Insuring your garden contents:

Purchasing cedar furniture, with its natural aromas and subtle textures of color, is a simple and affordable way of making your garden feel just that little bit smarter. If it is a beautiful warm day, and you find yourself tempted by the prospect of dozing over a novel on the patio, then the last thing you want is to settle back into a scratchy, uncomfortable fold-up chair, when you could be reclining on a stunning cedar easy-chair. It is important, however, to keep your outdoor furniture in good nick, open to the elements as it is. Here are a few tips on how to make that happen: 1. If you want to experiment with having your furniture in different colors, then painting is probably not the best option, due to the way that paint will trap moisture, eventually flaking and peeling, and ultimately having to be reapplied. Staining is a simple way of giving the cedar new tones: it only needs to be applied once every three years, and usually comes with a UV inhibitor, protecting your furniture from the Sun’s harsh rays. 2. Wood oil is not recommended as a finish for your furniture. Instead, wood sealer is better for the wood as it simply blocks the pores, preventing the grain from rising with age, but allowing it to develop into the color it naturally would if it were untreated. 3. Alternatively, you could leave your furniture without any kind of finishing or treatment. Cedar is naturally resistant to attacks from insects or diseases, and if you don’t mind your furniture gradually changing color from a dark red to a silvery grey, then there is no particular reason to modify it. Another major concern is the safety of your outdoor furniture against theft or damage. It is of course desirable to leave it all outside, and not have to drag it in and out of the shed every time you want to sit on your garden bench, but it is hard to ignore the potential dangers of keeping your possessions in your garden, where it will be much more vulnerable than the things inside your house. You should make sure that you have got your garden items covered under your house insurance policy.