THERMALLY MODIFIED Ambara® WOOD

Introducing Ambara®, a proprietary lightweight, low density, and thermally modified West African tropical hardwood. We start with Ayous, which is also known as Obeche, and has a long history of use in plywood and veneers. Our proprietary thermal modification process gives our Ambara® a consistent and beautiful caramel color throughout the wood.

Sourced as a secondary species in the forests, this unmodified hardwood is not typically used for any exterior applications due to its low durability class. During the thermal modification the weight and density decreases slightly making the species not suitable for a decking or structural application. We recommend Ambara® for siding, cladding, trim boards, pergolas, and other non-structural uses. For applications such as decks, we suggest either dually modified Rhino wood, thermally modified Korina, or thermally modified Ash. Nova can offer all three of these species from sustainable sources.

As with Nova's other tropical hardwood species, our Ambara® originates from well managed forests and will come with full OLB, Origine et Légalité des Bois, certification. FSC, Forest Stewardship Council, certification may be available for larger projects when required.

The thermal modification of the Ambara® yields several benefits: It changes the color from a light pale yellow color to a very pleasant brown, making the species much more esthetically pleasing. It also decreases the movement and increases the stability of the wood making it well suited for extreme outdoor environments. Ayous can be used for outdoor siding and soffit applications as the process of thermal modification also increases its durability to the same class as Nova's tropical hardwood products like Batu and Bangkirai. Of course the wood can be used for interior applications as well.

Our superior manufacturing quality gives our customers a consistent, beautiful product which is properly conditioned, uniform in color and always on grade.

Ambara® can be used for exterior siding, trim and detail work. Left unfinished, Ambara® will gradually silver similar to Cedar. The thermal modification process makes the wood incredibly stable with movement of less than 1%, about 4 times less than Cedar which is renowned for stability.

We can offer both rough sawn boards as well as surfaced and graded boards in our Ambara® in order to ensure quality. Our Ambara® contains a mix of both vertical grain or quarter sawn and flat grain or flat sawn boards. Our distribution customers will frequently sort material to create a pure VG selection for a consistent appearance. Note that many of the flat sawn pieces contain some of the most beautiful figured grain patterns imaginable.

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