What is Checking?

Checking occurs in furniture made from real wood or logs. It is a natural process that occurs as the wood “seasons” and dries. The wood checking process happens as the wood releases moisture across or through the annual growth rings. You ever notice how when it gets really wet and humid outside, basically a ton of moisture is in the air, your wooden door frame may seem tighter, like it’s more difficult to open and shut your door. Yet, when it’s dry outside, your door works normally. This is because your wooden door frame absorbs the moisture and swells but and then will release it and shrink it as it dries. Natural wood furniture goes through this same process, it swells when there’s moisture in the air and shrinks when it’s in a dry environment.

Having furniture inside your home doesn’t stop the process of checking because it’s the wood reacting to humidity levels in its environment. So as we move season to season and you have AC units cooling your home down or heating units turning the temperature up, the humidity levels inside your home will change, which will affect your wooden furniture.

So what does checking look like? Checking can look like cracks that run lengthwise along the grain on the surface of the wood. It adds a special beauty to the furniture, and because each log is different, varying amount of checking may occur on any given piece of furniture. While it adds beauty and character, it does not compromise the structural integrity or performance of the wood furniture!

So you end up a with a gorgeous piece of furniture that is unique to you!