"I bought a solid teak chair from supplier X but it only lasted a year".
We receive phone calls and emails like these on a daily basis.
Let us explain how teak furniture is made and why our quality sets us apart.
First of all, there are roughly 3 different grades that manufacturers use to make this furniture;
C grade. This sub quality teak wood will show a lot of white (so called sap) wood and knots. White wood is part of the outside of a (teak) tree and has not matured enough, it is basically the youngest part of a tree. White wood will mildew easily and will start to rot soon after. Overseas' manufacturers will try to disguise this low quality by coloring it with chemicals or even with tea. Of course this remedy is only cosmetic and will not last very long. Be aware of vendors that offer their "teak' products oiled, in most cases vendors will offer oiled products to disguise the low quality of their "teak" wood. C grade teak as a commodity is up to 8 times cheaper than the A grade teak wood we offer at Chic Teak.
B Grade. This quality will not show as much white wood as the previous described quality, however it will still not hold up. Many times this B quality has knots that will dry out fast and will crack soon after. Especially when knots are found in constructive parts of furniture it will become a problem in the (near) future.
A Grade. This is the quality you want and expect and it is the quality we offer at Chic Teak. No white wood, no knots, just straight grain lines. This quality will not splinter or mildew. This quality is what people commonly refer to when they talk about the exceptional characteristics of teak. This quality is harvested from the inside of the teak tree, the oldest, most matured part of the tree.
Shop our Complete Collection of Grade A Teak Furniture
A lot of times the wood itself will hold up but not the construction. Why? In most situations the answer is lack of drying of the raw wood, lack of the so-called kiln dry process. Freshly cut wood can contain up to 70% moisture. After cutting a tree, this moisture will slowly evaporate out of the wood. To make furniture from wood, the moisture content of the wood should be constant at around 8% to 10%. This can only be achieved when the wood is dried in a kiln. However, our experience tells us that a lot of suppliers will dry their wood AFTER it has been made into furniture, this is not the right thing to do. Joints that may have been tight when the furniture was built, will come loose due to shrinkage of the wood during the drying process. Wood should be properly dried BEFORE it is made into furniture, this is the way our Chic Teak furniture is produced.
If you claim that you sell such a superior quality, how come your prices are so low?
We control the whole production process and negotiate prices of raw materials for our suppliers. Our overseas' management supervises the purchase of plantation grown teak wood when bought from the Indonesian Government. Since we buy such large quantities, we are able to get better prices than others. We supply our suppliers with high quality imported polyurethane glue, brass hardware and other third party necessities. By overseeing this whole production process we are able to cut our cost by 30% to 40%. These savings we pass on to you, our valuable customers.
After the production process our furniture undergoes a three step quality control in one of our own warehouses. After passing this process, the furniture is packed and shipped to our warehouses in the U.S.
Please feel free to contact us any time for further explanation of the above or when you feel that one of your questions is left unanswered.
