Wood for Adirondack Chairs

[Splinter]

Other than pressure treated SYP what wood would you recommend to build Adirondack chairs that are going to be used on a dock?

I thought about teak but it is rather expensive and I think I have heard it is very hard on tools. Is this true?

 

[NCPete]

cedar, actually a common tree where I grew up in the Adirondacks. We also used some pine and spruce, thought they are much less durable.

 

[DaveO]

Cypress, I saw some chairs made out of it by some of the kids at KMI in Wilmington and they were beautiful. Light color like pine but with a much nicer grain pattern and much more rot resistant.
Dave

 

[NCPete]

Cypress, sheesh! And I have a sample of that in the garage, and forgot about it!

 

[Steve D]

Without question Cypress, with stainless steel hardware. I built a ton of these chairs 3 years ago and several of them are oceanfront in Folly Beach. They are in fantastic shape after 3 years of full exposure at the beach.

 

[Splinter]

Without question Cypress, with stainless steel hardware. I built a ton of these chairs 3 years ago and several of them are oceanfront in Folly Beach. They are in fantastic shape after 3 years of full exposure at the beach.

Steve, did you put any kind of finish on the cypress? Can hot dipped galvanize hardware be used with cypress? Do you know if the same chair in cypress is a lot lighter in weight than the same chair in pressure treated SYP?

Thanks.

 

[DaveO]

Cypress weighs about 32# per cubic ft. and SYP weighs around 41# per cubic ft.
IMHO, galvanized fasteners would work fine but SS would be better.
Dave

 

[Gillie]

Completely budget driven. If you've got deep pockets -- teak is great. In the same vein for less money you could use Ipe.
Getting to more traditional woods, cypress is probably the best choice and I've also seen QS sycamore used. Cedar, like treated pine can be kind of splintery.

The budget bargain is to use the PT yellow pine and then stain it with Behr Solid Color Deck Stain.

 

[Travis Porter]

I am a cypress advocate. I have used galvanized fasteners, but they don't hold up and end up rusting anyway. I would use stainless steel, stay away from nails, and use screws. My .02

 

[Steve D]

I have done chairs raw and painted. Raw holds up very well and weather to a silver gray like teak. You can treat them with a water seal, marine varnish, etc. etc. I did use nails on the seat slats but I purchased stainless steel nails for my finish nailer. Another thing to keep in mind evaluating cypress vs treated lumber is moisture content. Cypress will be dry (kiln or air) and pressure treated will be everything from dripping to dry but more than likely dripping.

 

[Splinter]

I had orginally planned to use PT SYP (due to cost) but from expierence I know the sun will cause the wood to cup and twist in a short period of time and I want the chairs to be around for many years and still look good. I plan to go with cypress and stainless fasteners if I can find them locally or from McFeely's. Now if I can just finish this yard work and get back into the WW shop.:BangHead:

Thanks for the help.

 

[DaveO]

I still think that you would be best off with Cypress, but for outdoor things that I want to remain in the same shape I made them in, I often use KDAT (Kiln Dried After Treatment) pressure treated SYP. The cupping and twisting you get with normal PT SYP is due to the high MC of the wood (the treatment chemicals) once it is treated and then re-dried it is quite stable. Cypress is still the best choice, but budget is budget. Still use SS fasteners with KDAT lumber, it is just as corrosive as non-dried PT.
Dave

 

[junquecol]

White Oak would be my second choice behind cypress. My mother had a set of porch chairs ( We didn't know they were Adirondak chairs) made in the late 50's They were made from white oak by a Mister Harris on Hwy 50 north of Raleigh, where I 540 is now. This is all he made in his shop, and all were white oak from local sawmills (Goldston's, Burke Brothers, and Norwood Brothers). These were kept on a covered porch. The finish was Waterlox. When my sister disposed of them a couple years back, she got o lot more than my mother paid for them. White oak is used to make buckets, WHISKEY Barrels and wine barrels. If it is good enough for Jack Daniels, then it is good enough for chairs.

 

[chris99z71]

You could always build them from Ipe...if you don't want your dock to blow away in a hurricane. At 70#/cf and estimated 50 year lifespan (untreated) when exposed to the elements, they'd last a lifetime...
http://ipe-wood.com/tech.html

 

[NCPete]

It seems they use Ipe on almost every TOH project for the decks, talking about its durability for that sort of application. Where would one get some here in NC?

 

[DaveO]

I get it through any distrubtor of Plunket- Webster. Here in Raleigh that would be Stock Bld'ing Suplies, or Guy C Lee lumber. I think that you can also get it through Wherhouser. Kyle is a distrib. he should be able to order it.
Dave

 

[NCPete]

cool, didn't realize it was so commonly available that Stock would have it. what does it cost? looking at rebuilding a deck torn down 6 years ago to fix a termite problem... alternative materials offer a lot for durability, but just don't feel the same.

 

[DaveO]

Ipe guestimated costs are about 3x what PT SYP would cost , and then you have to add on special fasteners (hidden) or plugs for screw holes (you bought beautiful wood, do it justice), and additional time to pre-drill every screw hole. But it will give you an "investment grade" deck that will outlast any other decking material.
Dave

 

[sapwood]

Capitol Lumber also sells Ipe. Although I can't confirm the pricing, I believe it's 2-3 times cost of PT. It is available with a groove cut in each side of the board. By utilizing special fastners that slip in the groove you won't have screws visible on top of the deck. Looks great, but it's a significant addition costwise 8-O

Sapwood

 

[Kyle]

Cypress is on par with Redwood for rot resistance. Western red Cedar is equal to Redwood as well and is quite beautiful. The common misperception about all of these woods is that the WHOLE tree is rot resistant when in reality only the heart wood will last. If you get sapwood in cypress expect a short existance for the chair. An excellent substitute is WHITE OAK and LOCUST. White Oak has been used for 1000's of years as ship building material and Locust is flat out awesome in my opinion. If you use cypress use only the heartwood of the BALD CYPRESS.

Common woods considered to be decay resistant include: all cedars, old-growth redwood, old-growth baldcypress, white oak, and locust. Heartwood of these species generally provide rot-free performance in an untreated state. Water repellent treatment is still a good idea on all wood exposed to the weather. Water repellent helps keep wood dimensionally stable.