Tips For Buying Wood Furniture

Wood was perhaps among the first few materials which were used for making furniture by man. Whether you inherit from your ancestors or buy yourself, there will be always a few items placed in your home that is made from wood. There's no doubt that wooden furniture- used, new or antique- make our home decor more attractive. Nowadays, wood furniture manufacturers make wide variety of such furniture. They may be hand carved in small workshops or can be mass produced in bigger factories. When you go to buy a wooden furniture, you can get better deal if you keep certain factors in mind. Here are certain tips for buying wood furniture.

• Durability of furniture depends on quality of wood construction. Solid boards are always better than veneers or particle boards.
• Many artificial veneers have plywood or particleboard overlaid on them. A plywood core, although light weight and less expensive, will swell when wet. Particleboard, on the other hand, will fracture because this hard material cannot absorb shocks.
• Check whether there is any crack or splits on the wood. Also check splits in joints. These joints will eventually come apart, when you'll place the furniture in a centrally heated room.
• Check the back panel of wood furniture for nails and screws. Make sure that it is not just stapled.
• If you are buying a wooden cupboard or something having doors, check whether the hinges are solid, secure, and strong enough to support the weight of the door.
• If buying larger furniture like dressers, check whether they have traditional mortise and tenon joints in them. In such larger items, even screws, nails and glues fail sometimes.
• Ensure there are levelers on the bottoms of large furniture pieces. If buying chairs, see that they do not wobble. Check on how easily they stand on all four legs.
• When buying wooden drawers, don't take the one without guides as it can make the drawer bind when opening and closing.
• If buying used old furniture, know about its finish. If you want to change the color or repaint the furniture, you should know that factory finishes are often difficult to change.
• If you want the old furniture to have a light color, check the original color of the wood by rubbing across an exposed unfinished part (you'll find such portion on the back or inside of the furniture) with wet finger. By this, you will come to know what the color of the wood will be when varnished with natural stain. Also remember that naturally dark wood can't be lightened.
• Old and badly stored chests of drawers may get damaged by dampness. This leads to swelling which in turn makes it difficult for drawers to open and close smoothly. Check whether the drawers can be repaired using beeswax which helps in sliding the drawers smoothly. If its beyond repair, don't buy it.
• When buying antique wooden furniture, make sure you buy real antiques and not mere reproductions. Seek advice from an antiques expert.
• Antiques were specially made for specific locations. Ensure before buying the larger antique pieces that they will fit into the doors of your home.
• Check for any boreholes and active woodworm. Tap the wood for detecting any fresh woodworm. Dust coming out from the holes means there are active woodworm there in the furniture. Even if there are no active woodworm, treat the antique or old furniture as a precautionary measure.