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Billabong Garden Furniture Tight bolts. No matter what coating your setting has it will require the bolts be tightened a few times until the timber has settled. To do this all you need is a 15mm socket spanner and a strong arm. Tighten them until the bolt head starts to pull into the timber. Occasionally this needs to be done immediately after delivery, especially if your furniture has travelled a long distance. KD Hardwood. We are often asked why we don't use kiln dried hardwood. The major reason for this is cost. The prices for settings listed on our site are close to what the timber would cost if we were to use KD hardwood. Although it would eliminate a lot of shrinkage and the need to tightening bolts, we have seen it twist and split just as much as non KD hardwood. When we manufacture our settings we butt the boards up tight, once the timber has shrunk you can expect a gap around 10mm between the boards. If you would prefer KD hardwood please ask for an individual quote. The Coating - Preschem Aussie Clear. As soon as the surface feels rough you should give the setting a quick hand sand with 120 grit sand paper, using a block lessens the chances of getting splinters. We usually only spend about 15 minutes sanding on a standard "billabong" setting. In most cases the legs will not have to be sanded but we would suggest you recoated them. Then give it a coat of Aussie Clear, using a paint brush. After an hour it is advisable to wipe off any residue (a piece of denim is best for this) that is pooling. Twists. All Australian native timber will twist, warp and bow to some degree. If your setting develops a twist that makes it impractical to use, please contact us. The majority of these twists are cosmetic and the best thing to do if you don't like the appearance, is to plane the high points off once the timber has settled. If one of the legs doesn't sit flat on the ground because of a twist it is best to put something under the leg until the timber has settled and then cut one of the legs back. In the majority of cases this happens because the piece is sitting on an uneven surface. If your setting stains concrete, slate or pavers etc. This can look very bad but is easy to repair and is usually temporary. Once the setting has been out in a few showers of rain most off the tannin will have leached from the timber surface and it will no longer be a problem. Treat the stain with Oxalic acid or exit mould following the instructions on the container, and it should no longer be a problem. If you want to avoid getting the stain in the first place, the only way is to leave the setting out in the weather until you have a few decent showers. If you sand your setting heavily it may start to leach tannin again. We have seen a 100 year old fence post that was recycled into a table leg and it still leached tannin over the concrete. Varnishes or kiln drying will not stop the staining. If your bolt heads look rusty. The bolts we use are zinc plated. Scratch a bolt head and you will see that it is just the tannin from the timber staining the bolts. We feel this adds to the look of a table but if you would like to clean them up use oxalic acid or Exit Mould. Splits. Keeping the surface coating in good condition will minimise splitting. All Australian native timber will split to some degree. If your setting develops a split that appears dangerous, (ie. the setting may break or there is a large exposed splinter) please contact us. The majority of these splits are merely cosmetic and we have never seen one that actually broke. The best thing to do if you don't like the appearance of a cosmetic split, is to fill it with an exterior wood filler and sand it once the timber has settled. If you have any further questions, or have a suggestion, please email maintain@billabongfurniture.com.au Home l Delivery Prices l Bulk order pricelist l Delivery Terms l Our clients l Testimonials |