Click Image to enlarge.
Click Image to enlarge.
Finally, outdoor furniture that’s
easy to get in and out of
This chair and love seat combo is just perfect for
outdoor lounging. The seat has a nice curved recess to conform to your body, and wide arms to hold your favorite snack and
drink. And because the seat doesn’t slope steeply downward like on a traditional Adirondack chair, even your grandfather
will be able to help himself out without a boost.
You won’t need an arsenal of power tools to build
this furniture. In fact, you’ll only need a circular saw, a drill and simple hand tools. I’ve designed this
project for simplicity as well: With a bit of patience, even a novice can do a great job.
The wood is pressure-treated pine, chosen for its low
cost, high strength and longevity. And don’t worry about the drab green look of treated wood. You can brush on an
exterior oil or latex stain and give it a beautiful warm glow that makes it look more like mahogany or teak than treated pine.
Figure on spending about $45 for the materials for the chair and about $65 for the love seat.
Select straight,
knot-free, pressure-treated pine
Most outdoor wood furniture is made from cedar or
expensive teak, but regular treated boards from your home center or lumberyard are perfect for this project. The trick is to
select boards that are as straight and free of knots as you can find. A few tight knots are OK, and if you spot a board that
looks great except for a huge loose knot, just cut it out and use the knot-free sections. It’s a good idea to buy a
couple of extra boards, just in case you end up cutting out more sections than you’d planned. Also avoid boards that are
still wet from the treatment process (they’ll feel cool and damp) because they might warp or crack as they
dry.
Don’t assume that the treated boards are
dimensionally consistent. When I got my lumber home, the boards varied by as much as 3/16 in. in width. These variations can
screw up the assembly process, especially for the back slats, which require spacers to get an exact back width. Once you get
the boards home and begin to cut the pieces, use the rip guide on your circular saw (or borrow a neighbor’s table saw)
to trim them to the exact widths in the Cutting List.
Figure A Chair and love
seat assembly
Click Image to enlarge.
Click Image to enlarge.
Assemble the main frame
Cut the notches in the front legs to accept the front
stringer as shown in
Photo 1. As you chisel out the waste wood
in the notch, shave the bottom carefully and fine-tune it with a rasp to keep the notch from getting too
deep.
As you assemble the basic frame (Photos 2–6), make sure your work surface is flat so each
piece aligns with the adjoining pieces at the correct angle. Be sure to use a dab of construction adhesive in every joint and
predrill a pilot and countersink hole for each screw. You can buy a bit at your local hardware store that drills a pilot and
countersink in one operation for the No. 6 screws.
Spacers make the back
assembly a snap
To achieve the gentle taper of the back assembly, you’ll need to taper
the outer seat slat and cut it as shown in
Photo 7. First, place a mark 1-1/2 in. from
the edge on opposite ends as shown. Connect the marks with a line and then saw right down the middle of the line with your
circular saw. Sand or plane the cut edge to smooth away any saw marks.
Before you assemble the back of the chair or love seat,
cut 1/4-in. thick spacers from scrap wood. The spacers (Photo 8) will ensure that the back assembly is the right width. Lay each slat on the floor and make
sure the best-looking side of each board is facing down. As you screw the three back braces to the back slats, use a framing
square to make sure they’re perpendicular. You’ll find it easier to get the proper alignment if you match the
center point of each brace with the center line drawn down the middle back slat. Drill pilot holes and drive 1-1/4 in. deck
screws through the braces into the slats as shown in
Figure A and
Photo 8.
Once you’ve assembled the back, it’s time
to fasten it to the chair frame. Flip the frame assembly upside down and insert the back assembly into it (Photo 9). This can be a bit challenging, so
make it easier by laying two nonskid rugs or mats on the floor under the chair frame and the top of the back assembly. These
will help keep everything in place. As you align these assemblies, it’s critical to get the back of the seat braces
flush with the outer back slats (H3) and then screw through the rear legs into the bottom back brace (J) as shown in
Photo 9 and
Figure A. Next, glue and screw the
horizontal arm supports (E) into the center back brace (K) and then into the side of the outer back slat as
well.
With the completion of this phase, you’ll start
to see a chair emerging. Flip the chair onto its legs and cut and predrill the seat slats. Glue and screw them to the seat
braces with 1-5/8 in. deck screws (Photo
10). Don’t overdrive the screws—the heads should be just flush with the seat slats. The last step of
the assembly is to fasten the arms to the arm supports and the legs as shown in
Photos 11 and 12. The notches you cut near
the back of the arms hold the back assembly firmly in place and reduce the stress on the screws at other joints. These
compound notches slice through the arm at an angle. Cut the depth carefully with a handsaw and then chisel out the
notch.
Add a personal touch to your outdoor
furniture
You can build our step-back version of the
chair and love seat or experiment with other shapes to suit your sense of style. Feel free to try the gable or round back
shown below or draw a different shape on paper, tape it to the chair and step back to see how you like it.
Cutting List for
Chair
|
KEY
|
QTY.
|
SIZE &
DESCRIPTION
|
|
A
|
2
|
3/4" x 3-1/2" x 21" front
legs
|
|
B
|
1
|
3/4" x 3-1/2" x 23" front
stretcher
|
|
C
|
2
|
3/4" x 5-1/2" x 27"
arms
|
|
D
|
2
|
3/4" x 3" x 10-3/4" triangular arm
supports
|
|
E
|
2
|
3/4" x 1-1/2" x 23-1/4" horizontal arm
supports
|
|
F
|
2
|
3/4" x 3-1/2" x 34-1/2" rear
legs
|
|
G
|
2
|
3/4" x 5-1/2" x 17-3/4" seat
braces
|
|
H1
|
1
|
3/4" x 5-1/2" x 35-3/4" center back
slat
|
|
H2
|
2
|
3/4" x 5-1/2" x 34-1/4" inner back
slats
|
|
H3
|
1
|
3/4" x 5-1/2" x 32-3/4" outer
back slats (taper cut into two pieces)
|
|
J
|
1
|
3/4" x 3-1/2" x 21-1/2" bottom back
brace
|
|
K
|
1
|
3/4" x 1-1/2" x 23" center back
brace
|
|
L
|
1
|
3/4" x 1-1/2" x 21-1/2" top back
brace
|
|
M
|
7
|
3/4" x 2-1/2" x 21-1/2" seat
slats
|
Cutting List for Love
Seat
|
KEY
|
QTY.
|
SIZE &
DESCRIPTION
|
|
a
|
2
|
3/4" x 3-1/2" x 21" front
legs
|
|
b
|
1
|
3/4" x 3-1/2" x 43" front
stretcher
|
|
c
|
2
|
3/4" x 5-1/2" x 27"
arms
|
|
d
|
2
|
3/4" x 3" x 10-3/4" triangular arm
supports
|
|
e
|
2
|
3/4" x 1-1/2" x 23-1/4" horizontal arm
supports
|
|
f
|
2
|
3/4" x 3-1/2" x 34-1/2" rear
legs
|
|
g
|
3
|
3/4" x 5-1/2" x 17-3/4" seat
braces
|
|
h1
|
2
|
3/4" x 5-1/2" x 35-3/4" back
slats
|
|
h2
|
4
|
3/4" x 5-1/2" x 34-1/4" back
slats
|
|
h3
|
1
|
3/4" x 5-1/2" x 32-3/4" outer
back slat (taper cut into two pieces)
|
|
h4
|
1
|
3/4" x 2-1/2" x 32-3/4" center
back slat (trim to fit)
|
|
j
|
1
|
3/4" x 3-1/2" x 41-1/2" bottom back
brace
|
|
k
|
1
|
3/4" x 1-1/2" x 43" center back
brace
|
|
l
|
1
|
3/4" x 1-1/2" x 41-1/2" top back
brace
|
|
m
|
7
|
3/4" x 2-1/2" x 41-1/2" seat
slats
|
Create a round back by measuring down
15 in. from the top and draw a 14-in. radius with a homemade compass.
Brush on an exterior
stain
Once the chair is assembled, ease all the edges with
100-grit sandpaper, paying particular attention to the seat and arms. If the wood feels damp or cold to the touch, you may
need to let the chair dry in a shaded area for a few days before you sand or stain it.
We used an Olympic oil-based cedar natural tone stain
that lets the grain show through. Several options are available, including custom semitransparent stains that a paint supplier
can mix for you. A quart will easily do a pair of chairs or a chair and love seat. This finish will last at least several
years and can be cleaned and recoated as it shows signs of wear.
1 Clamp the two front legs together, measure for the 3/4-in.
deep notch and make repeated cuts with your circular saw set to 3/4-in. depth of cut. Chisel the pieces between the cuts and
then file smooth.
2 Spread a light bead of construction adhesive into each
notch and align the front stretcher (B) with the edge of the legs. Drill and screw the stretcher to the
legs.
3 Mark the angle on the backside of each arm and cut the
arms (C) and arm supports (D) with your circular saw.
4 Align the arm supports with the top and front edges of the
legs, then drill and screw each front leg to the arm support with two 1-5/8 in. deck screws.
5 Fasten the horizontal arm supports (E) at 90 degrees to
the front legs. Then glue, drill and screw the rear legs to the arm supports, making sure the arm supports are parallel to the
floor.
6 Cut the seat supports (G) from 1x6 boards. Align the
square front edge of the seat brace with the back of the front stretcher (C) and glue and screw them to the front and back
legs.
7 Mark a diagonal line on H3, then clamp the board to your
sawhorses and cut along the line to make a pair of outer back slats.
8 Set the back slats on a flat surface with 1/4-in. wide
spacers. Center the back braces on the slats. Glue, drill and screw them with 1-1/4 in. deck screws.
9 Align the bottom of the back assembly with the seat braces
and the tops of the rear legs. Screw the legs to the back brace and screw the horizontal arm supports to the center back
brace.
10 Space the seat slats (M), evenly starting at the back.
Drill one pilot hole on each end of the slats and screw them to the seat brace. Screw the front seat slat to the seat brace as
well as the front stretcher (B).
11 Set the arm flush with the edge of the arm support (E),
overhanging the front leg 1-1/2 in. Mark the arm where it meets the back slat.
12 Notch the arm with a handsaw and fasten it to the
horizontal support, the top edge of the back legs and to the front leg and arm support with 1-5/8 in. screws and
glue.
Photography • BILL ZUEHLKE
Art Direction • BECKY PFLUGER
Illustration • EUGENE THOMPSON
Project Design • DAVID RADTKE
