Wood for Building Adirondack chairs

[Cody Colston]

Will they have a finish? SYP will rot pretty quickly outdoors unless it has a protective finish or is pressure treated. BTW, si ce price is a consideration, that would be my recommendation PT SYP.

I build mine from mostly ERC as it's abundant and available around here. I've also built them from Cypress and Walnut. The Cypress chair is the only one that has failed from weathering.

I also recommend sealing the leg bottoms with epoxy to prevent water wicking, regardless of the wood used.

[Tony Beran]

Why use wood? How about composite deck material? Mills like wood, looks like wood, lasts longer than wood, cleans easier than wood, no staining involved, and it stands up to the sea air. Although the initial cost is more but the maintenance time (no refinishing, no replacing broken or twisted boards) is very little.

[David Winer]

A wood that has intrigued me for outdoor furniture is locust. Difficult to dry without distorting, hard/difficult to work and hard to find large boards but VERY durable/weather resistant from what I've read.

Locust. Right, very resistant to rot. Good luck finding it in a form suitable for building Adirondack chairs. And good luck working it.

I used locust 4x4 posts (from a sawmill) for a shed four decades ago. They are still going strong. But hard to work? I remember with horror as I watched my helper cut the post tops off with a chain saw and saw sparks flying!

Changing the subject a little bit, why not use deck stain to increase the weathering life? It doesn't chip or flake, is simple to apply, and can be easily re-applied if appearance matters.

[Jim Becker]

Mine are painted pressure treated pine. The paint is failing but the wood is fine. They need painted but it's nice to know they won't rot regardless. Latex breathes enough to let the PT dry out. The paint keeps you from touching it. If you could find kiln dried PT wood it would be ideal - except for color.

You may find that an opaque stain will provide better life than paint for this application.

[Bill Adamsen]

If the Cypress was too soft, so too likely will be the Western Red Cedar. The suggestions of White oak and Locust would both theoretically be very rot resistant. To me, neither looks especially good with non-lustrous clear finishes. They are likely to get dirty and mildewy. Think about sitting on that with a white dress or pants! Heavy varnish can be very attractive (especially on White oak) but will require maintenance. Teak or Ipe are pricier and trickier to work, but both handle weathering more gracefully. I can't think of a variety of pine that would be suitable subjected to weather.

[Scott T Smith]

Your two closest suppliers would be the Hardwood Store in Gibsonville (about 30 minutes from GBO), or Wall Lumber up in Mayodan. Both are excellent companies to work with.

White oak, black or yellow locust (but not white or honey locust), black walnut, eastern red cedar and osage orange all tend to be rot resistant woods well suited for your project. If you buy white oak be sure that it's close pored (and not chestnut oak).

[Wes Ramsey]

You should be able to find some post oak or live oak locally. Both are heavy and rot resistant. They're both hard to work, but will last many years outdoors and untreated. The hay barn my father-in-law helped build from post oak when he was young is still standing 40-50 years later.

[Thomas O Jones Jr]

Your two closest suppliers would be the Hardwood Store in Gibsonville (about 30 minutes from GBO), or Wall Lumber up in Mayodan. Both are excellent companies to work with.

White oak, black or yellow locust (but not white or honey locust), black walnut, eastern red cedar and osage orange all tend to be rot resistant woods well suited for your project. If you buy white oak be sure that it's close pored (and not chestnut oak).

Scott, You and Kent Adams both recommended the hardwood store in Gibsonville; I've heard about them but never been there. Where in Gibsonville? I buy a lot from Steve Wall, in particular slabs from which I finished a 16 foot Bubinga mantel not long ago (it took 6 friends to hold it in place while I secured it. Thanks to everyone for your comments. Maybe the red cedar or white oak, depending on local supplies (and cost). Tom Jones

[Scott T Smith]

Scott, You and Kent Adams both recommended the hardwood store in Gibsonville; I've heard about them but never been there. Where in Gibsonville? I buy a lot from Steve Wall, in particular slabs from which I finished a 16 foot Bubinga mantel not long ago (it took 6 friends to hold it in place while I secured it. Thanks to everyone for your comments. Maybe the red cedar or white oak, depending on local supplies (and cost). Tom Jones

Tom, Gibsonville is about 15 miles east of Greensboro on I40. It's right before Burlington.

Steve sold out and retired recently; I don't know the new owner.

[Thomas O Jones Jr]

Scott, is it north of Gibsonville going toward the prison farm or in the downtown area? Can't picture where. Just spoke with Steve last week, he is still around but the young man who bought in is transitioning it into a lot less clutter and its easier to find stuff. Thats a grand log behind you. Have you created treasures from it? Tom

[Thomas O Jones Jr]

Kent, I just asked Scott Smith if he could give me specific Gibsonville directions. I just can't picture that store? Thanks for your comments and help! Tom

[Pat Barry]

I need guidance regarding the wood to use for building a set of these chairs for my step daughter. They will be outside on the ground in Charlotte, NC. I'm in Greensboro, NC and would welcome source ideas, as well.

They don't want to paint them. I've used cypres and it's too soft. I'm thinking yellow pine. Price is a consideration. Thanks for your thoughts.

I can't imagine cypress being too soft. I think the issue you are concerned with is the exposed endgrain on the bottom of the legs. I think you should build with cypress - its an otherwise perfect wood for a chair of this type - and then get some penetrating sealer that the wood will wick up so that water doesn't get wicked up so readily. I think something like the penetrating sealers used for wood that is already showing some signs of rot would be ideal - Home Depot carry's this. Apply it liberally, many times. I'm sure this will work wonders for you.

[Mel Fulks]

Maybe Pat has been lucky enough to get some good heart cypress. Most of the stuff is soft and sappy and only rated "moderately" durable.

[Pat Barry]

I actually have never worked with Cypress although my experience with pine is what I am banking on. Regular stud grade material, that and cedar. Both of these have huge propensity for moisture uptake through wicking. They don't last long in ground contact applications. As I recall Norm had an episode of New Yankee Workshop where he built outdoor furniture from Cypress - he wasn't steering us all wrong was he? Sorry if my info is incorrect about cypress

[Mel Fulks]

Not incorrect ,just needs the "Rest of the Story". Guys buying in quantity for expensive work like Tom King can find suppliers but not many places to buy a few pieces of the really good. Real heart is hard and brittle really doesn't look like it could ever have been what most of us can find. A friend bought a few pieces mail order few years back,think it was about 15 dollars a foot and had a lot of cracks ,looked like sticks for toasting marshmallows. He tediously glued and patched it.