Commercial warranties Terms checked October 18, 2026
Commercial outdoor furniture warranties cover frames for 5 years and cushions for 1, and labor coverage ends sooner
Each part of a commercial chair runs on its own warranty clock. Contract warranties give aluminum frames 5 years and cushions 1. Sunbrella's contract fabric warranty pays up to $40 a yard in labor for 3 years.
One cushioned patio chair carries four clocks, and the first runs out after 1 year
Frame and cushion terms under commercial or contract use from Tropitone, Brown Jordan and Woodard; fabric and labor terms from the Sunbrella Contract limited warranty. The claim uses round numbers and describes no real property. Checked October 18, 2026.
The commercial warranties that five outdoor furniture makers publish give a frame 5 to 10 years and a cushion 1 year, and most of them stop paying for labor, freight or both well before the frame term ends. Tropitone, Brown Jordan and Woodard each list 5 years for an aluminum frame under contract use, POLYWOOD lists 5 years for its lumber furniture and Victor Stanley lists 10 years for steel frames. All four seating makers list 1 year for cushions, whether the term covers the fabric or, at Woodard, the cushion's workmanship and fill.
The fabric mill can add its own warranty on top: Sunbrella's contract warranty replaces 100% acrylic upholstery fabric for 5 years and, for the first 3, pays up to $40 per linear yard toward the labor to recover the cushions. The terms here come from the documents on each company's site, checked October 18, 2026. They are quoted to show how a warranty is built, and this site does not rank or recommend any maker.
The warranty guide covers commercial-use definitions and care rules. This note works through a claim.
Board 1
Frames get 5 to 10 years, and every seating maker gives cushions 1
A commercial warranty is a set of separate terms, one per component, each with its own clock. The board puts the published terms in one place. A component with no bar is one the document does not list separately.
Published terms by maker and component, with the labor and freight clauses marked on each maker's line
Warranty term Where the property starts paying labor or freight
Some lines need the wording behind the number. Tropitone's 5-year strap term covers breakage only, and its document says color changes fall under a separate 3-year term. Brown Jordan's contract summary lists strap life at 3 years and strap color at 1. Woodard says straps, slings and cushions are warranted for workmanship, and lists fading, discoloration, mildew and stretching as outside that coverage.
POLYWOOD's 5 years cover its lumber against splintering, cracking, chipping, peeling, rot and insect damage, while welds on its metal frames get 3 years and powder coat (a baked-on paint finish) gets 2. Victor Stanley gives powder coating 1 year.
Board 2
Freight is paid for 1 year at Tropitone and 2 at Woodard
A separate clause in each document says who pays to ship a part and install it.
- TropitonePays freight in the continental U.S. for the first year and includes parts and labor under its 5-year frame and finish term. For a broken strap, it supplies the strap and says labor is not included.
- WoodardPays freight on warranty claims for 2 years from purchase, and the customer pays after that.
- POLYWOODExcludes post-delivery labor, transportation and assembly costs.
- Victor StanleyRepairs or replaces a defective part after factory inspection and excludes dismantling, reinstallation and other consequential costs. The part has to be reinstalled by others.
A property with its own maintenance staff may absorb strap replacement easily. A property that hires an upholsterer or a refinisher pays that bill once the labor term ends, even when the part itself is still covered.
Board 3
Sunbrella replaces acrylic contract fabric for 5 years and pays labor for 3
Cushion fabric usually comes from a mill, and the mill's warranty can outlast the furniture maker's. Woodard's document spells out the split: if the fabric maker deems a fabric defective after Woodard's 1-year cushion term, the cost of replacing the cushion, less the fabric, falls to the buyer. Sunbrella's contract page sends a buyer of a finished cushion or umbrella to the dealer, retailer or fabricator that sold it, and sends fabricators and other trade customers to their Glen Raven representative.
Labor reimbursement ends a year or two before fabric replacement does
The clock in Sunbrella's document starts on the purchase date of the end product, such as the cushion. Sunbrella also says a claim for labor costs must include a detailed summary of those costs.
Board 4
In the example, the property pays $800 in year 2 and $2,400 in year 4
This example uses round numbers and describes no real property or invoice. A restaurant patio has 40 dining chairs with seat cushions covered in 100% acrylic contract fabric. The seat fabric on all 40 loses color and becomes unserviceable. Each cushion takes 1 linear yard of fabric. The fabric costs $30 a yard, and the upholsterer charges $60 a cushion to recover them.
The property's share triples after year 3
Within the first 3 years, the mill replaces the 40 yards of fabric and reimburses up to $40 a yard toward labor, which is $1,600 of the $2,400 upholstery bill. The property pays $800. Between years 3 and 5, the fabric is still replaced but the labor is not, so the property pays the whole $2,400. After year 5, the property pays for fabric and labor, $3,600.
The same failure costs the property three times as much in year 4 as it does in year 2.
| Line | Within 3 years | Years 3 to 5 | After 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fabric (40 linear yards at $30) | 0 | 0 | $1,200 |
| Upholstery labor (40 cushions at $60) | $2,400 | $2,400 | $2,400 |
| Labor reimbursed (40 yards at up to $40) | −$1,600 | 0 | 0 |
| Property pays | $800 | $2,400 | $3,600 |
The furniture maker's own 1-year cushion term would apply only in the first year. Woodard covers workmanship and fill on that term. Tropitone covers fabric against tearing, discoloration or fading for 1 year and pays first-year freight, and says labor is not included on its 1-year items.
Before the order
What to do with this before you sign
- Ask the dealer for the commercial or contract warranty document for each product line on the quote, along with the fabric mill's contract warranty for the cushion and sling fabric. Keep both with the purchase order.
- Write down the start date each document uses. Tropitone counts from purchase, Woodard from delivery, Victor Stanley from the invoice date of each shipment, and Sunbrella from purchase of the cushion or umbrella. Victor Stanley also holds its warranty valid only if it has the project name and installation address in writing.
- Note the year each labor and freight term ends and put it on the maintenance calendar. An inspection of straps, finish and cushion fabric a few months before that date gives time to file while labor is still paid.
- Keep the invoices, the order and dated photos from delivery, and ask the upholsterer for an itemized bill. Sunbrella asks for a detailed summary of labor costs, Tropitone says it may require photos, and POLYWOOD asks for them with every claim.
The data
Every term on the board, in years
| Component | TropitoneCommercial | Brown JordanContract | WoodardContract | POLYWOODCommercial | Victor StanleyWarranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frame structure | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Frame finish | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | |
| Strap breakage | 5 | 3 | 3 | ||
| Sling fabric | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cushions or cushion fabric | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Hardware and parts | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Caveats
These are the published terms as of October 18, 2026. Makers revise their documents, and the one that governs an order is the version in effect on the purchase date. POLYWOOD's current document applies to products bought on or after January 1, 2026, and Brown Jordan's page links separate documents for earlier purchase periods. The Brown Jordan figures here come from the contract summary on its claims page.
Every document conditions coverage on care. Tropitone says neglect of required care voids its warranty, and it recommends weekly or biweekly cleaning and quarterly waxing for seaside, cruise ship and indoor pool use. A claim can be refused on care grounds even within the term.
The fabric yardage, prices and labor rates in the example are assumptions for illustration. A real upholsterer's charge and the yardage per cushion vary with cushion size and fabric pattern. State law can give a buyer rights beyond the written warranty, as several of the documents note. For a disputed claim on a large order, an attorney who handles commercial contracts can say what applies.