Some of the best wooden furniture pieces in the world are made of aged pine and red oak. Both these woods are excellent for making furniture for indoor use but as far as outdoor furniture is concerned, both of these wouldn't be able to withstand harsh rains and the scorching heat from the sun.
For furniture to withstand the harsh dynamics of weather, even mild drizzles and soft sunlight, it needs to be made up of wood that carries with it, some natural resistance to problems like termite infection and rot.
Woods that can withstand Harsh Weather Conditions
While some woods like redwood, cypresses as well as cedars contain special chemical compounds that bacteria's, bugs and other decomposing agents find offensive, others like black locust and white oak can inhibit rot through structures like tyloses, that fill up the pores to prevent moisture and organisms that cause decomposition to enter into the inner layers. These woods can withstand all weather dynamics, year after year.
Other Rot-Resistant Wood Types
There are a number of other naturally rot resistant woods! They are basically divided into two main categories:
Domestic Species
These are the ones generally used for making outdoor furniture. These include the one we've already mentioned above, i.e. the white oak. In addition to this, this category includes black cherry, walnut and some species of cedars.
The Domestic Species is however, extremely expensive and is rarely used for making commercial garden furniture (though, you can always get made to order furniture for your home).
Tropical Species
There are dozens of tropical species that can be used for making outdoor furniture. Two of the most popular species are teak and mahogany. Both of these woods (especially mahogany which is also being used for making acoustic wooden musical instruments) have been harvested to such an extent that the process has led to deforestation in South East Asia as well as South America.
As a result of this, garden furniture manufacturers have turned to using lesser known species with almost the same characteristics as teak and mahogany. This has further led to the discovery of even better wood types such as eucalyptus, ipe, balau, iroko, kempas and jarra.
These wood types will be used more and more in the future. Alternatively, plantation-grown teak is also being use extensively for furniture construction.
Caring For Such Woods
This involves nothing more than polishing. Some quality of woods will develop a layer of silverish deposit that may need to be scraped with a fine grain sand paper, once a year. Don't sand the wood too much!
Furniture with oil finishing should be dealt with in a similar manner. After sanding, a light coat of recommended oil polish would suffice!
By:Nathan Oram
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