Teak frames carry 2 years in Brown Jordan's contract warranty, and Barlow Tyrie's 10-year teak term excludes contract use

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 07:39:50 -0500

Brown Jordan’s warranty for contract use, its term for commercial and other non-residential buyers, covers wood frames for 2 years against structural failure. The same list gives its extruded and cast aluminum frames 5 years. Barlow Tyrie warrants teak for 10 years, and its warranty document says the terms do not apply to use in a contract or non-residential situation, or to deterioration caused by teak oil or other wood treatments. The terms here come from each company’s published documents, checked November 1, 2026. They are quoted to show how the terms work, and this site does not rank or recommend any maker.

The materials guide compares teak with aluminum, steel, HDPE and resin wicker, and the warranty guide covers commercial terms across materials.

Warranty terms for teak and other hardwoods

Four published documents set terms for teak or other outdoor hardwoods. They cover different failures and different buyers, so the years in the chart are a starting point for comparison only.

Hardwood warranty terms run from 2 years to 10

Published warranty terms for teak and other hardwood furniture and slats, years from purchase or invoice

Barlow Tyrie's term excludes contract and non-residential use. Victor Stanley covers structural failure or bacterial rot. Checked November 1, 2026. Source: brownjordan.com

Published warranty terms for teak and hardwood furniture, in years. Checked November 1, 2026.
Warranty term	Years
Barlow Tyrie teak (residential use only)	10
Victor Stanley Ipe and Jatoba slats	10
Victor Stanley Kebony slats	5
Country Casual Teak furniture	3
Brown Jordan wood frames (contract use)	2

Source: brownjordan.com

Brown Jordan’s wood frame term reads: “If the teak furniture fails structurally (i.e., broken frame) within two (2) years from the date of purchase, we will, at our option, replace, repair or refinish the product.” Its residential terms also give wood frames 2 years, while its residential aluminum frames get 15. The page says wood frames need user maintenance and that fading and color change are not covered.

Victor Stanley, whose warranty page describes its products as site furnishings, warrants Ipe and Jatoba slats for 10 years and Kebony slats for 5 years against structural failure or bacterial rot. Its steel frames and weldments carry 10 years. Country Casual Teak guarantees its furniture to the original purchaser for 3 years against defects in material and workmanship, and metal plaques, fabric and furniture covers for 1 year. Its page sets no separate commercial term.

Graying, checking and sealer

All four documents leave weathering out of coverage, including graying and checking, the fine surface cracks that open as wood dries and swells. They differ on what to put on the wood.

What each document says about weathering, teak oil and sealer, and other limits. Checked November 1, 2026.
Document	Graying and checking	Teak oil or sealer	Other limits
Brown Jordan care page	Silver-gray patina is expected; grain may rise and hairline cracks may appear in humid climates	Teak cleaner and sealer to keep or restore the original tone	New teak may show oil spots; oil may transfer to cushions
Barlow Tyrie warranty	Checking and colour change excluded as normal weathering	Deterioration from teak oil or other wood treatments excluded	Damage from a pressure washer excluded; contract use excluded
Victor Stanley warranty	Weather checking and graying not preventable and not grounds for replacement	Not addressed	Routine maintenance by the purchaser required; natural weathering of wood excluded
Country Casual Teak guarantee	Weather-related damage and normal wear excluded	Not addressed	Damage from an umbrella used without a base excluded

Source: teak.com

Brown Jordan says its teak weathers to a silver-gray patina and calls this expected. To keep or restore the original warm tone, it recommends a teak cleaner and a teak sealer. It says new teak can show oil spots that look like water marks, that oil may transfer lightly to cushions, and that in humid climates the grain may rise and hairline cracks appear as the wood acclimates.

Barlow Tyrie’s document excludes deterioration from teak oil or other wood treatments, and damage from a pressure washer. A buyer who mixes makers on one patio may need two maintenance routines, one that seals and one that leaves the wood bare. The care guide lists the routines by material.

The HTS lines for teak

The Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), the U.S. list of import classifications, gives teak its own statistical lines in chapter 94. The general duty rate is Free on each of them. Additional duties by country of origin are covered in the tariffs guide.

HTS lines for nonhousehold teak seats and wooden tables, and the date each appears on APHIS's Lacey Act declaration schedule. Checked November 1, 2026.
HTS line	What the line covers (abridged)	Teak suffixes	Lacey Act declaration listed from
9401.61.20.31 and .35	Upholstered chairs of teak with wooden frames; other than household	.31 plantation-harvested; .35 other	2015-08-06
9401.69.40.31 and .35	Chairs of teak with wooden frames; not upholstered; other than household	.31 plantation-harvested; .35 other	2010-04-01
9401.69.80.66 and .68	Other seats of teak with wooden frames such as benches; other than household	.66 plantation-harvested; .68 other	2010-04-01
9403.60.80.40	Other wooden furniture: dining tables	No teak line	2024-12-01
9403.60.80.89	Other wooden furniture of teak other than dining tables	No plantation split	2024-12-01

Source: hts.usitc.gov

Teak chairs and other teak seats split into plantation-harvested and other teak. The chapter’s statistical notes define plantation-harvested as “wood harvested from trees grown on a plantation.” Wooden dining tables have a single line, 9403.60.80.40, with no teak split, while other teak furniture such as side and coffee tables falls in 9403.60.80.89.

The annex to Proclamation 10976, the Section 232 action on timber and lumber products, lists the upholstered wooden seat lines 9401.61.40.11, .40.31, .60.11 and .60.31. The upholstered teak chair line, 9401.61.20, is not on that list.

The Lacey Act declaration

The Lacey Act requires that imported wood was legally harvested. APHIS, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, has phased in a declaration that importers file for listed HTS codes. Its schedule lists seats with wooden frames under 9401.69 from April 1, 2010, the upholstered teak chair line 9401.61.20 from August 6, 2015, and other wooden furniture under 9403.60.80 from December 1, 2024.

The declaration applies to formal entries, which APHIS describes as generally valued at $2,500 or more. It asks for the genus and species of the wood, the country where it was harvested, and the quantity in metric units. APHIS lists pieces and counts as invalid units, so a quantity of chairs goes in as cubic meters or kilograms of wood. Only the importer of record or its agent, such as a customs broker, may file.

A worked example

This example uses round numbers and describes no real property. A hotel imports 80 teak dining chairs without cushions, 20 teak dining tables and 10 teak benches for a pool terrace, on one shipment worth well over $2,500. The mill records show the teak was plantation-grown.

Example: HTS lines and Lacey Act declarations for a hotel's teak order. Round numbers, not a real property.
Item	Quantity	HTS line if the teak is plantation-harvested	Lacey Act declaration
Teak dining chairs (not upholstered)	80	9401.69.40.31	Yes
Teak dining tables	20	9403.60.80.40	Yes
Teak benches	10	9401.69.80.66	Yes

Source: aphis.usda.gov

All three lines need a declaration with the species, the country of harvest and the volume or weight of wood. The tables go in the dining table line, where no teak split exists.

The furniture then carries a 2-year contract term on wood frames, like Brown Jordan’s. The table follows four events through it.

Example: which events a 2-year contract wood-frame term would cover. Round numbers, not a real property.
Event	Year it appears	Pieces affected	Inside a 2-year contract wood-frame term
A chair frame breaks at a joint	1	2	Yes: structural failure within 2 years
Tables weather to silver-gray	1	20	No: color change is excluded
Hairline checks open in tabletops	2	6	No: normal weathering
A bench frame breaks	3	1	No: past the 2-year term

Source: brownjordan.com

Only the two chair frames that break in the first year fall inside the term. The graying and the checking are excluded as weathering, and the bench that breaks in year 3 is past it.

What to ask before you sign

Ask the dealer for the contract or commercial warranty on each teak line in the quote. A residential document may exclude commercial use outright, as Barlow Tyrie’s does.
Ask whether the maker’s warranty allows teak oil or sealer before your staff apply any. Brown Jordan recommends a sealer, and Barlow Tyrie excludes damage from treatments.
If you import directly, ask the supplier for the species, the country of harvest and the volume of wood in each line before the goods ship, so your broker can file the Lacey Act declaration.
Ask whether the teak is plantation-harvested and for the records that show it, since the HTS line depends on it.

Caveats

These are the published terms as of November 1, 2026. Makers revise their documents, and the version on the order date governs. Barlow Tyrie’s PDF carries no date, and Brown Jordan’s page links several dated versions of its warranty.

The HTS, the Section 232 annex and the APHIS schedule change by notice. Classification of a particular piece depends on its construction, and a customs broker or a binding ruling from CBP can settle it. The quantities and years in the example are assumptions for illustration. Whether a property counts as commercial under a warranty, and what a buyer can recover beyond its written terms, can turn on state law and the contract, and an attorney who handles commercial contracts can say what applies.

Teak | Commercial Outdoor Furniture