Top eleven tips for purchasing Metal Garden Furniture.

Our top eleven tips for purchasing Metal Garden Furniture.

1. Always choose Cast Aluminium instead of Cast or wrought Iron. Cast Aluminium is lighter and easier to move around. It will not rust and requires virtually nil maintenance. Wrought iron furniture is very heavy. It will quickly rust and requires frequent repainting.
2. Do not purchase recycled aluminium. It may be cheaper but it is inferior in quality and durability and will contain impurities.  Recycled aluminium has a lower quality than newly produced aluminium. This makes recycled aluminium only appropriate for certain applications, whereas manufacturers who need high quality aluminium cannot use recycled material.
3. Make sure that the arms and legs of your garden furniture are solid castings. Many cheaper products available are constructed using aluminium tubing. There are two disadvantages to this; firstly, they will not be as strong and secondly they may not be heavy enough to withstand blowing around in strong wind.
4. Always purchase welded chairs. Fixing points on chairs are a weakness which could cause problems over time. These chairs are likely to be more flexible. In general chairs that have to be assembled do not stack.
5. It is normal for Cast Aluminium garden tables to require assembly. Make sure that the fixings supplied for this are stainless steel. Rusting bolts on decorative Cast Aluminium patio tables are a weakness and look unsightly.
6. Make sure that your Cast Aluminium garden furniture is supplied with a guarantee. We suggest a minimum of 5 years. Your guarantee should cover structural damage, peeling or flaking of the powder coating and colour fade.
7. Look for the metal tables and chairs that are supplied with rubber adjustable feet. You do not want your new deck or sandstone flags scratched by dragging metal over them. What's more the noise would be very uncomfortable to the ear. Adjustable feet allow you to level up the garden furniture on uneven surfaces.
8. Make sure that you can colour match the coating if you are unfortunate enough to scratch your Cast Aluminium garden furniture. Black is a safe option but Bronze is a very popular colour choice. A hammered bronze is best as this is a two tone colour between black and brown. Small scratches can be painted in black if the brown colour match is not easily obtainable.
9. Cushions should ideally be tailor made to fit the chairs or if not a tight fit. There is nothing worse than sliding about on your chair cushion or having it picked up and blown off by the wind. Look for cushion ties so that you can attach the cushions to the chairs.
10. Make sure that you have sufficient floor area on your patio to accommodate your cast aluminium garden furniture. We recommend a minimum of 1 metre in diameter in addition to the diameter of the table. For example, a 1.5metre diameter table would require a minimum floor area of 2.5metres. This would allow room to pull the chairs away from the table to get in and out comfortably.
11. Make sure that you purchase from a reputable supplier who will be able to supply you with replacement items or extra items in the future. You may wish to add to your metal garden furniture collection at some point and you want to know that the same design or colour will be available at some point in the future.