What salt air does to garden furniture
Garden furniture in Dún Laoghaire, Sandycove and Dalkey has a harder life than the same set a few kilometres inland. Wind off Dublin Bay carries salt onto everything left outdoors. Steel rusts from the joints outward, aluminium pits, cheap rattan weave turns brittle, and untreated timber greys and splits.
Most pieces give fair warning. The trick is telling cosmetic wear from the kind that ends with a chair folding under a guest.
Is it finished? A five-minute check
- Powder-coated steel: look at the welds and under the feet. Bubbling paint with rust bleeding through means corrosion underneath. If a leg flexes when you press it, the set is done.
- Aluminium: a white, powdery bloom is surface pitting and mostly cosmetic. Cracks at the joints are not.
- Timber: push a screwdriver into the feet and the joints. Soft wood is rot; hardwood that is merely grey can be sanded and oiled.
- Rattan-effect: if the weave snaps when you bend it, it has gone brittle and will keep unravelling.
- Cushions: a musty smell that survives a dry week means mould inside the foam.
If only one thing fails, a repair or a new set of cushions may be all it needs, and a sound set can go to a neighbour or a local free-to-collect listing. If several fail, it is time to clear it.
Balconies and roof terraces
Along the seafront and around the harbour, much of the outdoor furniture lives on balconies and roof terraces. Our loaders carry it through the apartment and down in the lift or by the stairs. Tell us the floor, whether there is a lift, and anything your management company asks of removals, such as booking the lift.
Terraced and hillside gardens
The period terraces of Monkstown, Glasthule and Sandycove often have back gardens reached only through the house, or down a flight of granite steps from a raised ground floor. That is a normal carry for us, and we sweep up afterwards. Granite steps get slippery when wet, so brush off moss and leaves before the day.
In Dalkey and Killiney, sloping sites mean terraced lawns and garden steps. Mention the distance from the patio to the road, and any steps, when you send photos. Parking around Glasthule and Sandycove can be tight, so tell us about a driveway, rear lane or spot where the van can stop.
What a clear-out costs
Each piece has a set price on our price list, on top of a €100 call-out and labour charge that covers the van and two loaders. A garden table is €20, a chair €5, a steel or timber bench €20, and a pot up to 10 kg €5. Rattan sofas, sun loungers and storage boxes are priced from your photos.
Gas, glass and other awkward bits
- Gas cylinders: we cannot take them. Disconnect the cylinder and return it to your supplier or a stockist. The barbecue or patio heater itself is fine.
- Glass-topped tables: show the intact top in its frame. If glass is cracked or broken, describe it before booking so the handling can be checked. Do not hide loose shards in a bag.
- Parasol bases and planters: plastic bases are fine once emptied of water or sand. Concrete and granite bases and stone planters are on our declined list.
- Fixed furniture: unbolt any bench or table fixed to a wall or patio before the day.
- Cushions: bag the ones you are not keeping, at €5 a bag.
Protecting what stays
- Hose metal frames down with fresh water every few weeks in summer to rinse off the salt.
- Oil hardwood once or twice a year, and bring cushions indoors.
- Cover or store everything over winter, out of the wind if you can.
- Touch up chips in powder-coated frames before rust gets under the paint.
- When you replace a set, look for teak, powder-coated aluminium or marine-grade (316) stainless steel fittings, which stand up to salt far better than painted steel.
Booking a collection
September, when furniture comes in for winter, and spring, before a new set arrives, are the natural times. Collection slots run Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, 14:00–16:00. Someone needs to be home, or access agreed in advance, such as everything left in the front garden.
Take an overview, then show every item clearly and give the chair and pot counts, or type a complete list. Get your price and check that list before booking. Our Dublin garden furniture guide covers trampolines, and junk removal in Dún Laoghaire lists other local collections.