# Adirondack chairs from Rockler - Type of wood/surfaced?



## CQRNELIUS (Oct 11, 2010)

I bought Rockler's adirondack chair plans and am trying to decide on what wood to select. Originally I was going to get cedar, but after visiting a local lumber yard they can only order cedar that is surfaced on only one side. Also the knotty cedar was a lot cheaper. Would that be ok to use? Any suggestions? This will be my second project, so any advice is appreciated!


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

Cypress is a good wood for outdoor use its light and weathers well.White oak is nice too but that gonna make a heavy chair.
I wouldn't use anything with a lot of knots isn't there a lot of joinery and short pieces.You might create a lot of waste trying to cut around knots.
If you really want to throw big teak is as good as it gets.
It's not easy to find Wrc clear and cheap.
Also don't buy your wood from rocker it's so expensive.I like rocker and the guys there.But they are bandits when it comes to wood.


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## CQRNELIUS (Oct 11, 2010)

Hey AJ, thanks for the suggestions. I was intending to buy from a local lumber yard. No fancy joinery on this one, it will be all joined via screws. I'll take a look at cypress. I was hoping for something light and could stand up to being outdoors 100% with minimal upkeep.

Do you know if not all sites being surfaced would cause a problem? I dont own a planer .

Thanks again!


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## onoitsmatt (Mar 7, 2015)

Depending on where you live, you will find various species of woods at various prices. Cedar may be the cheapest, it is light weight and it is good for outdoor use. Redwood is also good, but heavier than cedar. Knots are best kept to a minimum, particularly for anything that will bear a load, like the legs or seat slats. Back stiles and arms won't be bearing that much weight so if you get lumber with knots, use it for those pieces rather than seat/legs.

As for surfacing, depending on how you plan to finish the chairs, surfacing may not be a huge deal. You can put rougher surfaces face down and against each other (such as back stiles have rough surface to the back and sides with surfaced face forward. Sanding with a 100 or 120 grit paper will smooth most of the roughness off and will allow you a surface that can be painted.

Bear in mind, these are suggestions based on minimal effort using minimal tools and using the most affordable lumber. If these are your priorities, then this is good advice. If you want a pristine finished product, please ignore everything I've said. 

FWIW, one of my first projects was a pair of adirondak chairs. I made them from pine (some of it had knots) and finished with a latex exterior paint (white). That was about 15 years ago. About a month ago I replaced one leg and one back-support and my wife gave them a fresh coat of paint.


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## CQRNELIUS (Oct 11, 2010)

The local lumber yard (in Charlotte, NC) gave me a quote for the cedar needed at ~$100 per chair. Does that seem high?

I asked for a quote for cypress, I'm hoping that is a bit cheaper… if not I may go with pine. They did warn me the the quality of cypress has declined over the years? How does that happen, any truth to that?

Thanks!


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

I built mine out of cypress and really happy with the two chairs. I bought the cypress in Florida and brought it back to NW Indiana.


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## ScottM (Jul 10, 2012)

> The local lumber yard (in Charlotte, NC) gave me a quote for the cedar needed at ~$100 per chair. Does that seem high?
> 
> I asked for a quote for cypress, I m hoping that is a bit cheaper… if not I may go with pine. They did warn me the the quality of cypress has declined over the years? How does that happen, any truth to that?
> 
> ...


If you go with pine you'll have to keep it protected with paint every few years. I built one from cedar that I bought at HD. Advertised and sold as 3/4" but it was just under that. The resulting chair seems a bit flimsy for me so my wife sits in that one. The next one I built out of 4/4 cypress.

I think the price for the cedar is probably pretty good. It's hard to tell what the lumber would sell for in your specific region.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

I built Norm Abram's Adirondack chairs out of one by cedar from the local yard (they didn't have five quarter) and still have them 20 years later, but they are stained now. A couple of knots but if they let you pick through the pile it's kept to a minimum. Water will wick up the legs so they are best kept on a hard surface, not grass all the time.


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## ch241232 (Jun 29, 2016)

I like the Rockler chairs. I've buil 6 so far. I use cypress. I'm very pleased with the wood. I was going with cedar but didn't want to pay f$40 for a 2 by 6


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## Gentile (Jun 3, 2013)

I built 2 of th Norm chairs. I used 1×6, Yellow Pine, pressure treated decking from Home Depot. It worked out to $45.00 per chair…
I've had no ill effect from the PT wood. They're due for some stain…


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