Living with Wildlife..

Ok so follow me on my story here for a second lol.. I got a bee in my bonnet to refresh my front porch. I decided that I have this big huge space and I want to make better use of it. The picture is the before. Anywho, I set out yesterday in taking everything off the porch and giving it a good cleaning. I scrubbed the rails, the door, took out the screens and cleaned them, scrubbed the window frames, the light fixtures and the porch swing. The amount of bird droppings and spider droppings was crazy. Then I got out the pressure washer and washed the cedar decking down. Step one complete.

In order to save a little money I decided to recycle (albeit temporary because I don't really like them for sitting) some chairs that we had gotten to go with a beautiful cedar table Randy made. (It used to sit in our gazebo but when we got rid of the deck we took that down and it's waiting to be rebuilt over by the pond at which time I think the table and chairs will be reunited.) So the chairs are like some super hardwood they are ok for sitting at the table and eating, but not the comfy kind you want to sit in for any length of time.(Which I'm envisioning something comfy to sit in and watch the pollinator garden and maybe read a good book, while sipping a glass of lemonade) Well two were on the coffee deck (that is the little deck outside of the all season room that we built and have coffee and cocktails on sometimes) and the other two by the pond. All four were kinda gross (the ones from the pond more so) so I got out the Murphy's oil soap (remember that stuff lol) and scrubbed them down really good. The two that had been over by the pond had been gnawed on pretty good, but the two that had been on the coffee deck were in fine shape.

They are on the porch for now, however I'm going shopping today for some odds and ends to add out there and I was looking at furniture online at some of the places I'm going. They have some really nice stuff out there, some sets that I would love to have on the porch and then there's some stuff that I'd love to have by the pond, but what in the world do you do to keep the wildlife from destroying it? I mean it's bad enough that something chewed the wood, but I can't imagine what would happen to chairs with cushions on them by the pond. We are on our second hammock because something ate the rope on the first one! So for any of you that have outdoor seating areas are you only using metal with no cushions? How can you stop the chewing and destruction? (if you can) Obviously this isn't an issue in more suburban areas, or is it??? Please help lol!!!

Short answer- I don't know
8 ^P
Short question--do you have hazelnut? I'll bring the half and half
I haven't had squirrels chew my furniture but a neighbor said she had some really bad problems with squirrels gettting in her screen porch and ruining things. We have a nice hammock that we try not to leave out in rain. And we flip it over not in use so the bird stuff hits the other side and you still have a clean side.
They are selling tons of comfy stuff for outside but I can't imagine leaving things like that out in the sun and rain all summer. So then, if you have to go to the house to get it and put it out, well then, it seems like a pain in the you know what to me. Then again, I hate decorating, and I can't sit still lately and plan a sitting period in the yard.
Our current deck chairs came from Target and are powder coated steel with mesh seat and back, all in one piece of mesh. They are pretty comfortable, dry quickly, thye have them again this year but in all new colors ofcourse.

Yes I do have hazelnut regular and decafe and you're welcome over anytime!!!

We think along the same lines Sally, ;)

I was thinking the mesh chairs for by the pond, maybe a little metal table to match. I have to have a sitting place over there I love to watch the fish eat. That's where the hammock is also and I tend to flop down in that after I mow and just veg and cool off while listening to the waterfall and staring up into the tree canopy.

I don't mind decorating, I mean I'm not what's her name lol.. but I do have southern in me and that porch and lemonade just call to me on hot summer afternoons. I always told my mil (who complained about how slow the people in the south move) that it's in our blood, the hotter it gets the slower we go lol! She lives in Pinehurst, NC now and suffers through the long humid southern summers haha!

" I love to watch the fish eat. That's where the hammock is also and I tend to flop down in that after I mow and just veg and cool off while listening to the waterfall and staring up into the tree canopy."
""We think along the same lines Sally, ;) "
You can say that again!

Course, Adirondack chairs are great. I wonder if they would be chewed, if painted? There may be resin ones now.

Idy, outdoor wood furniture should have its finish redone every couple of years. It will last a lot longer if you can take them into the garage or basement for the winter.

You can use anything you'd use on a deck, depending on what kind of finish is already on it - polyurethane clear deck finishes or finishing oils. I think the oils last longer because they soak into the wood but you can only use those if there's no coating finish on the wood or you strip or sand it off first. You may also want to periodically restain them. Again, make sure to remove any coating finish like poly before restaining. Then recoat with poly or oil.

Even if you're just touching up a poly finish, be sure to sand it lightly first with a medium to fine sandpaper and steel wood. That will rough up the surface so the new coat will stick and also smooth down any loose areas.

Put down a couple of coats of whatever you're using, again smoothing between coats lightly after it dries but this time with superfine sandpaper and steel wool. If you put a final coat of wood paste wax on top after all your coats are finished and dry, that will also help protect against weather and critters. I'd normally say use furniture paste wax but even floor paste wax (not spray!) would work for outdoors.

BTW, this is assuming it's a natural wood finish and not painted.

Bugs and critters will be a lot less likely to gnaw on wood with a finish on it and it will protect the wood from weather. This sounds like a lot of work but it really doesn't take that long.

But Sally is right - metal furniture is probably a better bet for something that's out in the weather all the time. I think wood does better when it has some kind of cover like a porch or gazebo.

BTW, if it has a smooth - not powder coat - finish, you can put car wax on outdoor metal furniture to help keep it in good shape. Just clean it and reapply the wax once a year. If it's older metal furniture, be sure to remove all the oxidation before appying the wax. You can get stuff at the auto shop to do that too.

Thanks for the tips Hart! I have my grandmother's original metal chairs and gliders (you know the ones they are selling as 'retro' now) and I'd love to fix them up to use!

Here's my refurbished porch lol, now I'm going to go sit on it and watch the rain!

One time I grabbed some old metal chairs, retro looking, that sat on a steel tube base, thye sort of bounced when you leaned back--they were really comfortable! I was in college, I must have let them rust, they're long gone

Oh, gosh, Idy, I know. My parents' chairs and gliders like that will be sold at auction on July 3 along with everything else from Mom's house. It was either that or put everything in storage until Mom is gone. Moral of the story - make darned sure that there is a line of succession for power of attorney in case you're not able to make decisions for yourself and in case the first person with POA is incapacitated or dies.

Seeing all the family things go, including things Daddy intended to go to us but didn't put in writing in his will, is tearing me up.

On the old metal chairs and gliders, try to keep the original paint if you can and just clean and wax it like I detailed above. BTW, I should have mentioned you can use car wax on the metal furniture instead of furniture wax, liquid or paste whichever you prefer.

Yup that's them Sally! I remember sitting in my grandmas garage shelling peas and snapping beans in those chairs!

That's sad Hart, I'm really sorry about that. I know how that goes though, when my grandpa died we had a family member go in and take what they wanted even when it was intended to be giving to others. It really irks me to this day and the attitude was that well I was here and you weren't. I don't care that doesn't make it right!!!! All I say though is this karma is going to get you in the end!!!!

The paint on the chairs is long rusted. Once my grandma died they were left to the elements until we came and claimed them. Randy is going to work on restoring them this winter, they were hunter green and white originally so we are going to keep them that color! I love those chairs!!!

Confession .I skimmed the article but have an impression.Red Squirrels will destroy anything.

Josh has a half dozen of the old steel chairs and a love seat down at his river place. They were pretty rough when he got them. They were lightly sand blasted and repainted with Rustoleum and remain very useful as well as durable.
They do make the resin Adirondacks, they are comfy and durable. Ottomans/tables as also available. We usually pick up a couple at the end of the season, if we need replacements. They now make them in tropical pastels. Ric

Can't help with the squirrel issue but I love the porch. Ric & I have friends that have a log home and their porch looks a good bit like yours just not as shady. Their woods are behind the house with a field and southern exposure in front. I love seeing those porches that have the really nice furniture (better than I have inside) but really I don't quite know how they keep them nice. You would be cleaning the cobwebs off of it, and dragging the cushions in and out all the time. Holly

Our home is situated in the woods for the most part, on the five acres we have I'd say less than an acre is tree free. The porch gets dusty more than anything from the gravel lane but that's easy enough to deal with lol, nothing my electric blower can't handle! Yeah that nice furniture is what I'm wanting, something comfy to flop down in and sit a spell!

What an inviting front porch! Nice work!

Good work Ldy. I am very impressed.

Ruby

Lovely porch!

I wonder if you could use something like a citrus or herb (mint or rosemary would probably be your best bets) essential oil on outdoor furniture (maybe even mixed into the poly coat? would have to experiment on a piece of scrap wood and just a bit of finish first, I guess) to help keep critters at bay... ?