Lifetime Construction
Design & Craftsmanship Principles
William Wallace Garden Furniture designs are influenced by the timeless appeal of “old world” English styles yet each are crafted to withstand our harsh climate and meet your requirement of lifetime use.
We do not compromise of any aspect of our product quality.
Simple, yet true to form and function, William Wallace Garden Furniture are Canadian classics – “Built to Last a Lifetime”.
Custom Designs
We are occasionally requested to produce custom designed garden furniture which, in many cases and by reason of such designs, are equally at home for interior use as they are for exterior.
Please do not hesitate to discuss with us as to how we may serve your unique needs. We quickly understand how to transform your idea, as a “personal touch” into furniture in perfect harmony with the spaces you intend the pieces to reside.
We treat every custom product as an opportunity to create ‘one-of-a-kind’ furniture that you may take as much pride in for your personal design and décor influence as you will for the finished quality and beauty the product adds to your space.
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Materials - Teak and Iroko
Teak (tectona grandis) is one of the world’s most valuable woods, known and trusted for its outstanding durability under severe climatic conditions. Teak is the standard by which all other outdoor wood materials are judged.
Teak can be recognized by its golden-brown colour hue, distinctly leather aroma and the luxuriously smooth feel when properly finished. It is the natural oils in the wood which gives it this lovely texture while protecting it from the elements.
Teak is said to be indigenous to India, Burma, Thailand, Indochina and Java. It has been extensively planted for timber or as an ornamental within its natural range and throughout the tropical regions of the world, including East and West Africa, as well as Cuba and the Caribbean, and South America from Panama to Brazil.
Teak is not a timber from tropical rain forests, and indeed, teak cannot grow in rain forests - it is a deciduous tree which grows particularly well in the dry, hilly terrain typical of plantation forests in Southeast Asia.
Specifically in Java Indonesia, Perum Perhutani is the government agency responsible for managing Indonesia's extensive forests and plantations. Java has very large Teak plantations first planted by the Dutch in the early 1800's. These plantations are now well managed by Perum Perhutani.
Iroko (chorphora excelsa, also known as milicia excelsa) is a West African hardwood widely used as a Teak substitute. It is a harder and more (fibrously) dense wood, slightly lighter hue in colour and has many of the natural attributes of Teak yet, due to the extreme hardiness of Iroko, it is often used in structural marine applications such as boat docks.
For that reason, Iroko is a superb substitute for use in furniture for parks and other environments where it will be subjected to potentially severe climate and or misuse combined with no majour attention to regular maintenance. Iroko grows in abundance throughout West Africa and its cultivation and export around the world is an important economic staple for the region.
Furniture constructed of either Teak or Iroko can be expected to last for decades with little or no maintenance. These woods will turn a slivery-grey colour when left unfinished and outdoors. In full sun this process will take about nine months for Teak while Iroko will be slightly quicker.
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High Quality Joinery and Finish
Our carpentry standards dictate that each product is constructed by way of specific and time-tested joinery techniques to ensure long-lasting stability, safety and overall finished product quality. All, William Wallace garden furniture feature mortise and tenon joinery in most structural areas required.
Mortise and tenon joinery is the practise of joining long grain to end grain with mortise and tenon — known by professional woodcrafters as “the king of rail joints”. It is the defacto standard practice for great wood crafting with lasting stability and adhesion of all joining sections, with or without the assistance of wood glues.
Our traditional English garden furniture features:
- mortise and tenon joinery throughout
- slatted seats and table tops to allow for water drainage
- your choice of finish: natural wood, oiled wood, or UV resistant plasticized paint
- stainless steel security systems if desired
- nylon shock glides on the base of each leg
- waterproof adhesive used to seal the end of each foot
- handcrafted, complete assembly
- five year warranty
The above William Wallace bench at the Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens is a wonderful example of mortise and tenon joinery thus eliminating the need for unattractive and lower quality bolts or wood screws. Finished as ‘finely sanded’, this product will last and look gorgeous for decades, as-is.
Generally, you may purchase our garden furniture in various finished and deliverable conditions.
- Fine Sanded (unfinished)
- Oiled
- Marine Epoxy Painted
- Stained and lacquered for Indoor use
Due to the very high durability of both Teak and Iroko, either finish is more than satisfactory in meeting our quality standards. It is simply a personal choice based on the environmental conditions in which the product will reside, indoor or outdoor and what décor matching preferences you may desire as well.
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Care and Maintenance
If your furniture is to be used indoors, and away from a lot of natural sunlight, over a period of time -perhaps six months to a year - the wood will gradually become a darker shade of brown.
If on the other hand the furniture is left outdoors, the effects of the suns rays will 'bleach out' the timbers natural colour, gradually turning it a soft silvery grey colour. This silvery grey 'patina', which develops over time gives our Teak and Iroko furniture a distinctive appearance. The silver grey colour resulting from this natural ageing process is considered to be very attractive, and allows the furniture to blend in well with many outdoor environments. Teak furniture left in this state is easily maintained, and needs no treatment whatsoever to give many years of service.
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Teak - Oiled
If you buy your furniture already oiled with teak oil it will have a darker than normal mid brown colour and a soft sheen. Teak wood is of itself naturally oily and requires no treatment to be used indoors or outdoors, and the use of teak oil won't increase the life of the timber. It does change the colour somewhat and it can also help a little to prevent stains from seeping into the timber grain and will slow down the greying effect caused by ultra violet rays.
To maintain its appearance, teak oiled furniture will need to be re-oiled periodically. If you decide to re-oil your furniture you can contact us for supplies of teak oil, or buy from your local supplier. A basic method for oiling is as follows:
The furniture will need to be cleaned first [see below]. Afterwards, ensure that it is nice and dry before starting to oil. Have a good look around the furniture first and attend to any areas requiring sanding before starting work.
You will need some teak oil, a clean 1" or 2" paint brush, some clean cotton rags, good light and plenty of space to work in. It can be a little messy so be sure to wear some overalls, and wearing household gloves to keep the oil off your hands is a good idea as well.
The oil can be applied with a clean brush, starting from the top and working downwards. The surface should be left wet by the brush, but try to avoid leaving too much surplus oil behind as you work.
After a few minutes - maybe 5 - 15 depending on the ambient temperature, the oil will start to become 'tacky'. At this point the surface of the furniture should be wiped down with a clean cotton rag, carefully removing all surplus oil.
One coat is usually sufficient, but you can apply a second coat if required, after a minimum of one hour for the first coat to dry. Once you've completed the oiling and the surface is touch-dry, a second clean rag can be used to buff up the surface.
Please be sure to dispose of any used rags and cleaning cloths carefully, and in accordance with the instructions from the oil manufacturer.
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Cleaning Teak and Iroko Furniture
If your Teak furniture requires cleaning this can be done with a normal household bristle brush [not too hard] and some warm, mildly soapy water. Wash down afterwards with clean water. There are also proprietary cleaners on the market to clean off various deposits and accumulated dirt and stains.
We do not recommend the use of high-pressure water hoses, and steel wool or steel wire brushes should not be used at all as any residue left in the grain will rust and discolour the wood.
If the furniture has some stubborn and heavily ingrained stains these can be removed by sanding with a fine grade of sandpaper, being sure to work only with the direction of the timber grain. After sanding stains away like this, if the furniture was previously teak oiled you may wish to re-oil, or if it had previously been left natural, the fresh teak colour exposed by sanding will soon mellow in with the existing silver grey patina.
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Ergonomics
Carefully balancing the artistic eye with a respect for the details, which matter most, result in impressively effortless seating and ergonomic position for superior comfort. All William Wallace Garden furniture is constructed under these design principles.
Our garden furniture is used and enjoyed by the young and old alike in numerous settings, from personal home use to public municipal gardens and private health care facilities to name only a few. A little extra care in design has proven that comfort and enjoyment need not be sacrificed in constructing sturdy and long-lasting products.
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