Posts tagged teak garden furniture
Great Garden Furniture For Great Gardens
Dec 19th
Be ready for summer this year by thinking about your garden furniture now.
Cane furniture is great with some good quality cushions for putting out on the lawn, but if you want a more formal dining experience, that can be accommodated too.
You may want to incorporate some teak furniture that meshes well with your hardwood deck.
Aluminium furniture or cast iron will sit beautifully on a stone patio especially during the summer months.Here are a few handy tips that will get you on your way to choosing the perfect furniture to suit your patio, conservatory, decking area or garden this summer.
Furniture to fill a conservatory will have different attributes to furniture that will work in a lawned garden.If choosing furniture to fit a conservatory you will have to consider the rest of the house as it will need to sit comfortably alongside it.Consider teak if you have dark cherry furnishings in your house.To give the conservatory an air of the outdoors, opting for teak pieces that incorporate cane into their design creates the perfect ambiance.
Try cast aluminium which will look fantastic on a stone patio area in particular
Cast aluminium also looks great alongside the trees and plants of a garden, it tends to be intricately designed which gives it an extra beauty.Cast aluminium is really hard wearing so is definitely worth the investment.Ensure your guests comfort by purchasing some cushion for them to sit on.
You might be interested in furnishing your wood decking with a beautiful wood table and chairs set.One of the best choices would be a FSC certified patio set.These sets offer many seating configurations and styles.Choose a round table if it fills the space that you have available best, you can get round tables that seat up to eight people.Make the most of a rectangular deck or patio with a rectangular table, there are many available that can seat 8 guests.Teak (preferably FSC) will also stand out beautifully on a granite patio.
Buying The Best Garden Furniture
Dec 15th
If you plan to leave your patio or garden furniture outside throughout the year will need to be sure that it can stand extreme weather conditions.It would be helpful if all garden furniture was able to cope with such conditions but it seems some falls short of the grade.In the world of garden furniture it is fair to say “you get what you pay for”, often cheap furniture will fair poorly in the winter months.
Having established that we are now not going to buy the cheapest that we can find, what should we do next?First you will need to work out what material you would prefer, the two most common materials are as follows:
Metal Garden Furniture & Hardwood Garden Furniture
Metal Garden Furniture
Aluminium is the only metal used for manufacturing garden furniture that will last whatever is thrown at it.Aluminium will not rust in even the most severe weather conditions.Having decided on Aluminium, you then must look at whether to go for “Cast Aluminium”, which is often solid and is made from Aluminium that has been Cast into a mould, or “Framed Aluminium”, which although lighter, is normally equally as durable.
If you are sold on metal furniture, then Aluminium is definitely the way to go as it will last for many years.
Hardwood Garden Furniture
The reason I’m fond of hard wood is because there is always a slight variation between different sets.It is the grain that makes each piece slightly different.The amount of wooden garden furniture available on the market could fill an entire book, such is the choice.
However after selling Garden Furniture for over ten years, my choice has narrowed right down to only one type, which is “Teak Garden Furniture”.Teak really is the best wood at withstanding the weather, which is especially important in the UK where rain fall is guaranteed.
This is reflected in the price, teak is at the high end of the price range but then you won’t have to maintain it and it will last a life time.
Teak is a natural product, that is from a slow growing hard wood tree.Look out for the Forest Stewardship Councils (FSC) seal of approval on your teak furniture, to be sure that it has been produced in a responsible forest management system.
Teak is worth the initial investment when you consider that it will last up to 25 years.
How To Choose Your Garden Furniture And Make It Last
Dec 12th
A helpful guide to choosing the right garden furniture and how to make it last.Make the most of your garden by choosing some gorgeous garden furniture to go in it.
Before you buy any garden furniture it is strongly recommended that you do some research.This research will pay off when you have the right garden furniture that will last a lifetime.The following guide will help you to choose the right furniture.
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.Choose good, hardwearing materials, which will last for ages so save you money in the long run.
You will benefit greatly from choosing the best materials and design for the purpose.The best material will work in harmony with the materials already present in your garden.Try to avoid materials that will upset the balance of your garden.
Wood is the best all round as it is lightweight, aesthetically pleasing and comfortable but requires some maintenance.The most common hardwoods used in garden furniture are teak, iroko or courbaril because of they are have a high natural oil content.These woods are weather resistant and can be left outside throughout the year.
Make sure that mortice and tenon joints are used for your teak garden furniture and not bolts which 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.
All teak garden furniture should be made from premium materials so that it there are no surface defects that could affect the integrity of the material.Additionally, Make sure your teak garden furniture is kiln dried to optimise moisture content and ensure shape is maintained and cracks are eliminated.
To ensure that the joints won’t fail in cold weather or rain, check that they have been glued with epoxy resin based glues.
Once weathered, your teak furniture will have a greyish/silver colour to it, if it does need a bit of a clean, scrub it with some warm soapy water.
If required a pressure hose can be used at 60-80 bar [900-1200psi] at a distance of no less than 30cm.Add a small amount of bleach to the water once a year. This will stop algae growing on the surface.
You can remove any grease spots by washing immediately with light detergent, or just leave nature to take its course.
In dry weather small cracks will appear in the end of the grain timbers.There’s no need to do anything about this as the wood will correct itself once the moisture has returned to the air.
Teak oil improves the look of the furniture rather than the lifespan, apply it to new furniture for best results.Please ensure you follow the manufacturer’s instructions as usually this is a three stage process.Make sure the timber is completely dry when you apply the teak oil, otherwise the furniture will blacken.
