subject: Choosing What Wood to Use For Outdoor Or Patio Furniture [print this page] Choosing What Wood to Use For Outdoor Or Patio Furniture
There are a number of options available when selecting what wood to use for outdoor furniture, and each will lend its own unique color and properties to your project. What choice is best for you will partly depend on what type of furniture you are building, what your budget is, and where you are located.
For example, the wood you choose to build an Adirondack chair will probably be different than what you would use to build a steamer chair, or a spindle backed front porch rocker. If you live in the Pacific Northwest, Western red cedar will be commonly available, while other species, such as cypress will be more readily available in the Southeastern United States.
I will outline below several of the more common wood choices for outdoor furniture use, as well as some of their advantages and disadvantages.
You must make special consideration when building outdoor wood furniture. Unprotected wood, regardless of the species used, will eventually deteriorate when exposed to rain, wind and sun.Some species are more durable than others, but they should all be protected in some way to ensure their maximum useful life.
Teak
In many people's minds teak is the premium choice for outdoor furniture.Teak is exceptionally strong and lends itself well to the slender parts of a steamer chair for example.
Teak is very oily, which makes it resistant to moisture, insects and fungus, but also makes it unsuitable for painted or stained finishes. Teak will weather to a silvery gray if left unfinished. Teak, being a tropical hardwood, however, is increasingly rare, very expensive, and will probably not be stocked at your local lumber yard.
Due to the high levels if silica found in teak, it is very hard on cutting tools.In fact, carbide or diamond cutting tools are a necessity. Due to the hardness of the wood, all screw or nail holes will have to be pre-drilled. The oils in the teak also make gluing somewhat more complicated. The surfaces to be glued will have to be wiped down with solvent, such as acetone, to remove the oils, in order for the glue to bond to the wood properly.
While teak is a very beautiful wood, and exceptionally well suited for outdoor furniture, its cost may make it impractical for your project, and the difficulty of working with it has to be considered, especially by the less experienced or novice woodworker.
Shorea
Shorea is a newcomer to the American market. With the influx of furniture imported from Indonesia in the last decade or so, it is becoming increasingly more common.Shorea is a good alternative to teak, having many of the same properties. While imported shorea furniture can be purchased fairly inexpensively, purchasing shorea lumber will probably prove to be more difficult, as it is only available through specialty hardwood companies.
Mahogany
Mahogany, like teak, has long been the choice material for boat builders due to its excellent weather resistant properties.This is true of the dark red heart wood, not the lighter sap wood.
Three species of mahogany are commonly available - Honduras, African and Philippine. Honduran and African mahogany are primarily used for furniture and other outdoor applications, while Philippine mahogany, with its coarse open grain, is mainly used for interior doors and trim.
Mahogany is an excellent choice for outdoor furniture, and usually much less expensive than teak. Mahogany can be glued with standard wood glues, holds fasteners well, and machines and finishes very easily. Mahogany is well suited for paint, stain, varnish and oil finishes.Left unfinished, mahogany will also weather to a silvery gray color.
Cedar
Cedar is softwood with very desirable decay resistant properties. The two most common species available are Western red cedar and Eastern white cedar.Both species are easy to work with, hold fasteners well, and are sufficiently strong for most outdoor furniture applications.
Cedar contains natural oils that resist decay and insects, as well as provide that pleasant cedar aroma.Cedar is the wood of choice in much of the country for many outdoor applications, such as decks, furniture, fences, shingles and siding.
Of the two species, Western red cedar exhibits better weather resistant properties if left unfinished. Both species, however, take paint and stain well.Because cedar is a softer wood, it is more susceptible to dents and dings, and is less suitable for a clear finish such as spar varnish. If you want a clear finish on your cedar furniture, an oil finish is recommended.
Cedar is usually less expensive than many of the other options available, and because of this, is an excellent choice for a project.
