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The benefits of solid surface outdoor furniture

Spring is coming, and so is outdoor furniture. Finally, the sun will be bright enough and temperatures warm enough to enjoy lunch outside, surrounded by natural light and blooming flowers. Outdoor furniture hits its all-time popularity level in the spring, but finding a furniture material that can sufficiently withstand the elements is difficult. Solid surface’s properties, however, make it a great choice for outdoor environments. Here’s a look at the benefits of solid surface outdoor furniture.

Outdoor furniture needs

If you’ve ever absentmindedly sat down on an outdoor bench only to realize—too late—that it was covered in puddles of water, you know the difficulties that come with outdoor furniture. The outdoors are unpredictable. It could be hot one day and cold the next; sunny one minute and pouring rain seconds later. Heat, cold, rain and snow don’t stop just because you want to use your rooftop garden.

The uncertainty that comes with the outdoors necessitates a versatile, durable material. Outdoor furniture must meet a number of requirements:

1. Water resistance. Moisture is inevitable. Rain, snow, humidity and sweat will all surely make their way to furniture at one point or another, and nobody wants to sit on a damp wooden bench or in a puddle of water.
2. Heat/cold resistance. Despite our best wishes, the temperature will never be a constant 70ºF and sunny. It’ll be blizzard-weather cold Monday and swimming-weather hot Tuesday. Unless you’re planning on lugging that huge bench inside every time it gets too cold or hot, the material you use for outdoor furniture can’t expand or contract in the heat or cold.
3. Durability. When spring comes, human hibernation ends. Once the sun comes out and a beautiful, light, cool breeze begins, outdoor seating areas start getting crowded. Outdoor patios at restaurants are in high demand. People don’t dare leave their seats for fear of losing their prime spots. Furniture material needs to be able to hold up to this high, competitive traffic.
4. Lightweight. Depending upon the space, super heavy material may not be an option—especially if the furniture is part of a rooftop seating area. Nobody wants a concrete bench falling through their office ceiling.
5. Flexibility. Different facilities have different needs. Outdoor furniture material should be easily changed to fit different environments.

 Solid surface benefits

The specific requirements of outdoor furniture disqualify a lot of popular materials. Concrete is heavy and not overwhelmingly attractive. Wood and laminate break down too easily in moisture, and wood is too susceptible to changing temperatures. Fancy materials are expensive, but cheap materials won’t last. Luckily, solid surface meets these requirements and comes with additional benefits.

The material is nonporous, so moisture can’t penetrate the surface and cause the piece to break down. If engineered and manufactured properly, seating areas and other pieces of furniture won’t change size in the heat or cold. It’s extremely durable and flexible, and it’s lighter than many other options.

With Shield’s unique manufacturing processes and ability to specially build products to fit our client’s needs, solid surface outdoor furniture becomes an even better option. But don’t take our word for it. Read about some of the solid surface outdoor furniture testing we’ve done and pieces we’ve built for clients.

Shelfie

Over a year ago, we built a cabinet and stuck it outside for 10 months. Why? To show just how durable our solid surface products are. The cabinet was out there through heat, wind, snow, rain, even a fire—and it came back to us as good as new. No broken doors. No rusty hardware. No stained surfaces. Nothing.

We even set up a camera to record it, so stay tuned for the finished video.

It’s pretty rare for a piece of furniture to remain in top shape after such intense weather conditions, but with our signature manufacturing techniques, our embedded metal inserts and our trusty solid surface, Shelfie was still as high-functioning and good-looking as ever.

Benchie and rooftop garden seating

In April 2015, we worked with a client that needed durable seating for their new rooftop garden. We knew solid surface was better than some of the other options—such as, for instance, heavy concrete benches. But we also knew that we weren’t experts in outdoor seating. We knew unforeseeable problems could—and probably would—arise.

So we built a smaller, prototype bench, name Benchie, and stuck it on our doorstep for a while. We observed how it changed with the weather—how it retained water, how it expanded in the heat, etc.—and used those observations to make our product the best it could be. We added drainage slots around the edges that prevented water from settling on the surface, and we engineered edges that connected in such a way that the bench didn’t change its size in the heat or cold. After extensive testing and prototyping, we delivered the benches to our client in St. Louis, where they superbly match the overall aesthetic of the rooftop garden.

The naturally-occurring properties of solid surface combined with Shield’s research and flexibility make solid surface outdoor furniture a great option for almost any environment. Get ready for spring with outdoor furniture that will endure the April showers and help you enjoy the May flowers.