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Type of wood for a painted Adirondack Chair?

10K views 10 replies 11 participants last post by  RussellAP 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I live in Portland, Oregon, which is a wet and rainy place. I'm planning to build two of these Adirondack chairs for our front porch. I will be painting them a bright color, similar to these chairs.
What type of lumber should I consider using? Do I need something like cedar since the chairs will be outdoors? Or because they will be painted (sealed from the weather) can I use just standard lumber?
 
#6 ·
I used pressure treated "1 x" and painted mine. I leave them outside year round. They have been through two Minnesota winters and about to go through a third and are still holding up very well. The paint is starting to flake in places, but that is not unexpected.
 
#8 ·
Hi - differing opinion here. If you have never built an Adirondack chair before, you may want to go with pine for your first go. I built my first one with very little woodworking experience and learned a LOT along the way. What that translated into was a very expensive chair. I had to recut some of the pieces several times, bought tools as I needed them, more wood, more tools….

If you use a good primer/sealer and then paint, they won't last forever, but they'll look good for at least a few years.
We leave ours outside for three seasons, bring them into the garage only in the winter. I'm in Eastern Canada, so we get a lot of rain in the Spring and Fall.

You could build your first out of pine, and then look at some of the other wood types.

Just my two cents worth. If you check out my projects, I have a yellow chair that's a bit on the 'too bright' side.

Have fun, be safe, and ask away.
 
#9 ·
Building a prototype from pine is an excellent idea! I've built literally hundreds of Norm's Adk chair and 90% of them from pine. I did a couple in cypress a number of yrs ago and they still sit on my deck. The above suggestions are all good chojces and my overall choice would be white oak. Strong and weather=resistant, it would last for a long time, especially painted. Prime first however, or you'll be painting ever yr or so. Stain would be a good choice of finish as well.
HTH, John
 
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