Outdoor furniture materials compared: aluminum, steel, HDPE, teak and resin wicker

Commercial outdoor furniture is built mostly from five materials: aluminum, steel and iron, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) lumber, teak and other hardwoods, and resin wicker woven over a frame. The makers’ own commercial warranties give one comparison of how they expect each to hold up in hotel, restaurant and campus use, and the frame terms range from 2 years on Brown Jordan’s wood frames to 10 years on Victor Stanley’s steel site furniture. Each material also carries its own care demands, its own tariff lines and its own exposure to raw-material prices. This page sets out what manufacturers, ASTM International and federal data say about each, checked October 3, 2026. It names manufacturers only to attribute what their published documents say.

The five materials side by side

The tariff lines come from the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and decide which duties apply; the tariff guide covers them. The warranty terms are covered component by component in the warranty guide.

Aluminum

Tropitone says its extruded aluminum frames are welded all-aluminum construction and that it welds the full circumference of every load-bearing joint. Its cast collection uses solid cast aluminum or cast and extruded aluminum together. Its warranty notes that cast frames can show surface imperfections from casting and finishing, that smooth, higher-gloss finishes can make them more visible, and that such imperfections are not covered. Brown Jordan describes powder-coated aluminum as lightweight and corrosion-resistant.

The finish is where aluminum furniture needs attention. Tropitone says salt at the seaside and chlorides at indoor pools build up on the finish and can cause it to fail, and its commercial warranty sets more frequent cleaning and quarterly waxing in those settings. Water left inside hollow tubing can freeze and split it; Tropitone’s warranty excludes that damage, and Brown Jordan says to store frames upright so they drain.

Steel and iron

Victor Stanley, whose warranty says its products are designed and constructed for commercial applications, warrants steel weldments, frames and legs and its ductile iron castings for 10 years against structural failure, and its powder coating for 1 year. It makes the purchaser responsible for touching up nicks and abrasions so they do not spread. Woodard warrants iron frames for 5 years in contract use and says small amounts of rust seepage at joints and crevices are normal and not covered. POLYWOOD’s commercial warranty excludes rust or corrosion of steel frames.

HDPE lumber

POLYWOOD’s 2026 commercial warranty covers its HDPE furniture for 5 years against material defects, splintering, cracking, chipping, peeling, rot and insect damage. It also says the lumber is made with UV stabilizers to limit fading, that all colors will fade to some degree in the sun, and that fading is excluded. Its care page allows pressure washing at up to 1,500 psi.

ASTM International publishes performance requirements for outdoor plastic furniture. ASTM F1838-19(2025) covers adult and children’s plastic chairs for outdoor use in two classes, Class A (residential) and Class B (nonresidential), and tests outdoor weathering, impact, static load and rear-leg strength. It does not apply to chaises, multi-positional chairs or upholstered chairs, which have their own standards: F1858 for multi-positional plastic chairs and F1988 for plastic chaise lounges. ASTM lists the older F1561 for plastic chairs as withdrawn in 2019.

Teak and other hardwoods

Brown Jordan calls teak among the most naturally durable hardwoods and says it weathers to a silver-gray patina over time, that its grain may rise and hairline cracks may appear in humid climates as the wood acclimates, and that a teak cleaner and sealer keeps the original tone. Its contract warranty on wood frames is 2 years, against 5 years on its aluminum frames, and its warranty text excludes fading and color change in wood frames.

Site furniture uses other hardwoods. Victor Stanley warrants Ipe and Jatoba slats for 10 years and Kebony slats for 5 years against structural failure or bacterial rot, and says weather checking, graying and fading are not grounds for replacement. The tariff schedule separates teak from other woods, with its own lines for chairs and furniture of teak and separate statistical lines for plantation-harvested teak.

Resin wicker

In the warranty documents cited on this page, resin wicker is a woven synthetic fiber on a frame, and the frame and the weave carry separate terms. Brown Jordan’s warranty covers the extruded aluminum frame of its woven furniture and, in its residential terms, the hand-woven resin for 3 years against breaking, structural deterioration and excessive fading. Its contract summary lists woven-resin furniture frames at 5 years. Tropitone covers woven products for 3 years against manufacturer’s defects and 1 year against discoloration or fading. Woodard’s contract term for woven product is 3 years. Brown Jordan’s care page describes its woven polyethylene fiber as durable and weatherproof and says to clean it with mild soap and water.

Umbrellas

ASTM F3512-21(2026) is a wind-tunnel test method for market umbrellas, rated on the Beaufort scale, and ASTM says it applies to umbrellas for business settings including resort pools, hotels, restaurants and cafes. ASTM says results for one umbrella design are not comparable with results for another and that each buyer should set its own criteria.

Raw-material prices

Producer price indexes, which track the prices that U.S. producers receive, show how the inputs for each material moved over the year to August 2026. The values for May through August 2026 can still be revised; the Bureau of Labor Statistics revises producer price data for up to four months after first publication.

They track raw and semi-finished materials. Finished institutional furniture has its own producer price index, PCU337127337127.

What to ask before you choose

• The commercial warranty for the exact product line, by component, and whether the line is approved for commercial use.
• The finish system on metal frames and the maker’s care schedule for coastal or pool settings.
• For wicker, what the frame is made of and how the weave is warranted separately.
• For plastic chairs, whether the maker tests to ASTM F1838 Class B, the nonresidential class.
• The HTS number and country of origin, which decide the duties.