Caring for wooden garden furniture: the complete guide
The Wood Guide · Care & finishing
Care · the complete guideCaring for wooden garden furniture
Less work than you think: a few jobs a year, and above all knowing what not to do. By wood species, by season and by problem.
- Three fixed moments a year
- Greying is not damage
- From spruce to teak
Maintenance is about how the furniture looks, not whether it survives
None of the wood species we sell has to be treated to stay outdoors. That changes the whole question.
The biggest misconception about wooden garden furniture is that turning grey is damage. It is the opposite: it is how wood protects itself outdoors. UV light breaks down the top fibres, rain washes away the colour, and what remains is a silver-grey layer a few tenths of a millimetre thick. The wood underneath is just as strong as on the day it was delivered.
So you have a real choice. Letting it weather grey costs you two cleans a year. Keeping the warm colour costs you one or two oilings on top of that. Both are fine; it is taste, not necessity.
It is retightening bolts and screws. Wood expands and shrinks with every season, and joints slowly work loose as a result. Five minutes with a spanner, a month after delivery and then every spring, prevents most of the problems we hear about.
- Cleaning
- 1–2× a year · lukewarm water, soft brush, soft soap
- Retightening
- after 1 month, then every spring
- Oiling
- only for the colour · 1–2× a year
- Winter
- can stay outside · cushions and lacquered wood inside
- Cover
- breathable only, never over wet furniture
- Never
- pressure washer · bleach · heated room
To be fair: maintenance-free does not exist. Teak also gets green algae when it stands under trees, and hardwood also gets hairline cracks. But what wood needs to last a long time is little and simple.
Care by wood species
The species doesn't determine whether you need to do anything, but it does determine how the colour changes and what oil achieves.
| Leave outdoors | Required maintenance | Colour change without oil | Oiling for colour | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure-treated spruce | Yes, all year round | None · cleaning | greenish → honey → grey | Possible, after a few weeks of drying |
| Douglas fir | Yes, all year round | None · cleaning | reddish brown → grey | Possible |
| Teak | Yes, all year round | None · cleaning | golden brown → silver grey | 1–2× a year |
| Hardwood | Yes, all year round | None · cleaning | brown → grey | Recommended; mahogany an extra coat once in use |
| Lacquered beer tables | No, store after use | Wipe down, store dry | stays as it is | Not needed |
Pressure-treated spruce
The preservative has been forced deep into the fibre under pressure, not just on the outside. So sanding or adding colour does not remove that protection. Do wait, though: freshly treated wood does not take up oil in the first weeks. How pressure treatment works.
Softwood
Spruce, pine and Douglas fir are soft at the surface. That is why a pressure washer does the most harm here. Caring for softwood.
Teak and hardwood
Naturally oily and dense. Doing nothing is a perfectly valid choice. If you want to keep the colour, sand lightly and oil with a lint-free cloth. Hardwood in top condition.
Resin spots on softwood
Spruce, pine and Douglas fir can release resin in their first warm summer. Let the spot harden, scrape it off flat and remove the rest with white spirit. After that the resin pocket is usually empty.
In pictures · What to do, season by season
Schematic drawing.
What to do, season by season
- Spring — clean and retightenLukewarm water, a soft brush and a little soft soap if needed, in the direction of the grain. Rinse well and let it dry. Then retighten all bolts and screws. If you want to oil, this is the moment: on dry wood, not in full sun.
- Summer — one checkWood that dries in the sun shrinks, and then joints work loose. A table that starts to wobble doesn't need a new part, just a spanner.
- Autumn — cushions in, cover onCushions are rarely waterproof and go mouldy. A breathable cover against leaf stains and green algae is fine, but never put it over wet furniture.
- Winter — leave it beFrost does wood no harm: frozen wood does not burst like water in a pipe. Fold up lacquered beer tables and store them dry. Put legs that stand in a puddle for weeks on a tile.
New furniture comes from a dry warehouse into a wet garden. Leave it outdoors for a few days to a few weeks before you sand or oil — freshly treated wood is still damp and does not yet take up oil. A month after delivery, retighten all joints for the first time.
How to oil garden furniture
Oil soaks into the wood instead of forming a layer on it. That is why it doesn't flake, and touching up later is simply a matter of applying it again.
- Dry weather, above 10 degreesNot in full sun: the oil then soaks in too quickly and you get blotches.
- Clean and let it dryOil on dirty wood seals the dirt in. Let the furniture dry for a day after cleaning.
- Sand lightlyFine grit, in the direction of the grain, until the top feels smooth. This is where you sand away a greyed layer.
- Apply thinly with a lint-free clothA cloth leaves fewer streaks than a brush and you waste less oil. Two thin coats look better than one thick one.
- Don't forget the end grainThe ends of boards and legs absorb the most moisture. That is where an extra coat pays off most.
- Wipe off after a quarter of an hourWipe away whatever has not soaked in. Otherwise a sticky layer is left behind.
A closed lacquer traps moisture inside the wood. After a few seasons it starts to flake and you end up sanding. If you want a colour, choose tinted wood oil: it cannot flake. Stain or wood oil? explains the difference, and Restol wood oil comes in eleven colours.
What not to do
No pressure washer
It washes away the soft fibres between the growth rings. The surface becomes rough and furry and then holds on to dirt all the more quickly. On Douglas fir and pine that damage is permanent.
No bleach or ammonia
They attack the wood fibre and can make the fixings rust. And never mix them: together they give off toxic fumes.
No tight plastic tarpaulin
Condensation stays trapped underneath, and then you get exactly the mould you wanted to avoid. A cover must breathe or be open at the bottom.
Not into a heated room
The most common mistake. Furniture that goes from a wet garden into a dry, heated garage or conservatory dries out too quickly — and that is when you get real cracks. An unheated garden shed is fine.
Cracks, stains and colour differences
Wood absorbs moisture and releases it again, expanding and shrinking as it does. Most of what worries people comes from that.
Fine cracks along the length of a board, however long. Cracks at the end grain of a beam or leg. Small cracks that open and close with the season. Gaps between boards that get bigger and smaller. Colour differences between boards, which fade within one or two seasons. The greenish tinge on new pressure-treated spruce.
A crack that runs right across the board, from edge to edge. A crack you can put a finger in. A leg or load-bearing beam that sags. Wood that feels soft or spongy. In that case, send us a photo with a hand or folding rule in it for scale, via contact.
Filling cracks
You don't need to fill a drying crack. If you still want to, do it in the wet period, when the crack is at its smallest. Filling cracks in wood.
Water damage
Dark rings and raised fibres on wood that stayed wet for a long time. Repairing water damage.
Scratches and dents
You can often lift a dent in softwood with a damp cloth and an iron. Repairing scratches and dents.
Why wood moves
Why a board swells across its width but hardly along its length, you can read in how wood moves and when does wood expand.
All care guides
From treating and finishing to repairing: every guide in this section, by topic.
Treating and finishing
Stain or wood oil? · Staining wood · Pressure-treating wood · Making wood water-resistant · Applying a coat of varnish · Working with a paint sprayer · Colouring wood with natural materials · Painting a wooden door · Shou sugi ban · Making wood more durable
By wood species
By furniture and place
Cleaning a picnic table · Staining a picnic table · Customising your picnic table · Maintaining wooden decking · Maintaining a wooden pergola · Maintaining a wooden house · Maintaining wooden doors and windows · Maintaining wooden wall panelling · Maintaining a wooden worktop
Problems, repair and seasons
Repairing water damage to wood · Filling cracks in wood · Repairing scratches and dents · Ten tips against frost
Frequently asked questions about maintenance
Do you need to treat wooden garden furniture every year?
No. Pressure-treated spruce, Douglas fir, teak and hardwood hold up well outdoors without treatment. Cleaning every year and retightening the bolts is enough. You only use oil if you want to keep the warm colour instead of the silver grey.
Is wood that has turned grey damaged?
No. Greying is a surface layer a few tenths of a millimetre thick. The wood underneath is just as strong and lasts just as long. If you want the colour back, sand that layer away and then oil.
Can I use a pressure washer?
Better not. The jet washes away the soft fibres between the growth rings, so the surface becomes rough and furry and holds on to dirt more quickly. On Douglas fir and pine that damage is permanent. Lukewarm water, a soft brush and soft soap work better.
Can wooden garden furniture stay outside over winter?
Yes, frost does wood no harm. Do bring cushions and lacquered beer tables inside. A cover is fine, as long as it breathes and you don't put it over wet furniture. Never put the furniture in a heated room: it dries out too quickly there and cracks.
Are small cracks in the wood normal?
Fine cracks along the length of a board or at the end grain of a beam are part of wood and do not weaken the furniture. A crack right across the board, from edge to edge, or wood that feels soft, is a reason to get in touch.
From knowledge to garden
A good oil, a breathable cover, and furniture that can take it.
Not sure whether something is normal? Send us a photo — we'll take a look.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Wooden board: linseed oil on the left, untreated on the right — Marco Bernardini, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tectona grandis — cultivar413, CC BY 2.0