The direct synthesis of a borosilicate version of SSZ-31 was investigated starting from fumed silica and sodium berate as the silicon and boron source, respectively. As-synthesized boron Beta as a seed material was required for synthesizing fully crystalline material. The synthesis vessel has been observed to play a major role during the synthesis. Synthesis inside quartz tubes succeeded whereas that inside a teflon-lined stainless steel autoclave failed. Crystalline material was obtained inside the autoclave in presence of hollow quartz tubes. Part of the tetrahedral boron could be substituted by aluminum refluxing the as-calcined sample with aluminum nitrate solution.