Originally Posted by mikestewart

Before I say anything I better confess to being a carpenter of just over 30 years now. We also own our own bespoke wood furniture making company in Bedfordshire (Shameless plug: Fresh Fields Garden Furniture). I have also read this thread with interest purely of the amount of people we have had telling us about their terrible experiences with Wessex teak and to be fair, other garden furniture retailers. The name green fingers also came up a few times so this is not just Wessex teak that has a bad reputation.

What Naomi is trying to get to is exactly correct and certainly does not deserve the rude rubbishing by "MrTeak" who. In fact some of the Bullying on this thread from people such as Bigboy and now MrTeak are quite indicative of the cheap teak industry today. “MrTeak” might think he knows better but to insinuate that teak is all the same and that it’s not worth paying a bit more for grade A is absolutely ridicules. With teak, you get what you pay for. Also, he is right in saying that the grading of the wood is done mostly by eye but how is that a detraction from the grading system? Aren’t all wooden grading processes done by eye? How else would you propose to do it I wonder? Oh, and before I forget, of course there are certificates... where have you been buying your teak from? As for the analogy with Plasma TV, well that’s wrong on so many levels, I don’t know where to start.

The fact of the matter is that grading IS done and is an extremely important process. When we buy our teak, beech or Oak, we do so according to the grade. We will visit the sawmill whether it’s in Brazil, Trinidad or Java and check the grading specified for ourselves before the planks are loaded onto the container. The price difference is massive. The fact of the matter is that a company selling a Grade C teak table is far more likely to have a larger profit margin then a company who is selling the same table but made from Grade A. Also, you are all talking about grading but it’s also how you put the furniture together. The problem with cheap sets of teak furniture is that they are handmade in Indonesia. Handmade furniture from Indonesia and most of the far east is known to be the worst type you can get; And I say this as someone who makes handmade furniture for a living. The difference is the skill levels my team possesses compared to the average Indonesian factory staff. I would go as far as saying that unless you go for a fully machine made set then the discussion of whether its grade A or Grade C is mute. The fact of the matter is that the furniture is much more likely to fall apart then rot. I have seen the cheap resins they use and the Chinese made cheap screws covered by dowel heads many time before. Your other option is to buy hand made from the UK of course. (although you won’t get much change from £7,000 for a set from us so I appreciate its probably not for the majority of people)

From what I have seen on some of the links posted, I would, if it was my money go for a company such as ourselves or, if I am required to put my unbiased hat on, I would choose Barlow Tyrie (whose MD I know very well) or the Faraway Furniture company.