Why Is Outdoor Furniture so Expensive? (Facts With Pictures)

The outdoor furniture is so expensive because they’re built with high-quality materials that can withstand the harsh sun, rust, rain, dust, high-blowing wind, snow, insects and other weather elements. 

The furniture outdoors is always exposed to unfriendly weather conditions. Therefore to make sure the outdoor furniture last-long, tough materials are used to construct it.

Therefore, outdoor furniture is made in such a way that they survive these tough environmental conditions and increase their durability.

Nevertheless, there are other affordable materials used in building furniture that’ll not cost you much. These sets of furniture last-long than you expected.

In this article, you will learn the cause of outdoor furniture being expensive and everything generally about the outdoor furniture that’ll guide your buying decision.

The materials used to produce outdoor furniture is important because of their constant exposure to weather elements.

You need materials that can withstand the howling wind or beating from the sun. The 

materials are the reason for the high-cost of the furniture. 

The outdoor furniture materials are among the factors that lead to high expense of furniture.

You wouldn’t want to be changing your outdoor furniture every 2 years or less than, therefore, you durable outdoor furniture that’ll last long.

How long the outdoor furniture lasts depends on the materials, which is also the cause of the high cost.

Therefore, let’s look at the various types of outdoor furniture materials.

Types Of Outdoor Furniture Material

Outdoor furniture materials are of various types and have different cost price. However, the durability and the capacity of the material to withstand weather element is what give rise to the high price.

Below is the outline of various outdoor furniture materials that you can easily find in the market. 

• Woods (Teak, Eucalyptus and cedar)
• Synthetics (Plastic, ABS and synthetic resin wicker)
• Metals (Aluminum, Steel and Wrought iron)
• Synthetic fabrics

These materials listed above are durable with different costs. How long they last determine the cost of the furniture.

Let’s look at each of the materials in full details:

Teak

The teak is durable outdoor furniture that’s a bit expensive. It has a superior nature that makes it withstand all weather conditions after it’s used to construct furniture.

The materials have an unparalleled aesthetic that makes the furniture look beautiful. 

Outdoor furniture produced with Teak lasts for 10 years and above.   This material has the capacity to withstand weather conditions in terms of time.            

The materials have high oil and natural resin content. The oil makes it resistant to insect attacks and impermeable to water. 

When the wood is dried, the oil protects the wood from dry rot that’ll affect the wood.

Outdoor furniture are very strong and last-longer because of the natural oil. The oil doesn’t stain clothes. It is an inside oil that keeps the wood strong.

When teak is untreated, the look is elegant patina grey. Though teak age doesn’t affect it strength but it might not be the look you desire. Therefore you may like it to treat the wood based on your desires.

The outdoor furniture produced with teak lasts longer than what you think or expect.

Naturally, teak wood has golden-honey brown color. It can be treated into different colors that make the wood look nice.

To keep the original color of teak from fading out, it’s better you go for the treated teak.

You can for teak that is treated with teak sealant. And the teak sealant will typically last a full year before you would reapply. Mostly, the teak sealant prevent insects and other elements from destroy the outdoor furniture.

Synthetic Resin & Plastics

Synthetic resin and plastic is another great material for modern furniture that doesn’t require you to break your bank account.

The cost of maintaining synthetic resin and plastic outdoor furniture is low. The outdoor furniture has lighter weight and is extremely durable.

The material has the capacity to withstand all weather conditions. Outdoor furniture produced with synthetic resin and plastics are all weather friendly that you leave outside any time.

The furniture constructed with synthetic resin and plastic is typically woven in a wicker style that makes the furniture classical. 

The synthetic resin and plastic material is different from natural wicker rattan that fade easily when exposed to sun. But the synthetic resin wicker outdoor furniture can withstand the harsh conditions of the outdoors.

Here are common materials used to constructed synthetic resin wicker outdoor furniture:

• Nylon
• Polyethylene
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) 

When considering buying synthetic resin wicker outdoor furniture, go for High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) wicker. 

The HDPE is the highest grade of thermoplastic with high strength to withstand all-weather condition, durable, and endure high heat compared to PVC.

The synthetic resin wicker is water resistance and durst. The furniture lasts more than 15 years. 

The synthetic resin wicker outdoor furniture is lighter in weight and doesn’t occupy much space.

The outdoor furniture produced with synthetic resin wicker are smooth. The high grade of the smooth is polyethylene, and polypropylene.

The materials are both durable and cost-friendly. The cost of maintaining the synthetic resin outdoor furniture is low.

The synthetic resin outdoor furniture is durable and with low weight that makes the outdoor seating and table much easier to move around. 

Some of the synthetic resin outdoor furniture plastic has hollows that allow you to add color-changing LEDs at the center. 

Metals

The wrought iron outdoor furniture is a common one but gradually fading out because of the heaviness of the iron, prone to rust, and requires high-maintenance. 

This type of outdoor furniture is no longer common in the modern outdoor settings, and the most common metals used in constructing modern outdoor furnitures are aluminum and steel.

Aluminum

The Aluminum outdoor furniture is versatile and you can get it in any shape of your choice.

It has lighter weight and is highly durable. An attractive option for outdoor furniture. It has incredibly low maintenance. 

The aluminum outdoor furniture doesn’t rust like the iron or steel when you expose both into the same degree of weather conditions.

The only disadvantage of aluminum outdoor furniture is the location that has much wind, because the wind might blow it off from the setting.

Steel

The disadvantage about outdoor furniture is heavy and it’s more expensive among the mental furniture.

The weight of the steel furniture makes it difficult to always move it around. Though it’s more preferable for an area that has too much wind blow.

The best steel furniture is the Galvanized or stainless steel. The furniture built with Galvanized or stainless steel are more resistant to rusts and corrodes. Unlike other steel furnitures that rust easily when they’re exposed to outdoor elements.

The Galvanised furniture are coated with zinc that protect the metal from corrosion and help it withstand water exposure (as long as it is not salt water).

The stainless steel furniture is built with chromium to molten steel. The chromium is resistant to rust and you can expose it to salt water, unlike the Galvanised furniture that gets rust when you expose it to salt water.

So, the stainless steel furniture is better in marine environments than the Galvanised furniture.

In addition, ensure any metal furniture by the poolside is coated with strong powder coat finish to protect it from quick rust or further rust.

Fabric 

The fabric used to construct outdoor furniture is usually water resistant synthetic fibers like

• Vinyl
• Polyester
• Acrylic

The above materials are breathable, resistance to sun fade, moisture and other types of outdoor damage like the insects.

The fabric furniture is durable and is made with waterproof materials. depends on the material used to determine the weight. The foam used to make outdoor furniture is quick dry.

Even though the fabric furniture has water resistance, therefore it’s not advisable to leave the fabric materials outside unprotected during the winter.

Customized Cushions And Cover With Durable Fabric

Sunbrella fabric is among the durable fabric materials that’s used to build lasting outdoor furniture.

The sunbrella fabric is one of the standard fabrics for outdoor furniture and it’s easy to maintain, especially when it has aged. 

It has mold and mildew resistance that help to keep the original color intact for a very long time.

You can easily use bleach and tape water to clean the fabric without losing color or change the outlook of the fabric.

Sunbrella fabric has UV protective, eco-friendly, and a 5 years warranty. You can return the furniture within 5yrs if you discover there’s any default.

In addition, Sunbrella is UV protective, eco-friendly, customizable (there are hundreds of variations each season) and a 5-year warranty.

Sunbrella fabric has the capacity to withstand the outdoor weather elements and still maintain the original state for a long time.

Conclusion 

The high cost of outdoor furniture is as a result of the high-quality material used to produce it.

The materials make the furniture to withstand the harsh weather conditions. The material maintains original state after it has been exposed to weather elements for a very long time.

So, when you want to buy outdoor furniture, don’t just focus on the designs but also the durability of the materials, hence you will end up changing your outdoor furniture every 2 years instead of 10 to 15 years.