Protecting your outdoor furniture by professionally applying a stain or oil.

The purpose of staining outdoor furniture is many fold.

1. To make it look more attractive than the default timber it was made from.

2. To give it a uniform colour

3. To blend in with the house or environment

4. To protect it from the weather.

The first 3 items are superficial and most people are happy to achieve those 3 objectives. Most painters also keep their price down by only offering to meet the same top 3 points.

We on the other hand want to go a bit further and prolong the life of the table. To do this correctly, it is not good enough to simply slap on a superficial coat of stain or paint. An understanding of how weather affects timber is possibly worth revisiting.

Timber rot is usually associated with water and the most common areas that rot first are the joins. If you doubt this, take a look at an old paling fence and you will notice that the major rot areas are the joins at the posts and the surface where the paling join the rails. The least affected areas are the open surfaces.

The reasons for this are simple. The joins are not exposed to the same drying conditions of wind and sunshine as the exposed areas, and therefore they retain water and moisture for extended periods. Rain brings with it fine dust and soil that deposits into the joins and this creates a sponge affect that further prolonging the moist conditions.

When the rot starts to effect the joins the stability of the structure is also compromised as the hardware is now fixed to decaying timber. Timber fences and timber tables act in exactly that same manner when exposed to the elements.

We aim to address these issues by ensuring that the joins have a complete stain treatment. We do this by pre-cutting all the timber for a table and then staining each piece individually, (including all the joins and rebates). Oils and stains need a 24hr window to truly dry before we give all the components a second coat. After this has dried we then reassemble the table.

This process ensures that the complete joins are protected and it will significantly prolong the life of the furniture.

It is time consuming but well worth the investment if you want your furniture to last in the outdoors.

We use Cabot's Deck & Exterior Stains and Oils at $75 for a 4lt can. Stains and oils will give the timber much better water repellent qualities, especially inside the joins.

We charge a flat rate of $510 for a professional stain job on any of the A frame picnic tables. By professional we mean, tops and underneath and inside every join for 2 coats.

The colour choice is up to you. Check out any Bunning's store for a colour chart or Cabot's online at http://cabots.com.au/product-listing/product-detail/cabots-deck-exterior-stain-water-based

Staining options :

As with everything, some people want alternatives so the table below summarises the options we can provide.

Please allow for additional manufacture times when requesting staining. 2 coats will add 2 days to the job...

Also refer to understanding colour and timber finish

A common question often asked is Will my timber shrink ?

All prices quoted GST Exclusive Please check www.tktables.com.au for updated pricing and availability - Page 39