The tiny brads that supposedly attach the seat slats to the spreader below were mostly unattached on the original purchase; two were bent, precluding them from being used to reattach the slats. replaced the chair (this took an additional two weeks), which only had one unattached slat that we simply reattached rather than go through the whole return replace process all over again. Since I ve only been able to sit in the rocker for a brief time so far, I can t speak to its longevity or sturdiness. However, there are a couple of flaws that need mentioning. 1) Rocking is less than smooth; there s a hitch that may be only one rocker, but is definitely noticeable. It doesn t seem to make a difference whether the chair is indoors on a relatively smooth floor or outdoors on the concrete patio. 2) The inside of the chair arm is not well sanded, with stain and finish applied over the rough spots - which seem to be right where one s hand would contact the arm, and follow the roughness back and forth. I would redo the sanding job myself, but then it would be necessary to refinish the chair from top to bottom, and I paid too much to look forward to that size of a job, when it ought to have been done better in the factory. I may change my mind on that issue down the road.
So, no, I would not recommend buying this one unless you re willing to do repairs. 2 for 2 is not, in this case, a good ratio.
Photo 1 shows the seat of the first (returned) rocker. Photo 2 shows the second one that I kept. Photo 3 shows not only the rough spot on the inside of the left arm, but also the top of the arm itself, which also is less than smoothly sanded. I m not even close to being the perfectionist that my father was, but I recognize when good enough ... isn t.
Defects on original and replacement
The tiny brads that supposedly attach the seat slats to the spreader below were mostly unattached on the original purchase; two were bent, precluding them from being used to reattach the slats. replaced the chair (this took an additional two weeks), which only had one unattached slat that we simply reattached rather than go through the whole return replace process all over again. Since I ve only been able to sit in the rocker for a brief time so far, I can t speak to its longevity or sturdiness. However, there are a couple of flaws that need mentioning. 1) Rocking is less than smooth; there s a hitch that may be only one rocker, but is definitely noticeable. It doesn t seem to make a difference whether the chair is indoors on a relatively smooth floor or outdoors on the concrete patio. 2) The inside of the chair arm is not well sanded, with stain and finish applied over the rough spots - which seem to be right where one s hand would contact the arm, and follow the roughness back and forth. I would redo the sanding job myself, but then it would be necessary to refinish the chair from top to bottom, and I paid too much to look forward to that size of a job, when it ought to have been done better in the factory. I may change my mind on that issue down the road. So, no, I would not recommend buying this one unless you re willing to do repairs. 2 for 2 is not, in this case, a good ratio. Photo 1 shows the seat of the first (returned) rocker. Photo 2 shows the second one that I kept. Photo 3 shows not only the rough spot on the inside of the left arm, but also the top of the arm itself, which also is less than smoothly sanded. I m not even close to being the perfectionist that my father was, but I recognize when good enough ... isn t.