Decking timber
Jatoba — sometimes written Jatobá, and traded as Brazilian cherry — is a dense hardwood used for outdoor decks as well as interior floors.
Overview
Jatoba is a heavy tropical hardwood, salmon to orange-brown when freshly sanded, darkening toward a deeper red-brown in light. In Cape Town it is discussed as a decking board where a warm hardwood colour is wanted and supply exists.
At a glance
Our approach
Jatoba is considered for Cape Town residential and hospitality decks that can take a dense board and a colour that will change. Full sun, coastal air and wet shade each change how fast the surface weathers.
The timber is hard, interlocked in grain at times, and needs the usual hardwood discipline: sharp tools, pre-drilling, exterior fasteners. It is denser than pine and than many eucalypts, and usually a different colour family from yellow Balau or honey Garapa. Indoor flooring Jatoba and outdoor decking Jatoba are not automatically the same profile or moisture content. Deckspertz does not publish a lifespan, a rate card, or a maintenance-free claim for this timber.
Winelands and southern-suburb gardens with good drying can show Jatoba’s colour for longer if oiled. Atlantic seaboard and peninsula sites add salt and wind — fasteners and end-grain sealing matter as much as the species name. Jatoba is not described here as the default for every Bishopscourt or Camps Bay deck. Availability of decking-grade boards has to be checked for the job.
Light darkens Jatoba; UV then pushes an uncoated deck toward brown-grey. Oils emphasise the red-orange while they remain on the surface. Checking and minor movement occur as with other outdoor hardwoods. Indoor furniture colour is not what an uncoated Cape Town deck will look like after seasons of sun.
Jatoba is included because it is commonly discussed for Cape Town decking. It is not named on a completed Deckspertz project page at the time this guide was written. A Jatoba floor would be specified from the site, the profile available, and the finish the owner wants to live with. Supply in Cape Town changes. This page is a species guide, not a stock list.
Related pages
Questions
The usual trade spelling is Jatoba (Jatobá). Same timber: Hymenaea courbaril.
No. Light and weather change Jatoba. Coatings slow the change; they do not stop outdoor weathering.
Start a project
Share the suburb, how the outdoor floor will be used, and photographs if you have them. Availability of Jatoba is checked for the job.
Phone 021 001 2097, WhatsApp +27 63 970 7843, email [email protected].
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