Spotted Gum is strong and durable timber with a good amount of natural oils. The heartwood ranges from a pale brown to dark chocolate brown, to deep red-brown, while the sapwood is white to light brown in colour. Spotted Gum is also a very attractive timber with a moderately coarse texture and typically wavy grain. Many people favour Spotted Gum because of this wavy grain, which can produce an attractive fiddle-back figure. Care needs to be taken in drying Spotted Gum for internal applications as the coarse nature of the timber can create surface checking if dried too quickly or too far. 

Due to its strength and durability, Spotted Gum is regularly used in heavy engineering, infrastructure and structural projects. It is used in mining, shipbuilding, bridge and wharf construction, and to make agricultural machinery, railway sleepers, cross arms, poles and piles.

Botanical Name: Corymbia maculata

Other Names: Lemon-scented gum, Eucalyptus maculata

Origin: Australia

Seasoning: Satisfactorily dried using conventional air and kiln seasoning methods.

Working Qualities: Spotted Gum, despite its strength and density is a great timber to work with as it has a good level of natural oils which allow easy machining. It accepts oil and stain well and has a lower tannin content than most other eucalyptus species. This means tannin staining and bleed-through is less of a problem. While it is excellent for machine work, Spotted Gum is also a good timber for carving and woodturning.

Uses: House framing, retaining walls, decking, fencing, landscaping, internal and external flooring, cladding, lining and joinery, indoor and outdoor furniture, plywood, veneer, bridge and wharf construction, poles and piles

Installation by Freedom Flooring Ltd