Choice of material for outdoor / garden furniture
The exterior of a house or business space, which is intended for socializing and well-being, is very important, as it contributes to the whole architecture. The garden is an “outdoor living room”. If the garden is beautifully landscaped, you should feel the same inside the house, so beautiful, protected and comfortable.
As in the interior, it is important that the garden furniture gets its important dimension. In addition to functional components, comfort and aesthetics, it is important that outdoor furniture is made of materials that are resistant to weathering. If we want to have as little maintenance as possible with them, as well as that they are made of materials that allow this.
Today we have a large range of products on the market that are made of artificial materials and seemingly offer a low price and easy maintenance.
On the other hand, we have a slightly higher price range of materials and furniture, but they also offer something more. Natural materials are still and probably will be in the highest class: wood and metal. By choosing wood that is intended for outdoor use, we can achieve that its lifespan will be very long. With proper metalworking, however, we have little or no work to do. The combination of both – wood and metal can contribute to outdoor furniture with a long lifespan, beautiful aesthetic appearance and comfort.
In addition to the characteristics of the tree species, the time of felling and the conditions in which a particular tree grew also affect the resistance. The best quality is the wood of trees that grew on a cold site and were cut down in winter. Slow-growing trees from shady sites at higher altitudes have more resistant wood, which is less attractive to insects and less prone to disease. The vegetation period is shorter in such conditions, and the dormancy periods are longer. In winter, all the nutrients in the wood are used up, so in winter the cut wood reaches optimal humidity faster – it dries faster than a fallen tree in summer. In contrast, wood has the most juice in the spring and summer months, and wood cut in the summer dries more slowly. Therefore, the traditional “drought” felling technique has been developed, which is typical of the summer months. The felled trees were left to lie in the woods along with the canopy for several weeks, so that the leaves helped evaporate the tree sap. Thus treated logs dry faster, but due to time consuming (the need to return to the job site) the technique is rarely used, and only when felling for their own needs.
At HARD we offer the following types of wood for outdoor / garden furniture:
1. OAK
2. European chestnut
3. Teak
4. mahogany
5. Siberian larch
Solid wood is solid profile wood that is shaped and processed from all sides. Even the most valued is still solid wood, which is more difficult to afford today due to the growth of production and transport costs. Wood is obtained from coniferous or deciduous species. Tree species are quite different from each other, so it is important to pay attention to which solid wood we will choose for a specific use.
Glued board has significantly better properties than solid wood. Due to the processing and removal of weak parts, glued wood is extremely stable and strong.
Veneers are thin sheets of wood up to 8 mm thick obtained by cutting and peeling veneer logs. The thickness of the veneer depends on the tree species, method of manufacture and purpose of use.
Ultrapas is a thin layer of plastic that is attached to a chipboard in a press. It is important that all parts are well glued together, as dirt accumulates behind poorly attached parts. Ultrapas is resistant to shocks and heat, it can also be easily cleaned with water and most other chemical agents, potential problems can only be contact with the wall, as usually there the contact replaces some other filler (plastic or wooden finish strip). Ultra-strip panels offer the largest selection of colors and patterns, from wood to stone and a variety of paintings.
MDF stands for medium density fiberborads. They are made of wood fibers (beech, spruce and fir) with the addition of resin.
