Rattan garden furniture

IvanDobskey

IvanDobskey

IvanDobskey

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Now we have a nice new patio, we could do with some nice garden furniture for it :) where is the best place to get something half decent but not stupidly expensive? Probably looking for a medium sized table and four chairs.
 
It's worth considering deciding between stuff that stays outside and furniture to store indoors. The OH is bug averse, so we have simple wooden garden furniture which is left outside and some fitted cushions that go in the garage when not in use. This way I can simply give the furniture a quick brush down and fit the cushions.

Rattan furniture is full of crevices and would be bug paradise. You can get covers but I'm not sure how effective they are.

I'm not worried myself, I wouldn't sit on a bug in clear sight, I'd swipe it out of the way and just sit on the bare wood, but the OH is the opposite.
 
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bainbridge said:
Rattan furniture is full of crevices and would be bug paradise.
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Aye, my missus has made it abundantly clear that there’s to be none of that ‘wickery crap’ on our patio as it will have ‘every spider and creepy crawly using it as a hotel’…..so looks like I’m making furniture for it now instead. :(
 
We had some rattan stuff but it rusted and fell to bits within 5 years, was very poor value. It traps moisture between the plastic wrap and the metal frame so it rusts super quickly.

Also it is a perfect habitat for bugs and spiders, depends if that bothers anyone who's going to be using it but it's pretty standard to be sitting there and have a spider crawl across your leg.

We ended up getting some hardwood stuff as that should last a lot longer and less places for bugs to hide and breed!
 
IvanDobskey said:
I'm sure a good jet wash every month or so would sort that out.
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It won’t. Creepy crawlies love the stuff. As posted above, moisture gets trapped in the furniture in all sorts of nooks and crannies providing perfect little damp, sheltered spots for the buggers to set up home.
2 days after being power washed it’ll be central again.
 
A decent fitted cover will sort out the "leaving it outside" issue. Ours has been outside all winter, through the various storms. I uncovered it last week and it's absolutely perfect still.
 
I spray grease over all the welds and joints on ours before covering it up for winter. Had it 5 years now and still in good condition.

Easy to see how they'd rust pretty quick if nothing was done to preserve them.
 
IvanDobskey said:
Surely the metal frames would be aluminium? Using steel on something designed to be outside is a bit daft.
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Some are, some aren't. Plastic coated steel is quite common, which is fine until it isn't. As soon as cracks appear in the plastic coating it becomes a moisture barrier and that's pretty much curtains for the furniture.
 
I have a pure plastic construction set from Amazon. 7 years old. Works great. I can get my wife to ping a link if you want.
 
Yeah defo don't get one with a steel frame like i did, mine was plastic coated but still rotted like no ones business within 5 years :( i had a cover on mine every winter too but i think even then the plastic wrap traps moisture so it still rots out even under a cover.

You won't know its rotten until you sit on it one day and it collapse around you as you can't see the frame.

Im sure an aluminium framed one would be good though but you're still left with the insect issues.
 
I got my outdoor sofa set from Club Rattan 3 years ago. Still looks in good condition, the cushions are stored in one of those outdoor plastic containers over the winter and the chairs are covered. The frame is either galvanised steel or aluminium, not sure which I have but I imagine it'll be galvanised steel.
 
sovietspybob said:
i think even then the plastic wrap traps moisture so it still rots out even under a cover.
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What usually happens is the plastic coating on the metal breaks down over time, cracks etc and eventually lets water in at the metal underneath. At that point it’s only a matter of time before it’s for the dump.
 
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