Furniture splitting

Hi all,


I'm looking to begin purchasing furniture (antique style, darkwood etc) with a view to moving back to the US at some point.


I have heard that many people have experienced problems with their nice wooden furniture, splitting when it is relocated to a dry environment from a humid one.


While this is generally a problem in how the wood is treated when the furniture is made (ie, not being properly dried out), is there a way of ensuring I don't have the same problem?


Has anyone had similar experiences? Are there places in HK which sell such furniture, that has been treated properly?


Or should I give up and take the chance?


Thanks

Our two antique pieces are fine but a table we bought split at the joins straight away. We called the shop and he pointed out the fine print on the receipt which says this will happen. In future I would ask and if they mention splitting then avoid it. The table looks pretty ugly with gaps around the joins but when it goes back together again is is quite hard to see. All pieces were from shops in Horizon Plaza. The Antiques from Shambala on the 15th floor, the split table from a shop on the 27th.

As wood is a natural product nothing can be done to totally eradicate the possibility of cracking. Make sure anyone you ask to make furniture uses old wood - ie from old beams etc - not new wood that has just been cut - this will significantly reduce cracking. It should also be dried out as much as possible in the factory - so when you ask to have items made make sure they arent saying that will make it in a couple of weeks! ALso try to wax the furntiure every 6 months or so - bees wax is the best - best to do this during humid months so that it seals in the moisture. You can also try putting saucers of water under the pireces, or inside and keep it topped up - if the wood is greeting dry it can suck up the water from the saucer. You will probably find that during humid times of the year the cracks will close up again.

Any other questions let me know - enquiry@touchwoodhk.com www.touchwoodhk.com

Hi again,


Thanks for getting back to me - there's some good tips there. I guess the trick is to make sure the wood is old, and hope that when the factory/dealer says it's old, it actually is!


Thanks again