furniture & weather-wear, tear & care

[shootingstar]

Well, hopefully action, will not be in this order. (Sorry I didn't say bikes & weather.)

I never dreamt I would think about being picky about indoor furniture because of outdoor weather conditions. But having moved to the prairies, the considerations are:

*humdify my place so wood flooring & wood frames, wood furniture does not crack.Air is dry enough here. In fact, I will have a humidifier inside. What a novel thought for me. Whereas I used to live in places where one had a dehumidifer because of higher humidity/dampness (Ontario & VAncouver at times.)

*look for sofa fabrics that don't fade. Never considered this before. Sun is powerful here and I will have a home facing south with floor to ceiling windows along one whole side. Every furniture salesperson has warned me. So maybe, sigh I have to buy black leather...but I would love red leather! :D :rolleyes:

*patio furniture. Will it withstand strong chinook winds that blow through? We never worried this in Vancouver since balcony was tucked into a corner. I can't spend much $$$ buying heavier patio furniture. More metal which will be cheaper.. but somehow it makes me cringe, if the wind could possibly blow around metal table and chairs when I'm not home. (And I don't want to constantly move furniture in and out of the balcony.)

Sounds all petty, but could costs hundreds of dollars later if I make the wrong choice now.

[NbyNW]

Our wood furniture seems to have done ok in this arid climate. There are some humidification guidelines during extreme low temps so that you don't get a differential that causes excess condensation on your windows. About 10% at -30C if I recall. (I can check for you) I've lost some plants because of this.

Will you have blinds or curtains on these floor-to-ceiling windows? Might be helpful to filter the light coming in.

Will you have indoor storage for your patio furniture, particularly during the winter? What do the locals do re chinook winds? Do you get them in summer too? I think you are more prone to them than we are. When we have had high winds it has typically been during the fall/winter/spring when our patio furniture is in our storage shed. Have had some issues with our garden row covers flapping around, so I'm thinking about developing a clamp system for that, or just putting them away during non-gardening season.

[Mr. Bloom]

*look for sofa fabrics that don't fade. Never considered this before. Sun is powerful here and I will have a home facing south with floor to ceiling windows along one whole side. Every furniture salesperson has warned me. So maybe, sigh I have to buy black leather...but I would love red leather! :D :rolleyes:


You may find that the windows are designed with UV protection...if not, UV films can usually be added.

In any of my homes with modern designed windows, fading has not been an issue, and I've had some upholstered pieces 20+ years

[shootingstar]

Yes, NByNW if you have the humidification advice. I only know it...for preservation of paper materials/archiving purposes. :p Knowledge can be useless for certain things.

Anyone else have experience with UV film over windows? Any tips? Is there any visible overall effect? I have roll up blinds...all over the place. I prefer vertical panels, but it's too costly for me to replace. The stuff is brand-new anyway, I just hope the rolling mechanism will last for next 5-6 yrs.

I suspect the sun will be powerful. I have been warned that red leather can fade into salmon-pink. ..:(

I think we get more chinook winds (which are strong 40+ kms. winds) because we are closer to the mountains. I guess cyclists get used to these sudden waves of winds passing through..

[Mr. Bloom]

Just out of curiosity, while I understand you are in an area with more exposure, I don't think of Canadian sun being such an issue, for instance compared to Texas or Arizona.

Is it really this bad or is it just different than what you're used to in BC?

[shootingstar]

It's not like Arizona or Australia.
(I actually would not want to live a top sunny places of the world. It just would make more paranoid re my skin. I'm not kiddin', cycling already gives me plenty of sun. No more. I have to watch my skin now, according to dermatologist.)

But a whole lot sunnier than some of the places where I've lived. Yes, B.C. though might get alot of snow in certain areas, actually temperatures aren't super cold.

http://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/Canada/sunniest-cities.php

Calgary's coldness, -25 to -30 degrees C in winter, is off-set by its sunny skies. ( It's not surprising a number of folks here have worked in the Far North, the expression means near the Arctic/in the Arctic...)

I also have never had a home with so much sun exposure. It is also the combination of drier air and very cold temperatures in winter, which can cause certain things to concrete, wood to split/heave plus temperature fluctuations.

Vancouver does not get pavement heave compared to ie. Toronto. I really noticed this when I return to cycle Toronto's bike routes.

[NbyNW]

Here are the recommendations on my humidistat:

-30℃, 15%
-25℃, 20%
-20℃, 25%
-10℃, 30%
-5℃, 35%
0℃, 40%

We have a humidifier that ties into the forced-air ducts of our heating system.

Also a little plug-in unit in the bedroom, which I like to crank up a couple hours before going to bed, then I put the fan on low for overnight so it's not too noisy. It is off the rest of the day so that condensation doesn't build up on the windows.

[shootingstar]

Here are the recommendations on my humidistat:

-30℃, 15%
-25℃, 20%
-20℃, 25%
-10℃, 30%
-5℃, 35%
0℃, 40%

We have a humidifier that ties into the forced-air ducts of our heating system.

Also a little plug-in unit in the bedroom, which I like to crank up a couple hours before going to bed, then I put the fan on low for overnight so it's not too noisy. It is off the rest of the day so that condensation doesn't build up on the windows.

Thanks!! Really, a humidifier tied into your heating system?? Amazing. Sounds foreign...and fancy. :p

[NbyNW]

Thanks!! Really, a humidifier tied into your heating system?? Amazing. Sounds foreign...and fancy. :p

Actually they seem to be quite common around here. Most of the homes we looked at when we first moved up had them.

Ours looks a lot like this (http://www.mediawaveonline.com/furnace-humidifier.php)

Home Depot and Rona also carry some other models.

[SheFly]

A couple of things:

1. I have brand new windows in my house, and the sun coming through not only faded my upholstered furniture, but also rotted it. We bought the furniture new about 5-7 years ago.

2. BE CAREFUL adding any UV protection to your windows! We have south facing windows in our vacation house, and it can get up over 103F inside in the summer months. We put tinting on the windows (the kind you would put on your car windows), and this caused a VERY EXPENSIVE replacement to one of the windows that cracked.

YMMV, but it's good that you are taking these things into consideration. We have gone away from upholstered furniture to leather to prevent some of these issues.

SheFly

[malkin]

I keep the sun off of the furniture with an assortment of light curtains, heavier curtains, shades, and lap blankets/shawls draped over them in the most hostile sunny times.

So far so good for the red leather!