Knock-down, folding or fixed: how our teak furniture is built to ship

Every piece in our catalogue is marked with how it is built: knock-down, folding, stacking or fixed. The difference matters twice, once when the container is loaded and again when the furniture is in use.

Knock-down. Benches, most armchairs and many tables leave the factory in parts, packed flat in a carton, and are bolted together on arrival. The frames are made in sub-assemblies whose joints are mortise-and-tenon, locked with teak pegs, and the sub-assemblies are joined with stainless steel bolts. Knock-down packing gives the lowest volume per piece.

Folding. Folding chairs, armchairs, loungers and many of our round and square tables fold on stainless steel pivot bolts and ship folded. They arrive ready to use, take very little room in a container, and can be folded again for winter storage or to clear a terrace at the end of the day. Our picnic tables go one step further: their top is made in two halves that drop down on either side of the closed legs.

Stacking. Stacking armchairs are designed so that one sits on another without damage, which is what contract buyers such as restaurants and event venues need when a terrace has to be cleared quickly.

Fixed. Some pieces, such as bar chairs, Adirondack chairs and slatted stools, are made as fixed frames and ship assembled. They go straight into service when the container is unpacked.

Hardware. Across all four, the hardware is AISI 304 stainless steel as standard. For coastal and poolside sites, where salt air attacks lesser steel, we fit AISI 316 on request.

Timber. Every piece is solid plantation teak, dried in our own kilns to about 12 percent moisture content before it is machined, so that joints stay tight once the furniture is outdoors.