gaz1277

Hi, Can anyone tell me their experiences on what to bring to Australia in the furniture/garden department. I have seen some lovely garden furniture for sale in UK that would be fantastic for outdoor living (in Perth). Would I be better off buying here and shipping it with my other belongings or buying new stuff there? Also, I've heard that the customs can be a bit harsh when the belongings arrive, whats the guideline on cleanliness and a bit of rust here and there on lawnmowers/bikes/trampolines etc? Any info is good info!
Thanks,
Gary.

moneypenny20

Rust isn't too much of a problem, clean off what you can and spray with WD40. They are far more concerned with organic materials - soil, grass, etc. All that has to be cleaned thoroughly. If you're getting a container and have room for the outdoor furniture then feel free to bring it but be aware that unless you're sending your container a month or so before you leave then you will have a month or so here in unfurnished accommodation. It's generally a good idea to buy outdoor furniture to use indoors before your stuff arrives and then move it outside when your inside stuff turns up but it's entirely up to you.

HelenTD

It might depend on where you're planning to live in Perth. If it's near the coast, rust is a big problem and can quickly set in, even if something is powder-coated. We've even got some rusting inside our 3 year old house, on the window lintels. Even a few suburbs in from the coast, the climate here is pretty harsh - very hot and dry for 4 months, hot to mild for 4 months, and heavy rain for about 4 months (if we're lucky), roughly speaking. We bought marine-grade teak stuff 3 years ago, choosing to let it naturally weather to a grey, although some of it is still golden. It should last a lifetime. A lot of outdoors furniture here might look good and cost a fortune, but it's only covered by a 12 month warranty, I think, and just not worth it.

As MP says, you can survive with outdoor furniture indoors for a while. As we are in a partly-finished house, we use camping chairs inside, as well as the odd Ikea chair here or there.

edmontron

^ completely opposite to my experience. Living within view of the ocean, never had a problem with rust; nothing seems to rust as the climate is so dry - that's my theory!

HelenTD

How far away are you from the ocean or dunes? We have big problems here and our house faces due west.

edmontron

I didn't want to make it sound as if our house is sitting right on top of the dunes next to the beach, we are maybe a kilometer away from the ocean, we get salt on the windows but rust has not been a problem so far. Mind you, if we were living right next to the beach I probably would accept a bit of rust if that's the price to pay ;-)

dave99

My advice would be to sell everything, if your like me you have proberbly acquired lots of junk you hardly use and dont need.
Its best to come over with just two suitcases and get rid of everything else, thats what I did, it feels great to be rid of all that weight!

HelenTD

Distance does make a large difference - we are 4 houses back from the dunes, so rust is more of an issue for us. If you're getting salt on the windows, it might be affecting other parts of the house. Unfortunately the Building Codes of Australia do not seem to specify the use of special materials or treatments for coastal conditions. I think that new houses only have a warranty of 10 years, don't know if this is just in WA or Australia wide. I think it's an 8 year period for building work, such as an extension or new home. Perhaps someone else can confirm. A neighbour recently had to spend $32k getting their house repaired due to rust damage, but couldn't claim from their insurer, as the original work was done more than 8 years ago, so the builder was no longer liable.