The Cost of Cheap Furniture – How to Find The Best Value in Outdoor Log Furniture

Today I’m going to talk about how to get the most bang for your buck when shopping for outdoor log furniture.   It wasn’t that long ago that you could easily find quality outdoor cedar log furniture offered by quality craftsmen and companies.  It was built with care by people who had a passion for outdoor wooden furniture.  The wood of choice for most of these craftsmen is Northern White Cedar due to the unique characteristics that cedar has.  A piece of outdoor cedar furniture will survive in the open year round for 10 – 20 years depending on where you live.  While it is still possible to find well built outdoor log furniture, one must look a bit more carefully, as a lot of large corporate garden centers are looking to cash in on the unsuspecting and uninformed.  

As happens in all markets large corporate retailers are looking to make more money.  In my opinion, they do not care so much about their customers as they do about keeping their shareholders happy.  So 3 years ago our American made cedar log furniture is purchased and shipped to China.  There they are able to imitate the look but not the quality or comfort.  They build cheap furniture using brittle log furniture made of Chinese Fir.  Why should this counterfeit log furniture be a concern to you?  Let’s take a look at Chinese fir and find out.

Chinese Fir is a prized timber tree in China.  It actually isn’t a fir but is from the evergreen species.  Chinese Fir is a fine wood to use for indoor décor use.  It is actually prized in China for the smell.  Outdoors though Chinese fir becomes very brittle and can become unsafe very quickly, commonly within a year.

Imagine the top log rail of a log yard swing – the rail that supports the weight of the log swing and the people sitting in the swing seat.  If you were to sit 3 people down at once in a log swing the top rail is going to bend slightly.  With a Cedar swing the wood is soft enough to give slightly at the first weight variance.  It then snaps back into place – like a rubber band though with maybe ½” of movement.  Imagine now Chinese fir that is brittle and doesn’t like to bend.  Instead of bending these logs just break under the same weight load.

Another difference you will find is that some Chinese fir log furniture is made out of small 2” diameter logs with small tenons.  As we discussed in “What is a Mortise and Tenon” you know that the larger the tenon the stronger the log furniture.  Many of the samples we have seen of this imported Chinese fir log furniture have also had mold on the logs from where the log furniture was built using wet logs and then packaged up and shipped over.

Lastly Chinese fir furniture just does not hold up as well out in the direct elements of nature as cedar log furniture does .  I bought two Chinese fir Adirondack chairs 3 years ago for testing.  I placed one of these in a covered and screened in deck.  The other was left outside.  The Chinese fir chair that was left outdoors lasted for 8 months.  The Chinese fir chair that was placed in the screened in deck is now 3 years old and is starting to show signs of weakness.  To give a comparison I have had a cedar Adirondack chair out in the open for 7 years now and it still is strong and sturdy.  I've had cedar log furniture outdoors for the same 7 years and it also is as strong and sturdy as it was when new.  In our enclosed deck I have 9 year old cedar log furniture that as of right now I'm guessing will last another 15 to 20 years just by the way it looks now.

Which wood has the best value in outdoor log furniture?

Quality North American outdoor cedar log furniture or Chinese fir log furniture?  Let’s compare log swings and see:

American 5ft Country Garden Cedar Log Swing

• life span of 9 – 15 years 
• cost of $290 including free shipping.  
• At the minimum estimated life span we get $32.33 a year.

Imported Chinese 5ft Chinese Fir Log Swing

• life span of 1 – 2 years 
• cost of $175 at a local large retail store.  
• At the max estimated life span we get $87.50 a year.

I would say the answer is easily American made Cedar Log Furniture.

Weight limits of cedar log furniture vs Chinese fir log furniture

Now figure that both swings are 3 person swings.  Our American made cedar log swing has a weight limit of 700 lbs, the imported Chinese fir swing has a weight limit of 300 lbs.  Can you even swing with your loved one on a Chinese fir log swing safely?

What is the cost of safety to you?  To me it is quite a bit - luckily as shown I can purchase the cedar log swing and it will not only be safer but will be a better value to me long term.  It will actually save me money.

Do you care about buying American made furniture?  So do I.  I'm grateful that I am able to buy American quality cedar log furniture and it will actually save me money and will support local businesses and local craftsmen who care about quality in log furniture.  Think about the long term when you purchase.  These large corporate garden centers are betting that the American public is ignorant and will just look to the bottom dollar.

At JHE’s Log Furniture Place we care about you and we care about log furniture.  You will not find dangerous imported Chinese fir outdoor log furniture on our website.  Chances are you have a local smaller garden center who believes in buying American as well.  Now that you know the difference between Chinese fir and Cedar furniture, what the real cost of cheap furniture is, you will be able to determine for yourself what the best value is when shopping for outdoor log furniture.

Contoured Comfort Cedar Log Tete-A-Tete by Lakeland Mills, Inc

Looking for a place to relax with a special someone after a busy day?  Looking for a comfortable sitting solution for two people?   Maybe something with two chairs connected together with a table in between them.  A table that isn’t overly large but is large enough to serve multiple uses; an armrest, a place to set a cup and plate, a laptop table, etc.  JHE’s Log Furniture Place and Lakeland Mills, Inc has just the thing for you.  The Contoured Comfort Cedar Log Tete-A-Tete.

Today we are going to take a closer look at the cedar log chairs and table set commonly called the log Tete-A-Tete.  This outdoor log furniture set can be found on our website under our outdoor log furniture section.  It is made by our co-owned factory Lakeland Mills, Inc.

You may be wondering why we chose the name tete-a-tete and how it is pronounced.  So let us start with some definitions and pronunciations.  Over the years I’ve heard at least a dozen variations of the pronunciation, there are however as far as I could find, three pronunciations that are correct:

1. ‘tet-ə-ˈtet
2. ‘tāt-ə-ˈtāt,
3. tēt-ə-ˌtēt.

The definition of tete-a-tete is

1. a private conversation between two people
2. a piece of furniture intended to seat two persons
3. Involving two people, intimately private

The inspiration of the design of our cedar log Tete-A-Tete came from these definitions.  Our goal was to create a comfortable piece of wooden outdoor furniture that would allow two people two sit comfortably and enjoy the day conversing amongst themselves.

To meet this goal we incorporated into the seat our extremely comfortable contoured cedar seat slats (found on many of our Contoured Comfort log furniture pieces) .  These contoured seat slats are cut out of cedar logs and are designed to conform to the natural shape of your body as you are sitting.  The result is a wooden seat that sits very comfortably due to the reduced pressure points!

We know a comfortable seat is just the start to a comfortable piece of log furniture so we moved on to the back.  We contoured the top back log so that the slats would be concaved, allowing your back to rest comfortably, again reducing pressure points.  We then adjusted the tilt of the seat and back to both be at comfortable angles.  The seat angle gives the feeling of sinking into the log tete-a-tete while the back is angled to be both relaxing while still sitting upright.

We understand that as much as a person will want to sit and relax all day in our cedar log tete-a-tete one must eventually get up.  The arms are built to be solid and strong rising upwards slightly at the front of the log tete-a-tete creating a sturdy base for your hands to assist raising the body out of the seat.

The cedar log tete-a-tete is constructed using Northern White Cedar.  Northern white cedar is naturally resistant to decay and insect damage.  Northern White Cedar is one of only a few woods that can be used for outdoor log furniture instead of pressure treated lumber because of its long life, durability, stability, and resistance to rot, insects, and fungi.  Learn more about Northern White Cedar here:  Information and Benefits of Northern White Cedar

Our cedar log tete-a-tete will come partially assembled and is easily assembled with common tools and about 15 to 20 minutes of your time.   Rust resistant zinc dichromate hardware is included as well as easy to follow directions written in English.  This is an American made product after all, made by Michigan craftsmen who care about quality and their work.



Please feel free to contact JHE’s Log Furniture Place with any questions or visit us online to purchase your Contoured Comfort Cedar Log Tete-A-Tete today.

Information & Benefits of Northern White Cedar

Northern White Cedar has many benefits and is very popular for log furniture because of its many aesthetic and molecular advantages. The USDA Forestry Division ranks it as one of the best woods to use in exterior building. Northern White Cedar has the lowest shrinkage factor, lowest moisture content, and requires very little maintenance. Northern White Cedar is one of the most versatile woods available. In fact, Northern White Cedar is one of only three woods allowed by National BOCA Code to be used to build a deck or porch without pressure treating for rot, decay, fungi, and wood infesting insects.

Northern White Cedar is one of only a few woods that can be used for outdoor log furniture instead of pressure treated lumber because of its long life, durability, stability, and resistance to rot, insects, and fungi.

Northern White Cedar is produced in the greatest quantities in Canada, Maine, and the Great Lake States. Although it is a difficult tree to harvest, its many aesthetic and structural advantages make up for this.

Northern White Cedar grows in damp swampland and can be harvested only when the winter's chill freezes the ground sufficiently to support the weight of the loggers and their heavy equipment. Even with the most determined effort and the longest winter, loggers manage to fell barely half the Northern White Cedar trees that are ready to harvest each year.

Northern White Cedar is an extremely slow growing tree with very tight growth rings. The trees that are mostly harvested are from 25 - 75 years old. The cedar wood is one of the most versatile. It is nearly impervious to insects, rot, and fungi. It requires little maintenance, it is easy to handle, dimensionally stable, and as durable as it is beautiful. The heartwood is light brown, and the sapwood is thin and white.

Northern White Cedar is a superior choice for log furniture because of its beauty, practicality, and durability. The Northern White Cedar used in log furniture is a creamy white color that gracefully weathers to a silver-gray color when left out in the sun. Cedar is naturally resistant to decay and insect damage. Because of this, cedar log furniture can be used indoors or out, and may be left completely unfinished, treated with protectants, even stained or painted. Whether finished or not, each piece of log furniture will be a durable, beautiful addition to any home, cabin, outdoor setting or garden.

The information above was provided by our knowledge as well as our friends at Timber Ridge Furniture