Inexpensive Furniture And Especially Chairs In The Philippines

[Mr Lee]

Inexpensive furniture and especially chairs in the PhilippinesBe careful is all I can say.First of all, it can be quite dangerous to some of us over sized expats to buy inexpensive furniture that was originally made for Filipinos who often weigh less than half of what a westerner can weigh, and always remember that you often get what you pay for.Example one. My wife and I picked out a nice dinette set a couple of years ago when we bought our condos............. We figured that we could always buy a better one later on and we could always put that one in the rental unit we bought to rent out........... Well things do not always work out as planned.......... We picked out a nice sturdy wood table and chairs and they all looked very strong and I sat on the chairs in the store and they held up............ Little did I know that the seat cushions were made of fiber board because they are covered in cloth.............. Well a short time later I almost fell through when the seat cushion collapsed :wt-hell: and I almost broke my back.........None of this was a problem since we had a carpenter we knew and he reinforced the chairs and now I think they would hold an elephant, what am I saying, the do hold an elephant, :565: maybe a baby elephant but none the less an elephant in weight compared to an average Filipino. :as-if: Now the main problem of this, we know what we have and do not know what we will get if we buy another one, so for now at least, we are keeping the one we had fixed. Example two and even worse. Never buy a inexpensive desk chair, I did and it almost killed me today......... :23_11_60[2]: My wife and I shopped last year for a desk and chair and we found a nice desk at White Gold but not a chair, so we ended up buying one at Mandaue Foam.........Now none of this is any reflection on the store and should just be about the idiot that bought the chair and did not bother to inspect what it was made of, me........... :23_11_60[2]: Anyway, I was sitting on the chair earlier today and talking on Skype to a friend in Manila.......... Yup, Skype, because while I can talk to the USA for free on my Magic Jack, I have to pay long distance to Manila, :cheers: but that is another story..........Anyway, the sturdy metal looking legs turned out to be plastic....... :wt-hell: I would never have known they were plastic and I guess next time I have to use a magnet to make sure.........Now while I only weigh about 215, or I did when I left the states back in early February, but the food here is so good that I may have put on a few pounds since then and that is yet another story.......... :) Anyway 2, I was relaxed and talking and the next thing I hear is crack and I am on the floor, hit my head pretty hard and fell at an angle but I do not think I actually hurt myself, I guess time will tell. :why-me: Why me because :23_11_60[2]: Third example and not so problematic, but could end up pretty bad.. We bought a table from Mandaue foam and it was beautiful chrome with wood and chrome legs.......The men delivered it and before they got out the door there was termite dust coming from the legs........Wood here comes from all over, and so does it in other countries, how do I know this, because my wife and I once got a lovely basket that was bought for us in Florida and made in Thailand, and out came termites from it too. So all I can say is be careful what you buy....... :as-if:

Edited April 11, 2009 by Mr. Lee

[Mike S]

Good luck on finding an office chair here with metal legs ...... as you know mine buckled after a few weeks but that was due to the way the braces went inside the plastic legs ..... they were diamond shaped and flexed way to much ..... luckily I still had the old chair which had a broken hydraulic cylinder .... it had started leaking ..... so I took the legs off the old chair which I guess was made by the same manufacture and they fit just fine ...... got mine at Makro ......

[Mr Lee]

I found a nice one with chrome metal legs at the SM store. I did not buy it because it was a little on the steep side and I did not have my magnet with me, and besides I do not have the extra money right now with our upcoming trip to COD and Mindanao and the condo we bought for a rental and the donation money we owe Daisy for some projects there. I think I will first try that used store Mike S showed us and I am using one of the plastic chairs for now from our patio, so I can keep using that if I have to and buy another one next year, worst comes to worst. I just hope I do not fall on my arse again.