garden bench

BoardsMember

Hi. Anyone know where I would get a nice solid comfortable garden bench? I'm thinking of the "old style" ones like a park bench, with two metal ends and wood lats between the ends a couple of inches thick, with an inch or so between. There's probably a proper name for them! Hopefully my poor description helps!

dh0661

Any garden centre, major supermarket such as Tesco or Dunnes even Lidl do them sometimes. Woodies, Atlantic or any of those type of stores do them.

I think its called shopping and only you can do that for yourself.

BoardsMember

dh0661 wrote: »

Any garden centre, major supermarket such as Tesco or Dunnes even Lidl do them sometimes. Woodies, Atlantic or any of those type of stores do them.

I think its called shopping and only you can do that for yourself.

How helpful a post dh - I have a good idea what dh stands for based on that post, but I wouldn't want to get into trouble by suggesting. I'm well aware that the stores you mention sell benches, thanks. I wonder why you bother to post things like that, maybe it makes you feel better about yourself?

Anyhow, just so you know, I have been looking in shops (shopping I think you call it) including the ones you suggest. I haven't found what I am looking for. I have looked on the web, and I haven't found what I'm looking for. This is why I posted the question. Yours is not the kind of reply I was looking for or that I welcome. I'd appreciate if you kept your sneering, smug replies to yourself thanks, if you have nothing helpful to post then post nothing.

gollyitsolly

Good answer there Boardsmember:). If you get a chance this year ,go to the Bloom event in the Phoenix Park. There was a guy there last year with old syle gazebos,railings and benches. How about ringing a council and ask who supplies their benches? Good luck anyway.

BoardsMember

gollyitsolly wrote: »

Good answer there Boardsmember:). If you get a chance this year ,go to the Bloom event in the Phoenix Park. There was a guy there last year with old syle gazebos,railings and benches. How about ringing a council and ask who supplies their benches? Good luck anyway.

The council idea was one I was going to try, the only thing putting me off would be the hours of being put on hold while being transferred to the right person or department. I might start with the OPW as they seem a bit better run than most. The Bloom even is also worth a shot, these olde wordly things are harder and harder to come by! Thanks for the post golly.

Sonnenblumen

BoardsMember wrote: »

The council idea was one I was going to try, the only thing putting me off would be the hours of being put on hold while being transferred to the right person or department. I might start with the OPW as they seem a bit better run than most. The Bloom even is also worth a shot, these olde wordly things are harder and harder to come by! Thanks for the post golly.

We have 'Park Bench' style benches on sale (also at Bloom last year and will be there next month as well) but without the cast iron sides. The authentic Park bench complete with cast sides are very difficult to come back. They are because of the weight, handling etc very expensive. Our bench has similar ergonomics but on robust underframe, a design not too dissimilar to continental park benches. The timber lathes are 50x25mm and pressure treated and fixed with brass screws.

Send me a pm if more details required.

the harness

i make the frame from steel so it does not get weak after a few years like ones held together with wood and i have 2 inch lates running across them i can make them any size and shape and can be coloured in any colour

Sonnenblumen

the harness wrote: »

i make the frame from steel so it does not get weak after a few years like ones held together with wood and i have 2 inch lates running across them i can make them any size and shape and can be coloured in any colour

Why would timber construction become loose, if the quality is good, like well made wooden chairs, why on earth would they become loose. Unless of course you're referring to cheap and nasty crap sold in some chains etc?

What timbers do you use, are they pressure treated and how are they fixed?

gsxr1

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Why would timber construction become loose, if the quality is good, like well made wooden chairs, why on earth would they become loose. Unless of course you're referring to cheap and nasty crap sold in some chains etc?

What timbers do you use, are they pressure treated and how are they fixed?

pressure treating involves lots of arsenic. Very bad for you indeed.

Hardwood would be the type I would choose. But the best hardwood or any timber will age quickly unless treated properly at home.it splits on the grain and warps if not sealed.

I used ronsel yacht varnish on my picnic bench 2 years ago and it is coping very well with the summer heat and winter wet very well

I seen the type you are after in the celbridge garden centre last year. They seemed sturdy to me. But the price was around 100 euro . worth a phone call to check.

the harness

there is nothing wrong with wooden benchs but there is less care with steel i have seen a few good quality wooden benchs start to wobble after a few years even more so after they are moved alot thats why i started making steel framed ones

mirror mirror

look on donedeal.ie ,there was a couple on it last week

dh0661

BoardsMember wrote: »

How helpful a post dh - I have a good idea what dh stands for based on that post, but I wouldn't want to get into trouble by suggesting.

dh = Donna Harty.

When I read your post you sounded like a lazy B who wanted to us to do your "shopping" for you. Sorry:o but that's the way I picked it up.

I think I actually have the type of garden bench you are looking for, I bought it in Ballyseedy garden centre Tralee.

Sonnenblumen

gsxr1 wrote: »

pressure treating involves lots of arsenic. Very bad for you indeed.

Hardwood would be the type I would choose. But the best hardwood or any timber will age quickly unless treated properly at home.it splits on the grain and warps if not sealed.

I used ronsel yacht varnish on my picnic bench 2 years ago and it is coping very well with the summer heat and winter wet very well

I seen the type you are after in the celbridge garden centre last year. They seemed sturdy to me. But the price was around 100 euro . worth a phone call to check.

Timber is a breathable material and good quality timbers do not warp, \yes you'll get discoloration, some minor cracks or splits but nothing too serious. Think of them a swarts, niot pretty for some, but not life threatening either.

In what way is arsenic 'very bad for you' and a 'yacht varnish' isn't? I mean you don't ingest the substance? Many timbers used in construction are pressure treated, I haven't heard of any casualties, and the PT process protects timbers for 25 years+. Varnish on the other hand is a bit like 'fake tan' it looks good but has to be topped up repeatedly.

A good bench will cost at least € 200.00 and very often much more.

BoardsMember

Thanks all for the reply. Donna - I appreciate your getting back to me. I'll check out all the leads and see what comes up. Sonnenblumenn - do you have any pics/prices you could PM me?

gsxr1

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Timber is a breathable material and good quality timbers do not warp, \yes you'll get discoloration, some minor cracks or splits but nothing too serious. Think of them a swarts, niot pretty for some, but not life threatening either.

In what way is arsenic 'very bad for you' and a 'yacht varnish' isn't? I mean you don't ingest the substance? Many timbers used in construction are pressure treated, I haven't heard of any casualties, and the PT process protects timbers for 25 years+. Varnish on the other hand is a bit like 'fake tan' it looks good but has to be topped up repeatedly.

A good bench will cost at least € 200.00 and very often much more.

I am a carpenter . I work with pressure treated timber. Its not good for you or the garden.
I have put down loads of decks with the stuff and I have found a growing number of people who have children or pets go for composite decking. Arsenic is poisonous. and it causes Cancer

http://www.getipm.com/articles/letters/cca-wood.htm

http://works.bepress.com/sbeder/10/


in fact if anyone has tried to grow veg or flowers at the bottom of those pressure treated dividing timber panels . They will find for the first year contaminated rain water lashing of the fence kills all the plant life underneath.

I have had a few splinters with the stuff. the injury gets puss filled with a day.
The pressure treated stuff in the construction of a house is the wall plate. Under your roof. on battens behind your wall. . You would hardly be 2nd fixing with the stuff!
tanalising has become safer but most is still done the old way.

any raw timber cut as slats for seats will degrade fast unless protected? Even hardwood with a tight grain.. It opens up , take in water and rot sets in.

except may by cedar. But thats stuff is rubbish(in my opinion) very weak and expensive.

That's why B&Q have a whole isle of varnish and stains! lol Varnish water based is not toxic at all when dried.

It does what it says on the tin hehehe

Sonnenblumen

gsxr1 wrote: »

I am a carpenter . I work with pressure treated timber. Its not good for you or the garden.
I have put down loads of decks with the stuff and I have found a growing number of people who have children or pets go for composite decking. Arsenic is poisonous. and it causes Cancer

http://www.getipm.com/articles/letters/cca-wood.htm

http://works.bepress.com/sbeder/10/


in fact if anyone has tried to grow veg or flowers at the bottom of those pressure treated dividing timber panels . They will find for the first year contaminated rain water lashing of the fence kills all the plant life underneath.

I have had a few splinters with the stuff. the injury gets puss filled with a day.
The pressure treated stuff in the construction of a house is the wall plate. Under your roof. on battens behind your wall. . You would hardly be 2nd fixing with the stuff!
tanalising has become safer but most is still done the old way.

any raw timber cut as slats for seats will degrade fast unless protected? Even hardwood with a tight grain.. It opens up , take in water and rot sets in.

except may by cedar. But thats stuff is rubbish(in my opinion) very weak and expensive.

That's why B&Q have a whole isle of varnish and stains! lol Varnish water based is not toxic at all when dried.

It does what it says on the tin hehehe

I think you're running risk of becoming paranoid. PT timbers are used extensively throughout Europe for many years, in markets much more sophisticated than here. Discerning professionals throughout the world use PT timbers. Much of the problems with porr performance has more to do with poor installation usually by carpenters 'chancing their arm' a lot of times installing decking. The discussion is about benches and I do agree it would not be a good idea to cut slats for a bench. The slats on our benches are cut first then pressure treated, any subsequent cutting of PT timbers would undermine the PT protection, but as in the case of decking, it is advisable to treat any cut boards. Never seen it done, but again that doesn't surprise me. In my years of landscaping I've never encountered any incidents of plants been kille dby 'contaminated run-off'.

There is a lot of scare mongering going on all the time, and despite some clever marketing campaigns, 'what it says on the tin' is nothing more than a catchy sales ploy. DIY stores are full of product to meet consumers demands to tackle the symptoms of problems and rarely solving the causes.

muttslife

this is where you will pick up those benches you are after
wwwhartecast.com
Anita@hartecast.com
also get in contact with Gary on sales@sesservices.ie as they have some great benches used by the various councils
i only wish i could afford a pair for the front of my home.

fifilarue

Hi OP
I spotted this on ebay and it might be what you are after.
http://cgi.ebay.ie/PRETTY-SUNFLOWER-GARDEN-BENCH-50-CAST-IRON-RESTORE-/140406638071?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Home_Garden_GardenFurnitureR2_SM&hash=item20b0e345f7

BoardsMember

Thanks for the link fifilarue (love the name). Looks a lovely bench. But the amount of work to restore coupled with my DIY limitations would mean it might be too big a project for me.

fifilarue

BoardsMember wrote: »

Thanks for the link fifilarue (love the name). Looks a lovely bench. But the amount of work to restore coupled with my DIY limitations would mean it might be too big a project for me.

No worries BoardsMember-it looks like it might take more than a lick of paint and a rub of sandpaper to restore . I like the vintage look though.

Sonnenblumen

Hi BoardsMember

your search could be at an end. These 'Park style' benches can seat comfortably 3 people are 1800mm long. Manufactured using Scandinavian Pressure treated Spruce, they are very durable, long lasting and very good value. Let me know if you require any more info.

Qwerty?

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

...and very good value. Let me know if you require any more info.

Nice bench. Whats very good value? is there a boardsie special coming up:D

Sonnenblumen

Yeah sure € 195.00 (€ 20 off normal price)

BoardsMember

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Yeah sure € 195.00 (€ 20 off normal price)

Nice bench! I'll let her indoors have a look at it, think she has her heart set on a wraught iron type one, she's thinking lower maintenance but not listening when I tell her it aint necessarily so...

rob007

You still making them? If so, please send me a DM?