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What
is teak?
Teak is a deciduous
hardwood tree from the highlands of Southeast Asia. Teakwood has
a very close grain and a naturally high oil content, which makes
it both stable and highly resistant to decay when exposed to climactic
extremes. For centuries, these qualities have made teakwood the
preferred choice for marine decking and construction, making it
the premium timber for outdoor furniture.
Many other hardwoods
are used for outdoor furniture and some even incorporate the word
"teak" in their names; however, there is no substitute
for teak. No other hardwood will perform to the same standard as
teak in outdoor conditions.
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Is
teak an eco-friendly choice?
Hildreth's carries only 100% Plantation Grown Teak. Nearly
all of this teak originates from the government-owned plantations
on the island of Java (Indonesia). Private plantations also
exist in Brazil and Costa Rica. Plantation teak is inherently
more environmentally friendly than natural forest timber because
no teak trees existed there until the plantations were established.
Due to careful management, trees are constantly being planted
at a rate that exceeds those being felled.
That said,
the fact that a piece of furniture is touted as 100% Plantation
Grown Teak is no guarantee of its quality. In order to properly
assess the value of furniture crafted from teak wood, it is
important to understand the grades of wood, the process for
the wood, and the manufacturing process.
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What
are grades of teak?
Grade A teakwood
is extracted from the center of the tree. Grade A teak is produced
from a tree between 30 and 50 years of age. Its characteristics
include a close grain, warm honey color, richness in oils, and free
of knots. This type of wood is typically found only in machine-made
teak furniture, because the risk in allowing a person of limited
skill to work with this expensive, high quality wood only to produce
mediocre results is too great. Machine-made teak contains parts
that are precise and inter operable. This means that if a part on
your chair or table were to need replacement, you could easily get
one. This type of teak is also kiln-dried, a process that can take
months. The expense of this process often causes it to be ignored
by manufacturers of cheap garden furniture. Furniture that is not
made from kiln-dried teak can quickly begin to warp and split when
left outside and can ultimately cause the furniture to fail altogether.
Hildreth's carries Grade A teak furniture.
Grade B teakwood
has a warm color with occasional streaks of black and some splotches
and discoloration. Grade B teak is most often found in semi machine-made
products. Semi machine-made furniture is built using electric saws,
but there is no concept of a jig and fixture to make all the slats
the same size or make the process repeatable. As a result, customers
who purchase semi-machine made furniture will find it difficult
to find replacement parts, since all parts are unique and made to
fit a specific piece.
Grade C teakwood
has a dark color in places, mixed with a very white color in places.
The white is the young sapwood. The dark is wood from very close
to the bark of the tree. Furniture made from this wood is often
rubbed with teak oil before being sold in order to disguise its
obvious poor quality. Alternatively, it may be displayed outdoors
where the sun can bleach away some of this dramatic difference in
color and make the wood appear to be more uniform. There is an allowance
for dead knots in this grade (where the knot was weak, and has been
gouged out and filled with epoxy or putty). Furniture crafted from
this wood is almost always hand made. This means that everything
in that piece of furniture was made without jigs and fixtures. There
is a wide variation between items. There is no process for kiln
drying or manufacturing. Hildreth's does NOT carry Grade C
teak furniture.
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How
do I care for my teak furniture?
Teak does not require any special maintenance aside from occasional
cleaning. If left to age naturally outside by being exposed
to light, air, and rain, the wood's surface will gradually change
to soft, silver-gray. We recommend that you simply allow your
furniture to weather naturally this way, and maintain the silver
patina with regular cleaning using a soft-bristle brush and
a diluted bleach solution, or any Teak Cleaner for deeper cleaning.
Otherwise, Barlow Tyrie's Teak Colour Guard may be used to maintain
the golden brown color of new teak, using UV inhibitors to prevent
the natural graying process and pigment enhancers to help maintain
the natural color of teak. Additionally, we carry Barlow Tyrie's
Teak Stain Guard, which forms an invisible layer to protect
your teak from everyday stains such as foods, various oils,
and red wine, making the cleaning of accidental spills an easy
task. |
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It is not necessary to store your furniture indoors over the winter;
however, if you choose to do so, we suggest that you store your furniture
in a shed or garage. Moving teak furniture from a moist garden straight
into a dry, heated room for storage may cause the wood to split due
to the sharp differences in temperature and humidity. |
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Why
buy teak furniture from Hildreth's?
Many retailers and manufacturers will promise a product that will
last a lifetime. Unfortunately, the average retailer's lifetime
is often less than ten years. Hildreth's is America's Original Source
for Home Goods, established in 1842. We regard the quality of our
customer service as a key element to the longevity and success of
our company. Likewise, our flagship teak manufacturer, Barlow Tyrie,
is one of the world's best and oldest, established in 1920. We also
boast the most knowledgeable sales staff on the East End, each averaging
nearly a decade in the industry. We offer free assembly, free local
delivery* and installation, with weekly deliveries to Manhattan
and beyond. We offer in-house decorating and design services, and
we're able to do it all while maintaining exceptional prices.
*Free delivery
for single deliveries totaling over $1,500 pre-tax, Tuesday through
Friday, Southampton (11968) through East Hampton (11937).
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