When you’re shopping around for patio furniture, chances are good that you’ll find a lot of similar styles out there – particularly metal and wicker construction or solid wood Adirondack style furniture. But what if you want something just a little bit different? If you’re looking for something environmentally sustainable, durable, and crafted right here in Georgia, SoPoly outdoor furniture might be exactly what you’re looking for.
But what makes SoPoly so unique? What types of products and benefits does SoPoly offer consumers as a manufacturer of premium outdoor furniture? And perhaps most importantly, is SoPoly outdoor furniture a good fit for your patio, front porch, pool-side, deck, or other outdoor space? Get the answers to these questions and more in our brief SoPoly brand review below!
Who Is SoPoly?
Southern Poly Manufacturing, or SoPoly for short, is a manufacturer of premium, customizable outdoor furniture based in Eastman, GA. Specializing in pieces like Adirondack chairs, gliders, rockers, chaise lounges, tete-a-tetes, patio dining tables and dining sets, counter and bar height tables, and more, SoPoly is an innovator in outdoor furniture with an ace up their sleeve – something called poly lumber or HDPE lumber.
By using this state-of-the-art, recycled material, SoPoly is able to craft beautiful outdoor furniture while offering consumers and commercial businesses industry-leading durability and tons of customization options. Additionally, the sustainable nature of this material helps SoPoly keep tons of plastic out of the landfill while crafting their products entirely in America at their workshop in South Georgia.
Speaking of Georgia, have you ever been to Callaway Gardens? Everywhere across their gorgeous sprawling gardens and resort, you’ll find SoPoly benches, tables, chairs, chaise lounges and more. We love that we can offer our shoppers the same beautiful patio furniture for their own homes.
Join us as we dive deeper into the specifics of HDPE and poly lumber below.
What Is Poly Lumber / HDPE Lumber?
Poly lumber is an incredibly durable artificial lumber made from high-density polyethylene, or HDPE. Primarily made from recycled, single-use consumer plastics like milk jugs, detergent containers and shampoo bottles, poly lumber is also known as HDPE lumber, and occasionally by brand names such as POLYWOOD®.
These boards can then be used in the construction of pretty much anything. With outdoor and patio furniture in particular, poly lumber is most often used to replicate the look of pieces typically made with real lumber, like Adirondack chairs. Did we mention that poly lumber is naturally resistant to fading, moisture, mold and mildew, cracking and splintering?
How Is Poly Lumber Made?
After being sorted and rigorously cleaned, recyclable HDPE plastics from items like milk jugs and detergent containers are shredded and made into small pellets. Eventually, these scraps are melted down and extruded (i.e. squeezed out and molded) into large sheets of poly lumber. This step is when the dye is added, which is important for several reasons.
First, this is why poly lumber furniture manufacturers like SoPoly can offer customers dozens of different color choices, including two-tone combinations. Additionally, by adding the dyes during this phase, the color literally becomes part of the plastic itself, much like it does with synthetic, solution-dyed performance fabrics like acrylic and olefin. This makes HDPE lumber exceptionally colorfast and resistant to fading caused by the sun’s UV radiation.
Finally, these sheets of poly lumber are run through a state-of-the-art precision CNC routing machine and cut into the component pieces that will be used to construct your new HDPE patio furniture. Unlike most other manufacturers of poly lumber furniture, SoPoly facilitates this entire process, from extruding recycled plastics all the way to assembly of your new patio furniture.
Poly Lumber vs Wood
That brings us to a question that’s very natural to ask. How does SoPoly’s HDPE lumber stack up to the real thing? Don’t get us wrong, we love solid wood furniture. In fact, we’ve carried traditional, locally-built pine Adirondack chairs for ages. But on a porch, deck or patio where it’s exposed to the elements? Under these circumstances, poly lumber is superior in almost every way. Especially when it comes to durability.
HDPE lumber is naturally color-fast which means the color is resistant to UV fading from the sun’s rays unlike painted or stained wood that can fade or peel over time. Because the surface is non-porous, HDPE doesn’t absorb moisture and it doesn’t dry out in excessive sunlight. This makes poly lumber extremely low maintenance and resistant to cracking, splintering, mold, mildew, and other fungal and bacterial growth.
But what does all this mean for you – the consumer? It means less time worrying about your outdoor furniture, and hopefully more time enjoying the outdoors! The superior durability of poly lumber is also why SoPoly confidently offers customers a 20-year warranty on all poly lumber along with a 5-year warranty for all hardware. This is unheard of with traditional wood furniture.
Lastly, unlike lumber that must be sourced and cut down, poly lumber is processed and recycled from single-use waste products that would otherwise be headed to the landfill anyways. This is a win-win as poly lumber is both a superior building material and a more environmentally sustainable one also.
Pros & Cons of SoPoly Outdoor Furniture
With an industry-best 20-year warranty, environmentally sustainable construction using recycled materials, stainless steel marine-grade hardware, a variety of color options, weather and UV resistance, and super easy cleaning, SoPoly outdoor furniture really has a lot of things going for it. Did we mention each piece is crafted in Georgia? To those of us here locally, that means supporting not only American jobs, but the local Georgian economy too!
While you can find some variety of wicker patio furniture just about anywhere, SoPoly is one of only a handful of HDPE furniture manufacturers making their products truly unique within the patio furniture market. If any of the benefits in the paragraph above appeal to you and your outdoor furniture needs, SoPoly may be the perfect fit for your outdoor space.
But are there any cons? Let’s discuss those shoppers that may not be a great fit for SoPoly. Despite all that SoPoly and HDPE furniture in general have to offer consumers, these pieces do have a higher price relative to patio furniture made with regular lumber. As a result, SoPoly may not be ideal for those on the tightest of budgets. That being said, we encourage our customers to consider a set of SoPoly Adirondack chairs or SoPoly patio set as an investment in their home since it should outlast virtually everything else on the market.
Additionally, if you just absolutely have to have outdoor furniture with a rich wood grain, SoPoly may not fit your tastes. Several of SoPoly’s available colors are earth tones that can pass as real wood at a glance, however, HDPE will have a slightly different look and feel from real wood. Here at Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet, we don’t think it’s a huge deal. But some shoppers might.
Is SoPoly a Good Fit for Your Deck, Patio, Pool, Porch or Other Outdoor Living Space?
We understandably love SoPoly and the many benefits their premium poly lumber construction has to offer our customers. But what do you think? Does a SoPoly patio dining set, set of Adirondack chairs, chaise lounges, rocking chairs, swivel gliders or tete-a-tetes sound right for your outdoor living space?
Swing by our North Georgia furniture stores in Woodstock/Acworth, Dallas/Hiram, Covington and Rome to see and feel the difference of SoPoly’s HDPE poly lumber for yourself! At our showrooms, you’ll find samples of SoPoly products along with the full SoPoly catalog and examples of the many different color and product options available. Our patio furniture experts would love to walk you through SoPoly’s extensive catalog to help you find the custom patio set that you’ve been dreaming of. See you soon!
