What is PEFC?
The PEFC is a non-governmental and not-for-profit organisation which has been created to promote sustainable forestry and forest management. Not only does is certify forests at the source, but also promotes good practice throughout the entire supply chain. This means that is works towards ensuring that all products that come from one of the certified forests are created with ecological, ethical and social standards.
Every country has its own national forest certification system, and each and every one of these goes through rigorous third party checks and tests. This means that the PEFC's sustainability standards are consistent throughout the world.
Here is a short video presentation to tell you more about the PEFC (requires sound):
To read more about the PEFC and what they do, please visit: www.pefc.org
The Natural Quality of Wood
We know that metal play equipment is not as good to look at. Having a natural wooden climbing frame will blend into your garden, whilst being just as tough and durable as metal structures. As wood is natural it will age and weather - but this will only help it to blend into its natural surroundings even more.All timber, as a natural product is different and unique - with variations in the grain and knots on each piece. This can add beautifully to the unique element of your frame and give the frame its own character.
Wood does also expand and contract with changes in temperature and slight cracks can appear in wood over time. Sometimes small cracks can be there in the beginning and disappear with time. The majority of these cracks and unique features on the wood such as knots and grain will not affect the structural stability of your climbing frame.
On occasion, the nature and behaviour of wood to changes in the atmosphere can mean cracks have formed and grown long enough for small parts to break or weaken.
More often than not, the crack will disappear over time.
