Furniture Warranty
Upton Oaks employs strategies that enable the making of our Furniture to only move forward , if every quality check has been passed. Then and only then does it move onto the next stage, from the selecting of the raw timber through to the hand waxing of the finished product. Every step has its checks and balances and this enables us to confidently stand beside you, when you make your purchase. In fact we are so confident that our furniture will stand the test of time, that we are prepared to offer you an extended structural warranty for 10 years. This applies to the original purchaser only.
In purchasing from Upton Oaks we guarantee our back up support and service, right here in NZ, and any unforeseen problems can be fixed, unlike an imported piece of furniture with an off shore manufacturer. The 10 year Structural Warranty will not cover such things as:
- Natural Wear and Tear such as a Dining Table gets with general family usage
- Splitting or Joints opening up as a result of your beautiful piece of furniture having been left in direct sunlight
- Overheated air conditioned rooms that suck every bit of moisture out of the timber causing shrinkage, cracking or splitting. Furniture is made from seasoned kiln dried timber and the moisture content is usually around 12-14% when made.
- Swelling of Drawers due to excess moisture content in and around your home environment
- Accidental damage. Your insurance company will be only too happy to help you there. We can do the repairs for them though.
- Product used in Commercial applications
- Excludes Fabrics
Product Care Information - While our finish's have very good water and heat resistance we still recommend the use of coasters and place mats where ever possible, especially very hot dishes straight from the oven. Care also needs to be taken with the bottom of mugs and vase's etc which can sometimes be quite rough and can scratch the top surface.
We suggest that you clean your furniture with a soft damp cloth just as you would wiping down your bench. Please don't use abrasive cleaners. Every now and then you may wish to re wax your furniture, especially the top surface where all the action takes place. (Please note that wax is not a crucial part of the finish, it just takes the “plasticky look” away and adds to the patina of the piece). So if it doesn’t ever get waxed again, it won’t take away from the integrity of the piece, just visually it will look better if it is. So for waxing, please follow the instructions below:
We always use a good quality bees wax paste polish to polish our furniture. (Available from Antique or Hardware Shops). The brand or colour isn't really that important, any colour such as “Oak” or “Antique Pine” would be fine. (Please don't use silicon type polish's or products like "Pledge", they will make the wax go all gooey.) However, if you wanted to use exactly what we have used, we use a product called “Kiwax Bees Wax” (Oak) made by Mainland Paints in Christchurch, Ph: 03 338 1312 or we can sell to you in an un-labelled can for $30 inclusive of postage and packaging. “Liberon” brand is also an easy wax to apply, nice and soft, which has a “flatter” (not so shiny) end result. However any beeswax type polish would be fine.
We recommend that you use a soft cloth to apply the wax and use a little rather than a lot. Rub the wax on with the grain as evenly as possible, after that buff up (again with the grain) with another soft cloth. If in time your wax is too firm (goes hard) in the tin, it will be hard work! Just add turps or leave in sun to it to soften up to a "margarine" type consistency. After waxing it may be a bit tacky for a couple of days, leaving finger marks, but it will harden off. Just keep buffing, it will come right.
If you put on too much over a period of time, use turps to take it off and start again. As mentioned above, it is better to use it sparingly.
Caution: These wax polishes can and will stain clothes or carpet if you accidentally get some on them. A clean rag and clean turps will remove most of it, but no guarantee that it will get the strong dyes out. So please take care or take the piece of furniture outside in the shade or into the shed.
