Wooden Outdoor Furniture Costs More to Maintain

The first question to ask when considering new outdoor furniture is not just suitability and price. 

The durability and long term cost of maintenance in materials and labour will be far greater than the initial cost of installation. 

This won't matter much if you don't care what it looks like after 12-24 months, but most people do.

Here at Kedel in Lancashire we make our products in 100% Recycled Plastic.

‘Sustainability’, ‘eco-friendliness’,’ zero carbon footprint’, are much more important to consider these days and are frequent topics under discussion by specifiers, facilities managers, architects and politicians of course. 

Procurement professionals everywhere are looking closely at environmental impacts as we begin to feel the effects of global warming on our climate.

If you have been the victim of recent floods this is a subject that will be hitting home.

Recycled Plastic has a big part to play both in flood defences and in making any outdoor patio furniture waterproof and durable.

Most of Kedel's Garden Furniture won't float away in the floods or blow away in a gale.  It has twice the weight and density of wood.

The UK Government's sustainability target, along with responsible Governments all over the world, is to make all refurbishment and new building projects carbon neutral by 2016.

Since we began trading in 2010, we've noticed a mushrooming interest in long lasting maintenance free benching and fencing products from the general public and institutions alike ( see Housing Association Case study, Partington, Manchester). 

Our turnover has increased by 30% or more every year for the last 5 years.

“There is a keen interest in recycled plastic because of its longevity - it will never rot, so there is no recurring annual cost for maintenance,” says Dermot Walch, Kedel’s Managing Director.

 “The general public as well as large institutions appreciate this," adds Lewis Walch, another of the brothers in this family business. "Buying recycled plastic is like buying a car that will never ever need a service,” he says. (See Case study at Belmont School near Bolton)

"When buying outdoor furniture, lifetime maintenance costs and eco considerations should be top priorities. The initial outlay may be 30-40% more but the investment will easily pay for itself in 2-5 years, and recycled plastic continues to look good throughout its life, whereas wood starts to look a bit jaded even after 12 months exposure to the elements."

A Cost Comparison Study by WRAP (Waste Resources Action Programme) shows that after 2 years treated wood products will start to need maintenance and expect to need replacement by year 7. 

Recycled plastic lasts forever and looks good forever!

It's the intelligent choice where outdoor products are continuously exposed to our often inclement British weather.

For information use our quotations form or e-mail or call 01282 861325.