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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 10:31am - Edited by: KinAlberta
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Everyone’s thoughts and experiences with patio furniture left at the cabin please.
Wood (teak, cedar, redwood, etc)
Real wicker
Plastic
Resin wicker
Resin wicker (thick strand vs thin)
Aluminum vs coated steel
Fixed vs collapsible
Storage or protection
Do you use it indoors and out?
(A cabin design consideration might be doors wide enough for quick hassle-free moving of furniture in and out.)
Security
(I suppose there’s always some risk that someone might steal it or in our northern location, use it when ice fishing)
In my case, our cabin’s deck furniture faces very different conditions and treatment than our outdoor furniture in the city.
At our cabin, unless it folds up, it gets left outside unprotected. It can sit weeks, months and years without being turned, or even moved and so the sun, wind and rain hits it from the same direction. Leaves and spruce needles accumulate on it. It gets buried in snow and sits in the high humidity conditions next to the lake. It goes through at least -30 F to +30 F. Ours is never tarped or protected.
Recently I started looking at the newer resin wicker outdoor furniture and all the furniture looks very impressive. As I looked closer though I’ve started to notice and compare differences like aluminum vs coated steel frames, the cushion thickness and material (“Sunbrella vs. Other stuff), thin and flat wicker strands vs the thick rounded strand or cord. On this last point, a couple reviews posted by buyers mentioned the weave (or strands) breaking so now I wonder if some of that thin flat weave style is destined for failure.
So I guess if I buy anything to sit at the cabin, I don’t want a resin that breaks and fails or then I’ll face a big inconvenience of hauling it to a dump. (Good old cedar furniture and picnic tables could always be repurposed as something - including firewood).
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Borrego
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# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 10:41am
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I build my own out of left over pieces of construction wood or pallets (lots of good videos on youtube about pallet furniture)
We put ours out by the firepit for the winter season (desert season goes from Oct - May) then hide it under the porch to protect it from the summer sun. Our furniture on the front porch and screen porch is an eclectic bunch and pretty much stays in the same place all year long.
I suppose for durability, metal furniture would be best, but it can get hot and is not as comfortable...
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Nate R
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# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 10:53am
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So far, we're using old aluminum framed chairs with woven plastic webbing. Similar to this: https://www.truevalue.com/folding-chair-aluminum-woven-blue-webb
But, we don't leave it out. Light, foldable, easy enough to carry inside and store indoors when we go home.
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 10:54am - Edited by: KinAlberta
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Well last year I bought a couple old weathered Adirondack chairs, plus one never assembled, donated by Jasper Park Lodge to our Habitat for Humanity and cleaned them up and painted them bright colours. I couldn’t believe how much work that was. Sanding, gluing, screwing, clamping, priming, painting, painting, painting... (Built the third chair out of the box and it went well and used half the paint.)
Anyway, after all that, I know they are not going to weather at all well at the cabin unless I start to cover them.
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 12:41pm - Edited by: KinAlberta
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That’s what we used for years. Great light chairs until the webbing fails. Then we went to the bigger all plastic folding chairs.
This comment below highlights my concern that I might regret going cheap on a resin wicker set.
Thick Wicker Furniture Sets with Rounded Strands
OCTOBER 28, 2014 BY ADMIN
“Thick wicker is rounder than flatter types of weave. Many people like the look of thick wicker furniture because it looks like it’s a higher quality, and they’re right. Because it uses more material, the cost of thicker weaves is usually around 15% higher than regular wicker. These pieces are thicker and have a cord like construction instead of thinner and flatter wicker strands that are most common.
...quality all-weather synthetic resin wickers... This is not the type of wicker furniture that will crack, peel, fade or begin unraveling. ...â€
https://www.patioproductions.com/blog/patio-furniture/thick-wicker-furniture-sets-wit h-rounded-strands/
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bobrok
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# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 01:39pm - Edited by: bobrok
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LOL!
Even though we are in the Adirondacks we have only one geniune Adirondack-made wooden chair which we've painted and keep covered when not in use.
Other than this we use the plastic faux chairs along with bag chairs.
Easier to clean, stackable for storage.
The fellow who made our one authentic chair is an old-timer and claims to be descended from the man who created the original design back in the 19th century.
Dubious. I've heard and read of many "first" claims over the years.
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Greenland South
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# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 05:55pm
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Buy some plans and build your own. Here's one I built from plans I bought from Fine Woodworking. We also have some heavy cast furniture that doesn't blow away. Stuff stays on the deck year round.
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Borrego
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# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 06:10pm
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Nice Greenland South!!!
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Wilbour
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# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 07:05pm - Edited by: Wilbour
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My American neighbours have their local Amish build super heavy stuff out of that plastic that looks like wood. Then they bring it across the boarder. To save taxes they then get a fake tax receipt so the $600 US swing was marked at $150.
When I found out she paid $600 for a swing my jaw dropped. They must now have about 3 grand worth of stuff out on their wrap around we deck.
Half the value of my cabin.
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Ontario lakeside
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# Posted: 15 Jun 2018 07:14pm - Edited by: Ontario lakeside
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I build my own from construction lumber. Holding up great after a few seasons with no protection . And the price is right!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHKvw3uUfks&t=7s
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ShabinNo5
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# Posted: 16 Jun 2018 06:30pm - Edited by: ShabinNo5
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We use black iron chairs. Found two for 15 dollars at a garage sale that swivel and rock. Our property is on a hillside that gets windy (35-50 mph) as storms roll through. The weight keeps them on our patio.
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Greenland South
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2018 10:21am
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Those are cool looking chairs ShabinNo5
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2018 10:37am
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What’s in the barrel? 
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ShabinNo5
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# Posted: 17 Jun 2018 08:58pm
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Thanks... We enjoy the chairs. Unfortunately the wine barrel is empty, but it does work well as a table for drinks!
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NealKiger
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# Posted: 11 Oct 2018 07:09am
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That was really nice Greenland South.
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Greenland South
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# Posted: 16 Dec 2018 09:13pm
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Couple more park benches for the deck. These ones are out of white oak.
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Fanman
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# Posted: 17 Dec 2018 08:00am
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We have some painted steel frame chairs that have held up fairly well, been 8 years now, they sit out all year. Those are the tan things in the picture, must have blown over before the snow fell. We had some wood framed chairs (fake redwood) that we got used that eventually had to be scrapped.
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Eddy G
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# Posted: 17 Dec 2018 09:00am
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We put our stuff on a pallet to keep it off the ground, wrap it with a big blue tarp and then use a few ratchet straps to hold it all down.
We've got one nice wooden Adirondack chair and a metal patio set 4 chairs and a table.
I tuck it out behind the wood shed (heavy tree cover back there).
Our place is really remote but we still have some awesome full time neighbors so there is always a watchful eye around.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 17 Dec 2018 12:50pm - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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Pallets are great for keeping things off the ground.
We have a lot of flat rocks laying around. We put those under the pallets to keep them off the ground. They might last a little longer.
Most of our outdoor furniture was found at the side of the street on trash day. All of our plastic chairs were found this way. IDK why people throw them out. There was nothing wrong with any of them.
I also found a plastic chaise lounge at the dump and a patio umbrella that went from the hands of the person throwing it out to me.
It had a few small holes in it. It's canvas so I ironed on some cute patches inside.
Estate sales, yard sales and garage sales are also great places to find inexpensive outdoor furniture.
One of the best things we ever bought for our cabin was a 8 foot long picnic table kit. The wood is western red cedar. That table has been going strong for the past 25 years.
Before we had our cabin we would cover it with a canvas sailcloth I found on the shore, just put rocks on top to keep the cloth on. After we built we kept it under the overhang of the cabin. That's now a four season porch. Now the table is on the deck tipped to keep the snow off uncovered. We will see how it works out. We did sand and spray paint the frame this summer, a forest green color. There was some spots of rust. We also have used Perma chink stain and topcoat twice on the wood leftovers from our cabin. It looks almost brand new.
I agree with the black iron chairs Shabin has. I purchased a set brand new about 30 years ago along with two side tables and a love seat glider. These items are outside year round at my city house. The glider under the overhang on my front porch. The chairs and tables on my deck. With the exception of a little paint fading they look almost new. No rust.
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 27 Jun 2020 09:33am - Edited by: KinAlberta
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Ok, now I’m totally convinced that I need to find good durable indestructible patio furniture that can just be left outside 24/7 365 days a year for years, without then needing massive restoration effort.
Last week at 5 am after a near sleepless night I started a new project that I thought would only take an hour or so. I started scraping off an old cedar picnic table so I could stain it. Hours of hard labour later all I’d managed to do was hand scrap, wire brush and stain the top and seats. Look underneath and you’d see the result of 40 years of moisture and growth that I couldn’t scrape off. It will take a couple hours of wire brushing. (I don't have a belt sander.)
I should just gave scrapped it rather than scraped it. Its been a PITA. Because they are hard for one person to move around our two remaining tables clutter our deck. I got tired of dragging or flipping them back and forth whenever I mowed the grass.
Bottom line: I’m on the hunt for some decent patio furniture that won’t just turn into another make work project.
Cast aluminum?
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Brettny
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# Posted: 27 Jun 2020 10:01am
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Cast aluminum is nice furniture. Very pricey though. Left outside 24/7 on any fabric or seat type material is not going to last.
Our old camp had picnic table that had metal legs and 2x material for top and seats. I guess if it got bad enough it's less than $100 for all new wood.
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KinAlberta
Member
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# Posted: 28 Jun 2020 04:07am
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Marine plywood tops, metal legs and wheels would be perfect!
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