Customer Support

Assembly

These pieces were originally assembled in the factory in Indonesia to confirm proper fitting so you should be able to put the teak furniture together in less than 30 minutes. Only common tools such as a mallet for the dowels and a screwdriver are required. Our teak furniture is crafted with traditional mortise and tenon joinery using teak dowels that you will hammer into each appropriate hole. After inserting the teak dowels, you may cut off any protruding remains of the dowel and simply sand the area with sandpaper if needed to smooth the surface surrounding the dowel.

Shipping

Highland Taylor closely inspects each and every item of teak furniture that we pull from our warehouse before preparing these items for shipment. We take great pride in the quality of our teak furniture, our competitive prices and our 100% customer satisfaction. We safely secure each shipment to provide adequate protection while in transit. We selectively choose freight carriers that balance competitive shipping rates with quality service. This means carefully handling all shipments and standing behind their service contracts in instances where loss or damage may occur.

Loss or damage to your teak furniture that occurs during shipping by a freight carrier is the carrier’s responsibility. YOUR RESPONSIBILITY is to FULLY INSPECT YOUR SHIPMENT upon arrival. Highland Taylor strongly suggests that you fully inspect the teak furniture while the driver is still on-site in order to fully ensure that your purchase is protected from damage in transit. DO NOT RELY ON A VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE BOX(ES) ONLY. This means that you should unwrap and remove contents from the box to visually inspect them for damage.

If you believe that any part of your purchase is missing, incorrect or damaged, then YOU MUST NOTE ANY OF THESE CONDITIONS ON THE DELIVERY RECEIPT that the driver provides BEFORE he/she leaves your delivery location. IF YOU FIND ANY DAMAGE, YOU MUST NOTE THESE DETAILS ON THE DELIVERY RECEIPT AND HAVE THE DRIVER SIGN THE RECEIPT ACKNOWLEDGING THIS DAMAGE. Once the driver leaves the delivery premises, there is no recourse for damage the carrier has inflicted on your teak furniture.

Should damage occur, please contact Highland Taylor at 800-510-TEAK (8325) or email us at info@highlandtaylor.com within 24 hours of delivery. We will take care of everything from there including filing a claim with the carrier and preparing a replacement of your teak furniture to be shipped from our warehouse within 5 working days after receiving your notification of the occurrence. As part of the claim process, the carrier may request to inspect the shipment again at a later date. For this reason, please keep all boxes and/or cartons in tact the way that they were receiving until someone from Highland Taylor or the carrier contacts you for further instructions regarding the damaged teak furniture.

Following these simple procedures will eliminate any unnecessary expenses to you or Highland Taylor. Failure to inspect your teak furniture upon arrival and note damage on the delivery ticket will leave you with no way to be reimbursed for damage.

Lifetime Guarantee

Highland Taylor is committed to providing the highest-quality outdoor patio teak furniture for a lifetime of enjoyment. Our expectation is that your teak furniture will provide you at least a generation of useful service. We have earned the trust and respect of each customer one order at a time. To further assure you of our long-term commitment we offer the following guarantee:

Teak furniture purchased from Highland Taylor will be free of defects in material and workmanship. Period! If it is not, Highland Taylor will replace the item at no cost to you. Period! This guarantee lasts for the lifetime of your ownership of teak furniture purchased from Highland Taylor.

Teak furniture made with sub-standard quality becomes readily apparent during the first few years of use outdoors. Problems such as warping from inadequate drying or poorly fitting joinery are usually obvious soon after you start using the teak furniture. In the rare event – and it is very rare for Highland Taylor – that you experience these types of problems with your teak furniture, Highland Taylor will replace the item at no cost to you.

The natural aging of outdoor furniture made with teak wood exhibits several different characteristics that are not considered a defect in material or workmanship. Because some customers have never observed the natural aging process of outdoor furniture made with teak wood they may not be familiar with the natural checking or even the fact that the wood does indeed turn gray over time.

So to be clear about what we are guaranteeing, the following clarifications have been meticulously rendered by our legal advisors:

• “Defects” are defined as imperfections that impair the use of your teak furniture.
• This guarantee does not apply to any cases of normal wear and tear of the furniture.
• Normal wear and tear is defined as “the normal deterioration caused by regular use of the furniture.”
• Checking, or small cracking, of the teak wood is a normal and natural occurrence that should be expected during normal use.
• This guarantee does not cover any damage or loss or condition that is beyond the control of Highland Taylor including but not limited to cases of unauthorized repair, improper use, infestation, negligence, misuse, vandalism, wind damage, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fire, earthquake or any other similar acts of God.
• This guarantee only applies to the original purchaser of the teak furniture.

Highland Taylor reserves the right to repair or replace any piece that is covered under the terms of this guarantee. Repair or replacement may involve Highland Taylor providing parts directly to our customer where applicable. Highland Taylor will, at its expense, ship any piece of teak furniture back to our facility in cases where Highland Taylor determines that the repair or replacement cannot be completed by our customer with parts supplied by Highland Taylor.

Our customer must first call us toll free at 800-510-TEAK (8325) to notify us of any potential problem. We may ask that photos be provided to us via email where possible so that we can determine the extent of the defect and the corrective action that is most prudent.

Maintenance

By choosing outdoor patio teak furniture, you have selected the finest, most durable material available for use in the construction of outdoor furniture! Teak is a product of natural beauty - no two specimens are ever exactly the same.

Teak's unique blends of grain and coloring can vary from light to dark brown. Occasionally, you may see a pinkish tint, which is due to the kilning process. Upon exposure to natural light, color variations will gradually even out over time.

Weathered Teak

Teak is a very low maintenance wood. Weathered teak takes on a beautiful silver gray and will last for many years in this natural untreated state. As it ages, your teak furniture will lose the smooth texture that comes from the combination of find sanding and natural oils. As these natural oils are depleted from exposure to ultraviolet light, the surface will become more porous and thus feel rougher to the touch. You may also notice small checks, or cracks, along the grain to appear. Aside from the occasional cleaning you may decide to give the teak to remove any dirt or bird droppings, there is really no maintenance that is required to prolong the life of your teak furniture.

Preserved Teak

Many people simply love the natural color of the wood and want to prevent the graying process. Traditionally, people have applied “teak oil” to the wood in an effort to slow the graying process. There are several disadvantages to this solution:

1. Teak furniture that has a maximum of exposure to natural sunlight during the day will require monthly applications of “teak oil”.
2. There isn't a product made with the actual oils found naturally in teak.

Fortunately there are products available these days that reduce the frequency of an ongoing maintenance schedule to accomplish this goal. We recommend a Teak Sealer which contains a UV blocking agent and a mildewcide. Proper application can drastically reduce your maintenance schedule by preserving the teak wood for up to 12 months of protection before reapplication is necessary.