06/05/2026
Here's something most furniture companies don't talk about and it's costing homeowners money and frustration every single year. π©
The hardware. Specifically: what happens to the bolts, screws, and fasteners holding your outdoor furniture together when Iowa weather does its thing. Regular steel hardware even coated or galvanized steel will eventually rust when exposed to outdoor conditions. The oxidation process accelerates when moisture gets into the joint between metal and wood or plastic.
Over time, rusty hardware doesn't just look bad, it STAINS the surrounding material (ever seen those orange rust streaks on outdoor furniture?), weakens the structural integrity of the joints, and eventually causes failure.
We've seen chairs from big-box retailers where the hardware was so corroded after 3-4 years that the joints were loose and the chair was genuinely unsafe to sit in. At TimberCraft, we don't use regular steel hardware. Every single fastener on every single piece we build uses stainless steel β the same grade specified for marine environments (boats, docks, ocean-facing structures) where corrosion resistance is literally a safety requirement.
Stainless steel hardware will:
β
Never rust, even in 25+ years of outdoor exposure
β
Never stain or streak the poly lumber around it
β
Maintain structural integrity for the full life of the furniture
β
Stay tight and secure β no joint loosening over time It costs more than regular hardware.
We use it anyway. Because it's the right way to build things. πͺ