How To Choose Your Garden Furniture And Make It Last

Learn how to choose the right garden furniture and treat look after it properly.As the garden and patio are becoming increasingly important areas of your house, so too is your garden furniture.

It will be worthwhile doing some research before buying any garden furniture.This research will pay off when you have the right garden furniture that will last a lifetime.Here are some important tips to bear in mind.

The first thing that you will need to decide is whether you want furniture that you can store away over winter or that you can leave outside all year round.If you have made the decision to keep the furniture in the garden throughout the year, it will need to be made from hardwearing materials like hardwood, aluminium or rust free wrought iron.Don’t be tempted to buy cheaper materials as you will only need to replace them which will cost you more in the long run.

It is paramount that you choose the right type of material for the job.Take inspiration from your garden or patio area when choosing the material.Choose a material that will balance out your garden.

Because of it is lightweight, comfortable and beautiful, wood is the best material for garden furniture.Tropical woods tend to be high in natural oils e.g. teak, iroko or courbaril, which make them ideal.These woods will fair well in the winter months as well as through the summer.  

Joints should be mortice and tenon, be wary if they are just metal bolts as these have the potential to corrode.Any fittings that are metal should be made from aluminium, brass or stainless steel so that they don’t rust when exposed to the elements.   
 
Make sure the construction is only premium grade teak for our garden furniture, so any knots, cracks and other defects are eliminated before the timber is used to build the furniture.Premium manufacturers dry the wood in a kiln to seal in the moisture and avoid cracks forming.   

All joints should have been assembled with glues containing epoxy resin which is weather resistant.   

If your teak garden furniture becomes dirty it is easy to clean with warm soapy water and a scrubbing brush which will enable you to restore the beautiful silver grey weathered look.   

For more intensive cleaning, you might want to use a pressure hose at no more than 80 bar (1200psi) and no close than 30cm.Add a small amount of bleach to the water once a year.  This will stop algae growing on the surface.   

If you do spill anything on the furniture, you can simply wipe it off with a light detergent although it will wash off in the rain eventually anyway.   

You may notice hairline cracks in the surface when the weather is dry.This is natural and no action needs to be taken as when the moisture in the atmosphere increases the timber will return to its original condition. 

Teak oil will enhance the natural finish of the wood, for best results apply it to new furniture.Teak oils vary so make sure you read the instructions first.Unless you want a very black finish, be sure to apply teak oil to dry wood only.     

Tagged with: garden furniture • outdoor furniture • patio furniture • teak furniture • teak garden furniture • wooden garden furniture

Filed under: Shed Roofing

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