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| Where
is your furniture made? |
 |
Most
is crafted in the USA by small
town manufacturers who share our commitment to quality and
service. |
Furniture constructed
from foreign harvested lumber is crafted locally. However,
we carefully select our suppliers from outside the USA and we only
offer products from manufactures that keep a direct,
quality-conscious, North American hand in their
off-shore operations. These are people we know and can talk
to if there's ever a need. Our top-quality New River furniture is produced in the south
of Brazil, our painted hardwood Adirondack furniture comes from
Europe (Poland), the tropical Shorea line is manufactured in
Vietnam and our painted Red Cedar chairs are hand-made in Canada.
|
What
types of wood are used? |
| We
offer a variety of woods - all chosen for their beauty, durability
and value. Unfinished furniture is made from pressure-treated, farm-grown southern Yellow Pine, plantation-grown
Cypress, Northern White Cedar, Mahogany and Shorea. Finished furniture is
crafted from Old Growth Redwood, Western Red Cedar, Cherry,
Alder and South American hardwoods. We also offer plastic
Enviro"wood", Poly"wood", Poly-Lumber and
Eco-Lumber furniture manufactured from recycled
materials.
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Is
the wood durable enough for outdoor use? |
| Yes, all
are highly rated for natural
decay and disease resistance by the Forest Products
Laboratory. Pressure
treatment deeply protects wood against water and insect damage and
pressure treated Pine is perfect for any climate. Cypress grows
in southern swamps and is naturally resistant to water and insect decay by
producing the compound "cypressine". Redwood and Cedar (both Northern White and Western Red)
grow in cool, moist
conditions while
Mahogany, Shorea and Jatoba are all dense, tropical woods.
Our outdoor furniture is suitable for the salt air beaches of Florida,
the rain forests of Washington, the deserts of Arizona and the
mountain snows of Colorado.
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Does
the unfinished furniture have to be finished? |
| No, pressure-treated
Pine, Cypress, White Cedar, Shorea and Mahogany can all be left
natural
(and many people do this). However, your unfinished furniture will
last longer if a finish is applied. At the minimum, we recommend treatment with an
easily applied water sealant of the type used on outdoor decks (we
do this ourselves). Left this way, the wood will slowly weather to
a soft silver gray. Some natural cracks may appear, however
these do not usually affect the strength of the wood.
|
If
I choose to finish it - what should I use? |
| That
depends on where you live - the answer being different for say,
Seattle versus Phoenix. We find that your local hardware store
- such as an Ace or TruValue - can offer the best advice and product selection
as they know their products well and stock what works
best for the local area. In
general - you can use either stain or paint. Easily applied
exterior water-based paints work quite well; oil based paint is
generally not necessary.
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Is
assembly difficult?
|
| No
- these are not kits! All
furniture is partially assembled - everything that can be put
together has been put together so that all you need to do is attach legs, arms,
seat, back, etc. Assembly instructions are available on the
website or are included with shipped items. All hardware
is included and holes are predrilled for easy assembly.
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