Frequently Asked Questions

Every once in a while—it doesn’t happen often, maybe once or twice a year—we have a customer report that their planter box, shower bench, or other redwood furniture has stained their concrete or tile. The reason this happens has to do with the natural tannins in the redwood, via a process called “extractive bleeding.” It can happen with just about any wood, but is especially noticeable with cedar and redwood.

Redwood derives its durability and weather-resisting qualities from these naturally occurring chemicals, so in a sense, it’s a good sign! But unfortunately, the tannins can easily dissolve in water and cause the staining issue—and we have no way of predicting when it will happen.

The good news is, there is a solution (actually, a few):

• You can remove the staining with fresh lime juice,
• or with a diluted bleach solution,
• or with a mild solution of trisodium phosphate or other detergent and water.

If the stains are not removed and are permitted to oxidize, they can become darker in color. If that happens, you might need to remove them by scrubbing them with a soft (non-wire) brush in a 50% solution of alcohol and water. It will take a few applications to fully take care of the problem. A couple weeks after the first application, the staining will likely return. You’ll have to remove it again and it will return a second time, but less so. Remove again and it may return a third time, but much less so… then it will be over, as the extractive bleeding has run its course.

If this happens to you, there is an easy solution!

Other outdoor furniture I have ordered without a sealant, and allowed the wood color to change with the weather and turn to become a grayish color which looks good in the location I’m in. Your order page offers several sealants and stains. Do you see a problem with me ordering the table without a sealant? Are the boards likely to crack or what is your opinion?

If you like the greyish “old” surface color to develop as quickly as possible, order the set “unfinished”. But, if you go with the standard sealant, it will still eventually go grey also—it will just take longer.

The sealant will have the added advantage of keeping the wood sealed from the elements. Redwood is naturally very decay resistant and will easily last in any climate without the sealant as you are contemplating. But, without sealant, the wood will dry out in a few months during the dry season and possibly develop a few more surface cracks than if you ordered it with the sealant.

Faster graying and faster drying without the sealant is the only real difference. There is no extra charge for ordering any of our furniture with the standard sealant.

Is the Mature Redwood with Premium Sealant resistance to heavy salt air? Like Bermuda?

It will outlast you or I [Raul speaking, founder and CEO] or we’ll replace any part at no cost. The salt air will eat away at the finish after a few years. If you don’t refinish it every 3 or 4 years it will look beat up on the surface, but it will not decay— not for at least 20 years. If you refinish it a couple times per decade it will last almost indefinitely. You can learn more about how to easily refinish your furniture by going to our Finish Options & Furniture Care page.

Does the Anchor Kit give a 1/4-inch clearance from the concrete platform? Bermuda building code.

The anchors are 1/4″-thick steel. So, by placing them on the concrete they will indeed automatically raise the wood posts off the ground by your required code. Plus, the anchor bolts will not sit completely flush at the base of the anchors, so this will add another 1/32″ or so height off the ground.

Also, we recommend taking a few minutes to add some paint (oil-based is best) to the bottoms and first few inches of the posts. Add a couple of coats to make sure they are 100% sealed up. For the tropics where there is an almost endless supply of water, this will make sure the bottom of the posts wick up as little moisture as possible. Since you are using our anchoring kit, the included wood trim pieces will hide the paint at the base of the posts—so if you have old, extra paint lying around, this is a great way to put it to good use.

I want a lot of shade under my Pergola. Can the spacing of the roof rafters be set at 2 or 3 inches on center and what would be the additional cost?

The roofs slats can be set closer together at whatever spacing you like. However, going to just 3 inches on center will create much more shade than you are imagining—it will create almost a closed roof. The slats are 1.75″ wide each. At 3 inches on center, you only have 5/8″ of an inch of open space between the each slat. You’ll block the view of the sky completely and have over 80% solid wood on the top layer of the roof. If you then figure the 5.75″ tall rafters below are set at 18 inches on center and also block a lot of sunlight (since the sun is at an angle most of the time), you will have nearly 100% shade under the pergola at most hours of the day except when the sun is directly overhead. The extra roof slats will add 11% to the original cost estimate.

If you still would like to proceed, consider a maximum of 6 inches on center when doing the assembly (don’t screw them in—just place them at 6 inches on center) and see how it looks and how much shade it provides. Then, after a day or two, go back and either screw them in at 6 inches on center or go ahead and add more to get to 3 inches on center. It is doubtful you’ll want to place them at 3 inches on center because you’ll lose the ability of seeing up and not gain much additional shading. You’ll have over 80% shade most of the time at 6 inches on center, which is the closest together any one of our customers has ever placed the roof slats.

I don’t want any top stringers, and on the spacing of the top boards, I’d like them to be 12″ or even wider apart. [Florida customer inquiring about a large pergola that will require a local permit.]

The different levels of a pergola roof are important structural elements.

The top stringers—what we call roof slats—are important structural elements. They are notched into each rafter below to make the super-strong “web” design of our pergola roofs. Without any of the 2×2 roof slats, I think you’ll have difficulty getting the permits approved unless we make some other structural adjustments. For example, you’ll have to place metal ties at each juncture between the rafters and the roof support timbers.

The roof support timbers are precisely that—they are the horizontal 2×6’s that are notched into each side of the posts and they hold the rafters that sit atop and perpendicular to them. Each rafter is notched into the roof support timbers below it, but to really strengthen the pergola roof to resist high storm winds in Florida, I’d recommend keeping at least some of the 2×2 roof slats above them.

If you’d like to have 12″ on center rafters, we can design the structural details in a couple ways. For example, if you don’t mind some “stringers” (roof slats), we can place them either 24″ or 36″ on center to just serve as extra strengthening without creating too busy of a structure. Or, if you really do not want any roof slats in the design, we can then place metal “l” brackets atop the roof support timbers between each rafter that tie to each side of each rafter. It will barely be visible from below and should be fine for the county permit also.

We use excellent quality redwood because it’s the most decay and insect resistant wood that grows naturally in North America. The best value is to go with our Mature Redwood. It is guaranteed against decay for 20 years and will easily last longer and is reasonably priced. Vinyl, fiberglass and other products are less expensive, but you’ll wind up having to replace them sooner.

Rustic Bench with Plaque.You must provide the plaque, but we will install it for no extra charge.

Since you don’t make the memorial plaques, how do I get a memorial plaque made? How does this process work?

Your best bet in terms of getting a plaque made just the way you’d like is to find a local engraver or trophy shop. This way you can touch and feel the different materials available and lay out the plaque’s font and spacing just the way you want.

If you can’t find a local engraver, you can use our engraver in Santa Rosa, CA. Janet at Jay’s Engraving is a pleasure to work with. You can contact her at:

Jay’s Engraving & Rubber Stamp
www.jaysengraving.com
3185 Cleveland Ave #A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 542-3873

If you go forward with a plaque locally, just let us know when you place your order. Ship the plaque to:

Forever Redwood
33800 Annapolis Rd.
Annapolis, CA 95412

Please let us know when it ships so we can be on the lookout for it.

I have a large order shipping by crate. I am concerned about whether or not I will need to be home for delivery.  Is an in-person signature usually required?

When the order ships, we’ll email the tracking information to you the next business day. The shipper will call you when your crate arrives at their warehouse near you. They’ll set up a 4 hour window. By contract, they have to be willing to sit on the crate for up to 5 business days. So, if the first 4 hour window is not convenient, just have them set it when it’s most convenient. You can have them drop it off without a signature, but depending on the carrier we wind up using (won’t know until ship out day), they may require you fax a signed note to the warehouse saying you agreed to have it dropped off without anyone. It is best to have someone be there to make sure the crate is intact, etc… We rarely have damage, but just in case. Thanks.

Kid's Luna Bench with Memorial Plaque

I’m interested in purchasing a Luna Bench and adding a memorial plaque. Where is the best place to add it?

There are a couple of choices for where to place a plaque on the Luna Bench:

1. We can place the plaque on the timber in the front and just below the seat. I’d keep the plaque to a maximum of 3 inches tall. The length can be up to 18 inches if necessary. But, with plaques, our experience is that often times less is more. The plaque would be centered unless you prefer it to one side.
2. The other option is to cut in partially into a few of the backrest slats and inlay the plaque towards the top of the backrest and centered.

An alternative to a memorial plaque is to have us engrave a message across the front board under the seat. It is attractive and will cut down the amount of time to complete the project.