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Can teak indoor furniture also be used as garden furniture?
Using teak furniture outdoors? This question is asked every now and then. This depends on various factors. Do you want the furniture to last another 20 years or is 5 years also fine? Can it crack a bit? Is it a teak table or teak cabinet? What is the construction of the furniture? Will it be placed under a canopy or in full sun and rain? Below you will find more information about this specific subject.
Teak dining table and teak chairs for indoor, outdoor use
Take this beautiful teak dining table with teak chairs. This teak table has no special grooves between the planks. Because the grooves are not in the table, first of all the water cannot drain away. What is more important is that the planks (a table top consists of several planks glued together..) expand and shrink considerably. The rain causes the expansion and the sun and heat for the shrinkage.
This can cause this table to crack if it is left outside. Now this is not a disaster at all. The construction and the wood itself are fine, only the appearance changes slowly. The nice thing about solid teak is that this can be easily remedied after a few years. Take a day and do the following. Provide some glue and clamps, sandpaper, kneadable wood and get started. The larger pieces that have become loose must be glued, the smaller ones can possibly be filled with kneadable wood. When everything is glued and filled, sand well. If necessary, sand the entire table with, for example, a sander. This may take a few hours of work, but afterwards the table will look as good as new again.
The teak chairs in the photo are actually also for inside, or for under a canopy. These can also be used outside, but then the same thing will happen to them as to the wood of the teak table. If the teak table is under a canopy, it will of course be less affected by the weather conditions. In addition, it also makes a big difference if you put the table in the garage every year or cover it with a tarpaulin and fill the legs so that they do not stand in the rain.
One more important note, all teak turns grey over time. Garden furniture or not. This does not affect the teak garden furniture, it is absolutely harmless. To prevent this, you can treat the furniture with oil, this must then be repeated every year.
Cabinets, dressers and the like
We do not recommend cabinets and dressers for outside. Under a canopy would be possible, but it really depends on how the weather affects it. For example, if the floor is flooded after a heavy rain shower - despite a canopy - this is not advisable. The difference with a table, for example, is that a cabinet or dresser often consists of drawers and doors. These drawers and doors swell when damp, so that they no longer open and close properly.
Teak garden table and teak garden chairs
This is a teak garden table (with grooves) and teak garden chairs. These require less maintenance than the teak indoor dining table and teak indoor chairs. This is due to the construction ----> see the grooves in the teak table top.
Conclusion
Teak tables and teak chairs for indoors will generally last for many years outdoors. However, take into account a slightly shorter lifespan and more maintenance.
