Oak Patio Furniture
Owen Jones | April 17, 2010Oak is one of the best timbers to use for patio garden furniture. It is local to most Western countries and, being a hardwood, can endure the weather, if treated properly. It is very hard-wearing and, so long as you maintain it, it will give you enjoyment and comfort on your garden patio for decades to come.
Oak is definitely not inexpensive, but if you consider that it will last for ten to twenty years, whereas plastic and metal may last two to four years, it does not work out a bad deal over the long term and during that period, you will have been sitting on garden furniture that is the bee’s knees in every way.
Just a point of interest here that will give you more scope when you are buying your hardwood garden furniture, oak and cherry wood share many of the same characteristics as far as garden patio furniture is concerned.
The patterns of whorls and rings in the timber is truly beautiful, so in order to maintain the stocks of these trees, please make sure that your patio furniture comes from a replenishable source.
Make sure you follow the maker’s recommendations as far as preservation is concerned. This will prolong the life of your hardwood furniture, making sure that you will get extra life – up to twice as much – life out of your hardwood garden furniture.
The manufacturer or craftsman will probably deliver your furniture primed and stained and maybe varnished too. If you get raw timber furniture, the maker is probably leaving your options open. The least you should do is rub an oil into it.
Ask at your decorators’ merchants or timber merchants which is the best. You could also stain it and varnish it. Ask to see examples before you go ahead, but it has to be done at least once a year anyway, so you can change strategy when it wears off.
This grade of furniture will be seen often at commercial venues, because it is so hard wearing and long lasting, if correctly looked after. You should let commercial sense guide you and follow suit, if you can afford it. If you cannot afford a full suite of hardwood garden patio furniture all in one go, why not buy one or two pieces of furniture a year?
Once you have your furniture in situ, you can start thinking about accessories. The most common accessories are lighting, power points, mosquito zappers, sun shades and patio heaters. You will perceive that restaurants and pubs with a patio will use patio heaters when the weather gets cooler.They have to do this, otherwise customers would peter out.
You can learn from this for your back garden. Get yourself a patio heater so that you can enjoy your garden patio in comfort every month of the year. Add a few extra plants and a few nocturnal blossoming plants. Put in a small pond with a fountain and some fish. Finish the whole picture with a few spotlights pointing at your favourite features and hang up a mosquito trap. This way you will get the most out of your oak or cherry wood garden patio furniture.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with commercial patio heaters. If you are interested in patio heaters too, please click through to Residential Patio Heaters.
