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Also can you leave a picnic bench outside all year? does it need some sort of cover?

What's best for you depends on where you live and how much you want to spend. For me cost is a big issue, and frankly, you can get some great furniture at stores like Lowes or even Walmart for the lowest price possible. Here is what to look for:

Light weight: You'll need to move it around for cleaning or rearrangement, or even to store for winter, so avoid heavy iron or steel or large wood pieces.

Easy to clean: Glass table tops or similar hard surfaces that won't stain look better over time than wood which bleaches or shows rings. Buy only what you can clean with the garden hose.

Avoid wood: For furniture that says out in the sun and rain, wood is not the best choice. It will discolor, crack, warp and lose its beauty quickly if exposed each day to the elements. If you want to build a picnic table yourself, use the new composite lumber made out of recycled plastics. Though it is heavy, it lasts forever, doesn't get splinters and takes extremes of hot and cold, wet and dry.

Exploit cushions: Bright fabric cushions can turn a poor looking chair, chaise or love seat into a real fashion statement in the garden. Cushions also protect you from a seat that has turned very hot or cold due to extreme weather. Cushions are the universal problem solver you can sew yourself or buy cheaply at discount stores.

2009-05-22 10:49:40 by Bone

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some real color but don't want the furniture to look tacky. I like things to look natural since I live on a river and the landscape is all indigenous to the area. One bench over-looks the river, two others are in a patio area. I also have a picnic table that could use to be re-painted, it's currently a dense red. If I paint, do I need to prime first? Any color suggestions?

There is a perfect paint for your project and it Olympic paint stain. It comes in a ton of colors, shades and stain pigments. You don't need to prime, but should sand any areas that are gray, peeling or loose. I love this stuff and have found it long lasting, durable, weather resistant and fade resistant. It is great out in the sun and everything I've used it on gets hit by the automatic sprinklers almost daily and it doesn't get discolored like other paints or stains I have used. I got it at Lowes.

2009-05-07 11:48:05 by professor grey

Price: $112.00 $79.99

Maintenance-free and crack-resistant in cold temperatures
Deck storage box with hinged lid and seat
Hasps for locking lid (lock not included)

i have to re-design a garden for school. it is a school project. im thinking of designing a bench, or a stool, anything that anyone can sit on.

which one is better:
1. wooden or
2. metal

im thinking of simple designs. not like the fancy ones but appropriate for a school. i've never done this before. how do i start? im looking for pictures of benches of different designs but i found the fancy ones with patterns, carvings, and all the very complicated ones...

need help...

If you are looking for simple benches why not go with a Mission style or Amish (do a search for Mission or Amish benches on the net). simple clean lines but you can play with the slats and use different sizes or textures to give a little pizazz. Wood is easier to work with and if sealed properly will hold up for years outdoors.

Since it is a school maybe bring up an aspect of recycling. Find reclaimed lumber from an old burnt down house or a demo site, put recylced tire treads inset into the slats for something out of the ordinary. Think long term and what you want this project to say about you and what you want it to say to the people who will use the garden.

2007-04-16 02:43:40 by infra red

Price: $49.99

Sturdy, lightweight and portable
Reduces strain and injury to your lower back and knees
Lifetime warranty

I am going to cut down a Rhododendron tree in the garden and would like to re-use the wood in the garden (e.g. garden chairs, table, bench, etc.)

What seasoning / treatment / etc do I need to carry out on the wood after cutting so that it will not rot or degrade once I have made into garden furniture?

.

cut it into the sections you want, melt some wax and dip the ends and store in a cool dry place for about a year, this prevents checking (cracks) then bark the wood and put together whatever your building and spray or paint on a good wood sealer clear or colored or you could stain it then seal it... good luck...

2007-05-22 05:04:50 by SB

he keeps on chewing on it, the leg of the chair looks dreadful now. its a bench chair so its always in the garden, thats where my puppy is everyday. so its very hard for him NOT to nibble on it..
my mom is going to freak. out. he already ate some rubber part of her cycling thing for fitness.

im scared if my mom gets home she will take the puppy away!! he has to stop!

How old is this puppy? I don't think it is a good idea to keep him outside when no one is home for precisely this reason. It is like keeping a 2 year old human baby outside unsupervised. The puppy is bored and doesn't have anything better to do. Dogs are all about opportunity and if you don't give them anything constructive to do they will get into whatever happens to be around. This can be very dangerous for a young puppy. I am not sure of your family's schedules but is it possible to do crate training instead? The crate is designed to keep your puppy safe and secure when he cannot be supervised. It will also help potty train him. The only problem is that he can't be in the crate for longer than a few hours. For example if he is 2-3 months old he should only be in the crate for 1-3 hours at a time and then he will need to go outside for a potty break and some exercise and then he can go back into the crate for a few more hours. If no one is home to help with this, then you could set him up in an x-pen in the kitchen with toys, a newspaper to pee on, a couple of towels to sleep on and a radio on so he doesn't get lonely and he thinks someone is home. Another option would be to enroll him in a doggie daycare so he gets to be socialized and play a few times a week. Remember a tired dog is a good dog.

2009-09-15 00:44:13 by Jackio