Garden Furniture This Autumn

With the nights getting cooler, the days not quite as pleasant, and the weather overall taking a turn for the worst it’s time to turn our attention to getting the garden furniture ready for the autumn and winter ahead. So whether yours stays outside, or you pack it away, now is the time to get ready.

Outdoor Wooden Furniture

We have all seen the impact of heavy rain and moisture on untreated wood. From colour draining to warping, swelling and all the unpleasantness that comes with wet wood. So make sure that you prepare your wooden furniture.
This month will see the last of the dry days, making it an ideal time to weather treat your furniture. Head into your local hardware store to find the best wood treatment to combat the bad weather. Make sure you read the tins well as some garden paints do not protect against the rain and simply change the colour or stain the wood.
Once your wood has been treated and left to air dry, invest in the best furniture cover you can find to fit. This will help to protect the wood.
If you already have a cover and are wondering why you still need to treat the wood, this is because the moisture on the ground will travel up the legs of the furniture and into the whole piece.

Outdoor Metal Or Rattan Furniture

As with wooden furniture, we still recommend covering your furniture to help protect it against the elements.
With metal furniture, the majority of the piece will be weather resistant. However, we often find that the fixtures themselves are not. Such as the screws and joints. This means that they can easily rust and not only look unsightly but also cause issues if you need to tighten or adjust anything. You can get weather paint to cover these that should not impact the use of the screws in the future. Please see your local hardware store for advice.
Rattan furniture is heavily impacted by both sunny weather and rain. The sun can dry the furniture out and make it brittle, while the rain can swell it or make it stretch out of shape. This means that you will ideally want to cover this furniture sooner rather than later. You will also want to ensure, that even with covers on, the rain cannot pool on the seats as the weight over time will stretch them out of shape.

Bringing Furniture Inside

For those who have lovely sized sheds, garages or even outhouses where you can store your garden furniture for the winter, great! This can help to improve the lifespan of your furniture greatly.
With most furniture, if you can store it intact this is great. However, if you are having to flatpack your furniture, ensure you document where each piece goes back together to make the rebuild easier. You will also want to ensure that you store all fixtures appropriately for the same reason.
Try to ensure that nothing is stored on your furniture while it is in storage as extended periods of time can leave imprints in the furniture.
With wooden furniture, if you are taking it apart, ensure that you leave it as flat as possible. Even in the dry, the cool damp air can still warp the furniture if left at awkward angles standing up. Which can make reconstruction and use difficult.

However you prepare your furniture for the winter, ensure that it is dry before being covered or brought inside to help reduce the risk of rot and mould. If you require help getting your garden winter-ready, please get in touch with the team today who will be happy to discuss your needs and assist moving forward.