Question: Is solid wood furniture expensive in Canada? Reason being I am betwixt and between about including some solid furniture items to ship over or sell them and replace once in Canada?

Your views and experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks

Yes

We bought all new solid wood furniture in the UK just before we left and had it shipped over. Saved a whole lot of time and money this end.

As far as furniture goes you get what you pay for. Solid wood does not necessarily mean better and more expensive. For example, some high quality furniture is veneer on a plywood core because this is inherently more stable than solid wood.

Something to think about is where you are moving to in Canada. No problem if you are coming to Vancouver. However, places like Calgary have a much drier climate than the UK so solid wood furniture that is seasoned in the British humidity will tend to crack as it dries out.

If you are heading to a dry place, and the furniture is valuable or antique, you might want to consider selling it. Otherwise bring everything you can.

We brought our all solid wood furniture with us to Alberta. For us, it was a case that it would cost more to replace than it would to bring with us seeing that we had a whole container to fill anyway. However, it is true with regard to the dry climate possibly having an effect of UK seasoned furniture. We haven't experienced anything major and, 16 months on, are still using the same furniture. We brought a hi fi cabinet with us that has developed a small crack on the top which is barely noticeable. We also brought a couple of CD storage towers and the side of one them has bowed slightly; not noticeable just from looking at it but the CDs just fall to the bottom now. All the other stuff we brought with us (tables and chairs, dresser, shelving units, beds, chest of drawers etc etc) are all fine.

Difficult to say about price. Pretty much like in the UK, depends on quality and where you shop etc. Not that we bought solid wood, but the one thing we did find very expensive is beds.

I heard this prior to coming to Calgary, and I have heard it since. I have never been able to understand it. If people are taking outside furniture (which was subjected to the elements in the UK) and intend to place it in their yards in Calgary, I accept it, but for indoor furniture I cannot understand the problem.

We brought all of our wooden furniture from the UK to Calgary. Some of it was very expensive, some of it was crap. None of it has demonstrated the slightest issue with shrinking or cracking. We have spoken to a number of Brits that have experienced the same lack of shrinking, cracking. I don't know of anybody that has experienced such issues, and we have friends that relocated from the tropics.

This is not intended to be aimed at you Jon, but I think it is an old wives tale.

Even if it was an issue, a humifidier can be purchased for less than $100, far less than the cost of selling and replacing the furniture.

I worked for several years with a company that manufactured very high-end furniture and millwork. The manufacturing facility was in Vancouver and clients were all around the world.

Wood movement due to changes in temperature and humidity was one of the biggest challenges the company faced. We used lumber that was kiln dried to less than 8% moisture (about as much as you can do in conventional kiln without cooking it). This is perfectly stable in Vancouver's climate. Yet, even a small distance such as to Whistler can make a huge difference. A 2' x 2' panel of solid walnut that is cut on the coast can shrink by as much as 1/4" as it dries in the Whistler air.

Knowing what happens we manufactured pieces to accommodate the shrinkage. As I mentioned, when precision in measurements was important building with panels of veneer over a plywood (or MDF) core was the preferred method.

JonboyE - you might have solve a query for us - our furniture is all solid oak (bought in the UK made in Germany) and the dining table has developed a crack down the length of one leg - could that be due to the climate here in BC?

I accept all of this but the amount of movement that you have referred to above would only be an issue if green wood was transported in the manner you have stated. Wood that has been seasoned appropriately, would not be affected in anything like the manner you have suggested and I maintain that the moisture content of a piece of furniture kept indoors in any part of Canada and any part of the UK is likely to be very similar.

We are not talking about 2 feet square blocks of wood here, but wood that is likely to be less than 1 1/2" thick by 4" wide. As I am sure you are aware, wood does not move appreciably along its length.

Can you get G-Plan furniture in Canada? I always thought that was good quality stuff.

Lucky Bird

We found that our English made furniture was okay for 7 years after we purchased it in the UK. We had cracks appear in the table legs and veneer lifted on our coffee table and bookcase within 2 years in Canada- Alberta.

hudd

Mine isn't veneer but solid oak - can I expect more cracks? Is there anything I can do to prevent it?

Are you in the interior? As Almost Canadian suggests above, a humidifier will help if you are in a climate like the Okanagan.

Thanks for all your comments and insight. Will be moving to Toronto, so should be ok.

Lucky Bird
I installed a humidifier on the outlet of the furnace ductwork to our house in Ontario. The humidity was 90%+ in July and 25% in February. It definitely felt more comfortable and got a lot less annoying static shocks with moist air in winter with a humidifier and furniture we purchased in Ontario seemed to fair better then.

We have solid oak furniture in the UK now and my wife once a year oils it using Danish/Tung oil. We used to buy it at IKEA in Ottawa for some solid wood furniture.
I suggest you regularly oil your oak furniture as that will help it to be kept moisturised and less likely to dry out and crack.

hudd
hudd