scilly

The problem with wooden furniture, indoors or outdoors is bringing them from the rather damp atmosphere of much of the UK to the very dry atmosphere found in most of Canada for many months of the year. Plus the difference in heating in the house ............. many houses are much dryer that in the UK.

Wood furniture bought over here is fine.


For example, I live in Vancouver which is considered to be in a Temperate Rain Forest climate. What that means is wet winter, dry summer .............. and (most commonly) electrically heated houses.

We have several pieces of furniture that we had brought over after parents died. Some have settled in very well over the years ............. but we have gas central heating, and always have a couple of windows open all year round.

My m-i-l's vaunted mahogany folding table that she added to the container when she was closing up her house (surprise!! surprise!!), turned not to be solid. We can no longer open it out as the inward facing surfaces of the two halves turned out to be mahogany veneer, and had begun to peel back within a year of arriving here. The surface that is always showing is just fine.

The ca 1730 grandfather clock has now been here for almost 45 years and is in great condition.


So no, everything is not plastic here ..............


even the majority of houses in BC are built of wood


The Okanagan is VERY dry!

Stinkypup

If it is made here then it survives and is fine- the joints dry out if from the UK frequently- presumably damp environment -> dry environment = trouble
Plastic furniture isnt typically de rigeur over here unless you are three years old

scilly

One of the problems with a lot of antiques is that the joints are glued, the glue dries out over the hundred or more years since it was applied, and the move to the dry climate finishes it off.

Mortice and tenon joints were made to just fit and hold together for many years, if the wood dries out then it is no longer secure.



You might use plastic chairs and tables in the garden or on the sun deck if you can't afford wood .............. but wicker or artificial wicker are popular down here on the coast

Phaedru5

Hi Hannah, I too am moving to the Okanagan (or further Interior towards Revelstoke) within the next 12 months - got my PR approved a couple of weeks ago
We are visiting for 3 weeks in July/August to check things out some more. My wife is from Kelowna originally so we have family and friends there already which helps.
We are planning to bring most of our 3 bedroom house over, but as others have said we're leaving behind most of the electrical items (white goods, tv, etc). We have had some quotes for shipping and the difference between 20ft - 40ft is quite a lot so we've decided to basically fit as much as we can into a 20ft, most important things first, and the rest gets left behind!

hannah1001

Hi... it sounds like there'll be quite a few of us around the Okanagan ! 😊

That's very interesting regarding the shipping. Can I ask who you've had quotes from? Ive had a few but they all seem to be based on shared containers so are based on cubic feet rather than container size. I'm really struggling to visualise what you can fit in cubic feet or even containers!
I suppose the next step is to actually speak to the companies. Have you done that?

Phaedru5

Hi, yes we have had three different ones round to look round our house and you tell them what you want to take and they will advise on how much space it will need. I want a sole shipment for security, only want our stuff in there, not a shared container, plus when we moved house a few years ago I know the size of the two box vans we used was about the same as a container, so based it on that. We are told we are somewhere between a 20ft and a 40ft, hence opting to just leave more behind if we go over a 20!
We have spoken with Pickfords, White & Company & 1st Move International. They've all come in much of a muchness price wise.
My brother moved to New Brunswick a few years ago and used Doree Bonner and paid them to do all their packing and unpacking aswell (they have more disposable income than me....) and that cost them nearly £8k

Phaedru5

By the way 20ft and 40ft are the most common size containers hence cheaper to ship, hence the decision between the two. There are 30ft containers but generally cost more to ship than a 40ft.

hannah1001

£8k? Wow that's a lot!

Great info - thanks so much! You sound much more organised than me! I better get my act sorted! 🙊

Phaedru5

If you want any more info about the Okanagan especially around Kelowna let me know, as I said my wife is from there originally and I lived there on a temporary visa for 18months, albeit 10yrs ago, got married there and had our daughter there, have visited several times in the last few years and with family and friends still there we know the area pretty well

hannah1001

Ah thanks, that's really kind 😊

Stinkypup

We moved the contents of a 5 bedroom house in a 40 ft although we left the antique furniture and other stuff - it looked better in a 1700s house rather than a modern one. If I did it again I would bring half of what we did do- that would fit nicely into a 20ft, no problems