This guide will help you to choose the right garden furniture and make it last.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 will make it more likely that you’ll get the right furniture and it will last for time to come.This guide will help you to find the right set for you.

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 elected to keep the garden furniture outside all year round, you will need to go for hardwood, aluminium or wrought iron that won’t rust.Choose good, hardwearing materials, which will last for ages so save you money in the long run.

Getting the right construction and material will make all the difference.Choose a material that will complement you garden or patio garden.Select a material that will stay in balance with your garden.

Apart from the need for slight maintenance, wood is probably the best material that 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.

Make sure that mortice and tenon joints are used for your teak garden furniture and not bolts which corrode.If there are metal nuts and bolts, make sure that they are made from rust proof materials namely: aluminium, stainless steel or brass.

Check that teak garden furniture has been made from premium grade teak, this will ensure that there are no cracks or defects in the wood.Ideally, your teak furniture will have been kiln dried so the moisture content is at an optimum, this will stave away the dreaded cracks.

Check that glues containing epoxy resin has been used on the joints – this will ensure that they don’t crack apart in cold weather.

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.

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.

During periods of dry weather, the wood might start to crack slightly.Don’t worry about this, the wood will regain its moisture naturally overtime.

Teak oil improves the look of the furniture rather than the lifespan, apply it to new furniture for best results.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.

Comments are closed.