Should I Repair or Replace Damaged Redwood Furniture?
If you have redwood outdoor furniture, sooner or later you’re going to have to make a decision about whether to do a DIY home repair project or replace a damaged or broken piece. There are several factors you must take into consideration before you make that call. Redwood is a very beautiful and durable wood, ideal for making furniture, but sooner or later, you’re still going to have to deal with what to do with redwood furniture that has seen better days.
One of the biggest difficulties in deciding what to do with damaged redwood furniture is how to match the stain on the furniture. Although there are many types of wood stains on the market, it’s been my experience that it’s generally hard to match a redwood stain well. This makes making a decision on repair or replacing damaged redwood even harder.
Below are a few tips on redwood furniture repair so you can decide if it is a task worth tackling for your own outdoor furniture, or whether you should just skip the effort and head to a store to buy new redwood furniture.
CRACKS AND SMALL BREAKS
Cracks, dings and small breaks can be repaired rather easily. Just remember, if you use glue to make such repairs, do not use yellow glue, because it’s not waterproof. Instead, use epoxy or glue specifically designed for outside use.
WOOD PUTTY AND BOND
I’ve used wood putty and bond to successfully repair redwood furniture, but I prefer to use it in a place that is not readily seen in case the stain doesn’t match. I haven’t had this happen often, and in reality it’s nearly impossible to always hide a repair, so make sure you get as close as possible in matching putty or stain to the wood you’re repairing.
WASHING OF EXCESS STAIN
It’s also a good idea to wash all stain off the wood thoroughly. If you don’t, you stand to have redwood stains on your deck or patio from the excess stain washing off during a good rain. You should also wash off new redwood furniture just for this reason. It can save you a lot of frustration down the line, and a lot of headaches when you have to fix up your deck or patio from the transferred stain.
WHEN TO REPLACE REDWOOD FURNITURE
If the piece of furniture you’re trying to repair is heavily damaged, it may be cheaper to just go ahead and replace it. Just make sure the new redwood furniture matches the older pieces, unless you are replacing the entire set at once. This can be very difficult to do if you happen to have older redwood furniture, but it is possible if you look around enough. Otherwise, find a contrasting piece of furniture that will look good with your existing patio or outdoor dining furniture, rather than putting a new and old piece of furniture together side by side that just look like what they are – a new and old piece of furniture that really don’t go together well.
Most redwood furniture will be strong and durable and will last for many years of outdoor use.
But like any other type of wood furniture, or any outdoor furniture for that matter, there will probably come a time when you need to decide whether to repair your redwood furniture, or replace it. After reading a few of these tips, hopefully your decision will be an easier one to make.
