is either using veneer or setting up a warranty claim. The question is not whether a board will move but whether the construction allows it to.
Drying to the room, not to a number
We condition stock to the moisture content of the environment the piece is going to, not to a workshop standard. A table destined for a coastal villa and one going to a highland lodge leave our workshop at different readings.
Construction that permits movement
Buttoned tops, floating panels, breadboard ends with elongated fixings: the traditional answers still hold. What has changed is the engineering of cores for doors and large panels, where we now specify stable laminated substrates with solid facings.
