Expert: Jamie Yocono - 2/26/2004

Question
Hi Jamie,

We're thinking about buying Adirondack Chairs for our yard. I've looked online and there are so many styles -- with a wide range of prices. There's also a huge range in terms of materials -- teak, eucalyptus, red cedar, mahagony, you name it. I was wondering if you could offer some advice in terms of wood types, cost & durability. We're essentially looking for something that will weather well and won't break the bank.

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Brian,

It just so happens I have some info about Adirondack chairs!  I teach a class about building these chairs for the University of Akron, and I've probably built more than two dozen in the last 8 years, in a variety of materials. Put your feet up and grab a cup of coffee, this could be a long answer!

In a way, choosing the wood for one of these is like buying a car. Yes, you can buy a $100,000 car, but a $20,000 car will get you where you're going, too. So the choice of materials depends a good deal upon your tastes and financial situation.

That said- there are materials what will resist rotting much better than others, so that's your first consideration.  If your chair is going to be painted the traditional white, and you move it indoors during the winter months, you have much more flexibility on prices.

Just to give you a VERY short course on wood, there are 2 types of wood: hardwood and softwoods. As a rule of thumb, hardwoods come from trees that lose their leaves, like Oak, Maple, Walnut, Cherry and so on. Softwoods come from trees that don't lose leaves, but in fact, have needles- commonly called Evergreens.  These include Pines, Firs, redwoods, Cedars and so on.

Not to get too technical, but there are even better cuts within a log of wood which will resist rotting. So a quartersawn board of wood (let's say, Cedar) will resist decay better than a plainsawn board of Cedar.

I guess the first question is if you want the chair to be painted, or leave it natural. Softwoods are more resistant to decay than hardwoods, so a softwood would be my first choice.

For unpainted chairs- Teak and Mahogany are VERY expensive, but look great. They will require a rejuvenating coat of oil every other year or two.  If I had to choose, I would probably go with a Western Red Cedar or a Redwood, which are somewhat more reasonably priced and possibly more available. You can leave any of these woods unpainted- simply treat them with something like CWF or Thompson's Water Seal and they will last a long time.

If your chairs are going to be painted, you could go with a cheaper wood, say a softwood like Pine or Fir.  But they MUST be painted or the chair will rot. And they should be brought inside each winter.  These woods will be cheapest, and painted and protected, they will last a decent amount of time compared to their cost. They won't last forever, tho.

In the middle of the spectrum, price wise, would be a chair made of treated wood -that green wet wood you see in your local Lowes or Home Depot. It will last a long time, with virtually no upkeep.  In fact, a chair of treated wood will do quite well even if it's not painted. It just looks better with that green color covered up!

But there's some discussion that treated wood is going to be discontinued, I think I read that somewhere. They say it's chemicals are bad for kids in playground situations. I don't know much about that, but I don't think the chair is going to be ingested, and as long as it's covered with a coat of paint, I would consider it safe.

Keeping your chair natural would be my choice, and if you find a nice Cedar in your area, you might have the best of both worlds- lower cost with good looks and easy care. Life should be that simple!

Write back if you have any more questions!  I hope all this helps.

Jamie Yocono
Wood it Is! Custom Cabinetry
Akron, OH