Teak Or Cedar - Which Wood Is Preferable For Outdoor Furniture

Two Proven Outdoor Timbers - Your Choice to Make

Teak and Cedar are undoubtedly the two most popular choices for outdoor furniture as compared to Wicker, plastics, rattan and other materials for obvious reasons. Your choice of wood would depend largely on a number of factors that I feel are important in defining one's choice and ultimately, your personal preference.       

                                 Teak Wood                                          Cedar Wood

Look and Appeal:

The look and appeal of furniture are probably the most important factor anyone will consider when making a choice as furniture design can help define a whole lot with its look and appeal. Cedar woods have a nice and subtle natural appearance accenting your outdoor furniture space light brown, soft red, and gray tones. Outdoor furniture will less likely be used very carefully and conservatively, which makes cedar a good choice of wood owning its ability to accept stains, paints, sealers, or even left in its raw sandy finishing to preserve its natural scent, look and feel. Cedar’s aromatic nature puts it at low risk of danger from the weather, or pests and as it often has a rustic look – even adds a lot to the ambiance of a relaxing evening.

Naturally, Teak is a hardwood, thus it is heavier and denser as compared to cedar. Teak woods which are used for the manufacturing of teak furniture etc. are exclusively grown in supervised teak plantations, in regions, popularly in Indonesia and other parts of Asia, which makes it more scarce and expensive in other parts of the world. The scarcity of teak makes it a valuable, elite and exclusive choice of wood.Teak can either be oiled to appear darker, finer or left in the natural state to age and in some cases, turn a patina gray color. Maintenance: Besides looks and appeal, it is important to buy furniture that is easy to maintain and durable.

Affordability

can be another factor but considering the fact that both -Teak as well as Cedar are woods that last for a very long time when left outdoors all year long. Sun, sleet, rain, winds or snow are no issues to teak wood. In terms of finish, stains, sealers, and paints are the best and most popular option as finishing sometimes serves as both protection and beautifier. -Teak woods naturally secrete teak oil which helps it in conditioning and protecting itself from harsh weather conditions.Teak's self-protection and weather resistance ability make it also a preferred choice for shipbuilding timber.In terms of finishing, additional teak oil and leaving it in its natural state are the two most popular finishes.

Price

is apparently another measure of perceived value, which makes teak and cedar more expensive than other popular outdoor furniture materials. -Cedar woods are cheaper compared to teak, owing to its availability and ease of harvesting. Although Cedar is also very durable, but not as much when compared to teak. -Teak woods are one the most expensive furniture woods around as they are scarce and not easy to harvest or cultivate. Nonetheless, teak covers up for its cost in durability, elegance, aesthetic value among other areas. Teak timber can only be harvested from legal plantation grown forests. Harvesting teak wood from natural forests is illegal - one of the reasons why teak wood is more expensive.

It all depends on your preferences, what you need and what you have; there's no best wood. Be sure to consider all the listed factors before making your choice as there can only be one winner - which has to be you!