Category: Furniture

Some people just toss out old patio furniture, but not you. You’re the kind of handyman (or woman) who knows how to get the most mileage out of a piece of furniture. An outdoor rocking chair can be a cherished piece passed down through the generations. Keep yours looking like the day you bought it with some repair tips.

Problem #1: Uneven or discolored finish
To repair the aesthetic portion of your outdoor rocking chair, you will first need to strip away any visible traces of an existing finish. You can use a finish stripper or just sandpaper. You can also use a putty knife to get off any especially thick spots, but be careful not to nick the wood. Once the surface is smooth and free of varnish, clean off all surfaces to ensure that the finish sticks better. Then, you can apply one to two coats of a finish of your choice, an oil-based varnish or paint, for example.

Problem #2: Damaged spindles
One feature found on many a wooden outdoor rocking chair is spindles. These are the rod-shaped pieces of wood that make up the backrest and sometimes hold up the armrests as well. The problem is that these can often be quite thin and delicate and prone to breaking.

To remove, use a hammer and punch, but in the armrests substitute a non-slip pad in order to twist out the spindles. If you cannot find an exact match for your existing spindles, you will want to remove them all and buy an all new matching set. When replacing the spindles, clamp them into the chair until the glue has a chance to fully dry.

Problem #3: Mold, stains and discoloration
If the finish is not a problem, but the wood itself has become discolored from black mold or some other stain, you can do one of two things: you can either cover and hide the stain, or try and remove it. To hide the stain, clean the wood off using soap and water and then apply a coat of an opaque or stain-hiding primer. Then you can choose whatever color to paint your outdoor rocking chair once the primer is completely dry.

However, if you want to try and preserve the natural coloration of the wood, you might opt to remove the stain, which is slightly trickier. To be the most gentle on the wood, go from mildest to strongest cleaners when trying out what works. For mild stains and buildup, try soap and warm water or a wood-safe cleaner, like Murphy’s.

If that doesn’t work, use a stronger cleaner, but avoid power washers, as they can damage the surface and grain of wood. A stronger solvent like chlorine or bleach mixed with water is effective, but work in small, concentrated areas using gloves and goggles and do not let the mixture sit for too long on the chair, as it will start to eat away at the wood.

Problem #4: Broken or uneven pieces
If the seat or other parts of your outdoor rocking chair have fallen into disrepair you can do a few different things. For small cracks, you can either try to sand them out so that they not spread, or else try gluing small pieces of wood directly into the cracks.

For bigger cracks, rotted or warped wood or completely broken pieces, you will want to replace that section altogether. This is a bigger job best left to professionals if you’re unsure, but if you do decide to do it, make sure the wood you choose is even and matches. Try to replace as little wood as possible, as this will change how the chair contour fits and looks.

In a society where everybody wants to be one of a kind, it makes sense that unique items are sought after. It works the same way in the world of veneer, where the best woodworkers, designers, and architects very often ask for rare woods. Keeping this in mind, I will be speaking of five species of rare veneers. Each one has unique characteristics that make it an excellent choice for only certain types of wood projects.

1. Paldao Veneer. Very similar to Orientalwood and Australian Walnut (the names are interchangeable), Paldao is a very unique and rare veneer that has a nice-looking mottle figure. It also looks comparable to American Black Walnut, but the black stripe in the mottle figure and the more red tone sets it apart. Paldao is used often in the manufacturing of furniture.

2. Bosse Veneer. This species is actually a Mahogany relative and has a pinkish pale color. It comes in many figured varieties including Pomelle and Fiddleback. Bosse is also called Spanish Cedar the same exact species with a different name. It is also used heavily in the interior of boats.

3. Pecan Veneer. This wood is basically interchangeable with Hickory. While the two woods are a different species, even the most knowledgeable woodworker would probably have a hard time telling the two apart. Pecan and Hickory can be calico, or two-toned light and dark, colored. It can also come in a single color, either dark or light. Pecan has been used in many different types of projects, from drum sticks to vehicle bodies.

4. Butternut Veneer. This wood is similar to Walnut in its grain pattern, but the color is whitish, similar to White Oak Veneer. For this reason, it often is called the White Walnut. The name Butternut doesnt necessarily bring up images of a rustic-looking wood, but rustic is actually an accurate description. Despite its rare nature, the species is grown primarily in the U.S. It is used very often in boats for interior trim.

5. Avodire Veneer. This is a yellow-pale wood with a bit of black-colored mottle figure, coming from Africa. It has a wavy-style grain pattern, and many say it is comparable to Satinwood or Primavera. Avodire is an excellent choice for high-end architectural designs and furniture projects.

A lot of customers and service providers ask what are the average prices for floor stripping and waxing services. Nationally prices average between 30 to 60 cents per sq.ft.

But in order to estimate the price a lot of additional factors have to be considered:

1) Size of the job. Usually, the bigger the job, the smaller is the price per sq ft. If you need a cleaning company so strip/wax the floor in the large building, you can expect lower prices per sq. ft. However if you are looking to strip and wax relatively small area, the prices are usually higher. Also cleaning companies have minimum prices which are in the range of $ 150 – $ 200. So even if you need to have a floor cleaned only in one small restroom, you may be charged $ 150 – $ 200 for that. Make sure to find out what is the minimum charge before hiring commercial cleaning company.

2) Travel distance. It’s preferred to hire local companies if you want to save on stripping/waxing services. The companies that are further away may count the travel time and fuel expenses into the final price.

3) Preparation time. Preparation for the job takes a lot of time and when estimating the price cleaning companies consider how much time they need in order to prepare for the job. If the floor that needs to be cleaned is on the first floor it takes less time to bring the equipment there than bringing the equipment to the 10th or 15th floor. Also if the cleaners have to strip/wax the hallway that has carpet on the sides, they need to tape off the carpeted area to make sure that no solution ends up on the carpet. This requires additional time and brings the price of floor cleaning services up.

4) Stripping and waxing or scrubbing and recoating? You may receive a lower price from a cleaning contractor, but is he actually going to strip the floor or scrub it? There a big difference between these too. When stripping you take all the wax off from the floor to the bare floor and then you have to apply 4-5 coats of wax to it. When scrubbing, you remove only the top 1-2 coats of wax from the floor and apply 1-2 coats of floor finish to the floor. Stripping and waxing usually takes at least twice as much time as scrubbing and recoating, so when you receive a much lower price make sure to find out if this price is for stripping/waxing or just scrubbing and recoating.

5) Moving furniture. If the cleaning company has to move the furniture (tables, chairs, mats etc) before/after the job, the price is usually higher up to 20 %. So in order to save money, do all the moving inhouse.

6) Wax buildup. When there is a lot of old wax on the floor cleaners may have to strip it a few times, therefore additional products and labor have to be used.

7) Stripping and waxing baseboards. Do you want a cleaning company to strip and wax baseboards? If yes, you should know that it is a very time consuming job to do and it’s also reflected in the price which becomes higher.

8) Edge work. The more edges in the room, the more time the cleaning company has to spend using doodlebugs and scrapers in order to remove wax edges and corners and prices go up.

9) Number of finish coats. The more coats are put on the floor, the higher the price.

10) Type of floor. Is the floor new or old? It’s usually easy to strip the new floor therefore the prices are lower for stripping new floor. Older floor may have been neglected or may have a lot of wax buildup on it and stripping it will require additional time. The price for stripping older floor may be higher.

11) Staining of the floor. If there are a lot of stains on the floor like rust, pain or if there are a lot of deep scratches or gum additional time is needed to scrape them off with scrapers. Additional detail cleaning will bring the price up.

12) Fixtures to work around. If there are a lot of fixtures that are staying in the room (refrigerators, furniture, equipment) during stripping/waxing, cleaning company will have to spend additional time working around them or moving them and the price may be higher.

13) Type of products used during stripping/waxing. Some cleaning companies may charge you less for floor stripping/waxing services, but it may be only because they use cheap products. But cheap products have a lot of downsides, cheap floor finishes tend to become yellow and wear off much faster. Another company may charge you a little more, but they may be using better products that maintain the appearance of your floor and last longer. So for example, you can pay one company $ 500 for the job, but because of their cheap products you will have to re-wax in 4 months. Another company may charge you $ 550, but because of good products you may not have to re-wax for 6 month instead of 4. Using the second company will be more cost efficient for you in the long run. Always find out what floor finishes are used for the job. Hillyard and Johnson floor finishes are the best floor finishes on the market these days.

14) Location of janitor closet. During the stripping/waxing job cleaning companies need to travel from their working area to the janitor closet very often in order to get water, empty wet vacuum etc. Where is the janitor closet located? If it’s far from the working area cleaners will spend a lot of time just moving back and forth and the prices may be higher.

15) Number of electric outlets in the floor. If there are a lot of electric outlets in the floor cleaners will need to tape them so the stripping solution/water doesn’t get there. It requires additional time and brings the prices up.

16) One time cleaning or service contract. If you are using the cleaning company for just a one-time job, you may expect higher prices. However, if you have a maintenance contract (like buffing the floor once per month of scrubbing/recoating services once a quarter) with a cleaning company you can ask for a discount. Also you can expect a discount if you are using a company that already provides commercial cleaning services to your building (example – regular janitorial services 3/5 days per week).

Proper matching and designs will surely put elegance in your home, with modern furniture at the center of your room, decorating and matching would be easy and inexpensive. Usually decorating a home needs a lot of time and money to get the look and style that most people want. And having modern furniture as your main attraction in your living room will surely need a lot of sophistication and detailed designs to enhance the beauty that modern furniture have.

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You can use modern furniture in your living room to have an appealing look on your home. Knowing the fact that furniture are usually place on the center of the living, you should be sophisticated which furniture will give a good look to your guest. Modern furniture will surely give a modern and appealing look in to your home. You can easily find various decorations that can match modern furniture.

Aside from its modern look, modern furniture can easily be matched to any decorations you want. But if you want to have a perfect match, you need to consider a lot of things. There are two ways on how can you have a good match on your decorations and modern furniture.

Modern furniture manufacturers have invested so much on their products, as new line of design and style are being released every few months, to entice the consumers on buying and purchasing them. The themes of furniture have gained more and more confidence on how they maneuver in their market. This is especially true with the dining room furniture that contain more attractive style and elegance that will blend in most themes of modern furniture.

Actually, there are a lot of options that you can choose from when it comes to selecting the furniture that will suit your needs. Depending on your preference, some types of furniture may also be available in glass and steel or even those that are made out of wood. While the wooden ones look good and appears to be more modest in general, most offices prefer the glass or steel (or a combination of the two) since it is easy to blend it even with the other existing furniture they have and even in the color of their offices.

Going online and visiting websites that have Modern Furniture in them could give you access to a lot of options. More than that, you may also get to check their features thoroughly through that without having to physically visit to their establishments. Furthermore, going online also gives you the advantage of comparing features and prices of those who sell modern furniture very easily.

When first discussing the differences between 304 stainless steel and 316 steel we must first understand what stainless steel is. Stainless steel is always made using chromium. The minimum amount of chromium used to make stainless steel is 10.5%; it is chromium that makes the steel stainless. Chromium also improves the corrosion resistance by forming a chromium oxide film on the steel. This very thin layer, when placed under the right conditions, can also be self-repairing.

Other elements used to make stainless steel as well, including nickel, nitrogen and molybdenum. Bringing these elements together forms different crystal structures that enable a variety of properties in machining, welding and forming.
There are four major types of stainless steel. The first and most widely used is austenitic It has a nickel content of at least 7%, which makes it very flexible. It is used in a range of houseware products, industrial piping and vessels, constructional structures and architectural facades.

Ferritic stainless steel has similar properties to mild steel, but better corrosion resistance. This type of steel is commonly used in washing machines, boilers and indoor architecture. Martensitic stainless steel is a very hard, strong steel. It contains around 13% chromium and is used to make knives and turbine blades.

Finally, there is also a duplex stainless steel that is a composite of austenitic and ferritic steels. This steel is both strong and flexible. Duplex steels are most commonly used in the paper, pulp and shipbuilding industries. They are also widely used in the petrochemical industry.

Grade 304 is the standard “18/8” stainless; it is the most versatile and most widely used stainless steel, available in a wider range of products including stainless steel tables, cabinets and more , forms and finishes than any other. It has excellent forming and welding characteristics. The balanced austenitic structure of Grade 304 enables it to be severely deep drawn without intermediate annealing, which has made this grade dominant in the manufacture of drawn stainless parts such as sinks, hollow-ware and saucepans. Grade 304 is readily brake or roll formed into a variety of components for applications in the industrial, architectural, and transportation fields. Grade 304 also has outstanding welding characteristics. Post-weld annealing is not required when welding thin sections.

Grade 316 is the standard molybdenum-bearing grade, second in importance to 304 amongst the austenitic stainless steels. The molybdenum gives 316 better overall corrosion resistant properties than Grade 304, particularly higher resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion in chloride environments. It has excellent forming and welding characteristics. It is readily brake or roll formed into a variety of parts for applications in the industrial, architectural, and transportation fields. Grade 316 also has outstanding welding characteristics. Post-weld annealing is not required when welding thin sections.