The Bistro Set Longevity League: UK Materials Ranked

Furniture in Fashion has assessed which bistro set materials survive a British year, and the ordering below is based on how each material behaves against moisture, ultraviolet light and freeze thaw movement rather than on any measured failure data, because none is published. The distinction matters, because British outdoor furniture is not defeated by cold. It is defeated by damp, by long periods of dull wet weather in which nothing ever fully dries, and by the repeated small expansions and contractions that follow. Aluminium and powder coated aluminium sit at the top of that ordering because they cannot rust. Untreated mild steel sits at the bottom because a single chip in its coating is enough to start corrosion that spreads beneath the surface. Between them sit teak, hardwood, synthetic rattan and cast iron, each with a specific weakness. This report explains each one, and the balcony dimensions that decide fit....