Wood for Building Adirondack chairs

[Thomas O Jones Jr]

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.

[Erik Loza]

Cedar is the go-to wood here in TX. I can think of other options but nothing in that price range. One of my customers made some beautiful Adirondacks out of Ipe, with stainless fasteners, but I about fell over when he told me the materials cost. But they'll outlast any of us.

Erik

[David Eisenhauer]

I would have said cypress, or (as Eric said) here in the Austin area we have an abundance of cedar to use as well. Both cypress and cedar are insect/mildew resistant, but are softer woods. I do not believe that pine is especially better suited for outdoor weather any better than anything else, but not 100% sure on that. The issue is that the owners do not want to paint, so that moves you into the more weather-resistant woods, such as cypress. Mahogany is a moisture resistant wood (not quite as resistant as teak, but up there on the list), but probably more costly than you are looking for too. I'm thinking that something is going to have to be allowed for you to reach your goal - paint the chairs, spend more money or use a softer wood.

[Peter Kelly]

If not Cedar or Ipe, I'd say White Oak, Sapele or Mahogany.

New growth White or Yellow Pine won't last too long outside unless it's painted or finished in some way. As Erik mentioned, stainless steel fasteners are a must.

[Kent Adams]

Hi Tom. The hardwood store in Gibsonville has some nice cedar you can use. You could call them and ask what else they have that might work as well.

[Jeffrey Martel]

Cheap, weather resistant wood? Cedar or White Oak.

[Tom Hargrove]

I've built over 100 Adirondack chairs over the past ten years. All were made from Western Red Cedar, and all are still going strong without any finish of any kind. (They are stored inside during the winter months.) WRC is a soft wood, but very resistant to rot and bugs. White Cedar is also a good choice, but is getting hard to find, at least around here. White Oak is a good alternative; it is harder than WRC, but will cost significantly more money. Ipe and mahogany are also great choices, but are very expensive, so if price is an issue, look elsewhere.

If you build outdoor furniture out of pine, and don't finish it, and then leave it outside, it will probably start to fall apart in just a few years. Yellow pine might last a bit longer, but not like the other woods mentioned in this chain.

[Wakahisa Shinta]

I built mine out of select grade redwood and quarter sawn white oak. I think the price per board foot is about the same. The redwood ones are much lighter and easier to move around. The white oak chairs are heavier (probably at least 3x more) and feel more substantial. I wanted to use cypress, but it is not available locally here. All the chairs received two coats of General Finish outdoor oil. I were surprised that an Adirondack chair requires more than a few board feet of wood.

[Jim Becker]

White oak (not red oak!) is the go-to for domestic, weather-, insect- and rot-resistant material for a project like this. IMHO.

[Patrick Harper]

I've always liked cypress...sure it's soft, but it's bug and rot resistant and makes for light weight chairs. Teak is expensive, so I'd echo what others have said and suggest white oak. It will make a burly chair, but a heavy one.

[Jim Dwight]

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.

[Randy Red Bemont]

I like to use white oak over cypress. It's windy here in the Carolina mountains and cypress chairs are way too light and blow around. White oak chairs hold there ground and can stand up to our weather.

Red

[Roger Feeley]

I was in a local store called Seasonal Concepts. They sell patio furniture in the spring and Christmas decorations in the fall. I saw an Adirondack chair made entirely of barrel staves from an oak whiskey barrel. It looked pretty cool but the $800 price tag seemed high. I wonder what an old used barrel would cost?

I might go over and take some pictures and measurements. Never hurts to have plans in the can.

[Bob Vaughan]

Mechanical deterioration is the big problem, not organic attack. Moisture gets in end grain and joints. When cell walls saturated with water and then freeze, the expansion of the water crushes the cell walls. The end result is that the wood gets pulpy over time. Some woods like many mentioned will not absorb moisture through end grain as much as others, but they still absorb some moisture. The deterioration will simply be a little slower.

[Curt Harms]

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.