Outside Furniture

I guess it would depend on where you are located, but I have made all of my outdoor furniture with western red cedar. Redwood, white oak, and teak all make great choices as well. Price will more than likely be determined by your location.

-- Derrek L.

In the south I think the use cypress and soutern yellow pine.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com

Going to your local boating store will give you some options for weatherproof finishes.

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

I recently got my hands on a pile of scrap cypress from a log cabin build that I’m turning into an Adirondack Settee for the porch. Whatever you use (even pine) for your furniture, you’ll do good to use a good deck stain to preserve it. Those stains were created to withstand the fury of nature and UV sunlite…you can’t go wrong. Also, using pressure treated wood is fine especially after it’s stained. I have a deck and picnic table that are both 20 years old…still good and no rot at all.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Atlantic white cedar is native in North Carolina and is very popular for wooden boat planking due to rot resistance. It might be worth looking for a local sawmill. Your state forestry agency might be able to help.

-- Matt - Syracuse, NY

I have used western red cedar and white cedar for chairs outdoor furniture and fencing. Cypress is also popular and has an long history of outdoor use.

White Oak, Robinia (perhaps call Locust ?) and Larch/Tamarack wood are the woods of choice here in Europe. Cypress and Cedar are great too, Cedar smells good!

Larch wood is relativly economical here compared to Oak.

-- Nicholas, Journeyman Cabinetmaker, Partenkirchen, Germany