About teak

Doddington Park furniture is made of solid, high quality teak from plantations in the Far East.  The special qualities of this teak make it the only wood to consider for outdoor use.  Good teak has a very high natural oil content and will last for many years outdoors in all weather even if completely untreated.  This high oil content combined with the beautiful appearance of teak makes it one of the most expensive timbers available (just ask a boat builder!)  We supply only fully assembled, properly constructed furniture from A-grade plantation teak.

Construction

Our furniture is supplied fully assembled and is properly constructed using the best proven methods of square mortice and tenon joints, teak pegs and exterior epoxy glue in the joints so no movement is possible.
The problem with self-assembled furniture is that the construction necessarily has to be simple so that the average person can put it together.  It reduces the costs for the supplier but construction design suffers greatly.  For example, legs often have to be fixed with a bolt rather than a proper joint.  Joints can’t be too tight or the customer will have trouble fitting the item together.  This sort of construction allows movement and this movement will get progressively worse.  Before too long the whole item becomes loose and rickety.

If you want sound construction you should always buy fully assembled furniture and steer clear of anything which requires self-assembly.

The wood

• the term “hardwood” is virtually meaningless. Some hardwoods are useless while some softwoods are very good. This term is often used to make an inferior wood sound good
• “teak”: wherever you buy you must be able to inspect the furniture because quality now varies so widely.  In particular, over the past few years the practice has grown of using teak sapwood trimmings. This is then marketed as “teak” furniture.  Quite properly these trimmings were previously not used for making furniture but now, unfortunately, a lot of this “teak” is on the market. This sapwood is soft and spongy and lacks the oil.  Our own furniture never uses this wood.  We use only wood from the centre of the cuts so that it is strong with a very high oil-content and will give many years of use in all weather
• Every piece of our furniture comes from plantations NOT from native forest.  More and more furniture being sold in the UK is made from teak from the native forests of Burma, often manufactured in Vietnam.  We sell only  furniture that we can guarantee is made from sustainable plantation teak.

Treating teak

• You do not need to treat our furniture to preserve it.  Only treat it with UV protection if you wish to keep the golden colour of your furniture
• We recommend that you leave your teak furniture bare and it will gradually weather to a mellow, silvery grey patina.  It can be cleaned occasionally with water and detergent.  It may develop fine grain lines and some surface cracking to end grain, but it will be smooth and will not split or rot
• You can use an appropriate garden furniture oil (one which contains UV protection) or a water based UV treatment such as Protector (available from us for £24 per litre).  Protector is absorbed into the surface of the wood and will help to maintain the golden colour of your teak furniture with little darkening effect for at least 12 months. 

Should you put your teak furniture away for the winter?

The more exposed your situation the cleaner the weather keeps the furniture.  If your garden is relatively protected from sun and wind, anything left outside during winter can remain wet and can accumulate dirt and bird droppings which become a medium for algae etc to grow on.  In the spring this can easily be removed from your teak furniture by using a power wash or giving it a thorough hosing and/or scrubbing it with a brush (a small dash of bleach in the water will help to kill any algae).  This will not harm the teak but if you wish to avoid such work it may be better to put your furniture away during the winter.

Please remember:  it is not necessary to treat our teak to preserve it.  Treating the teak is done purely to help maintain the golden colour if you don't wish it to fade naturally.