Garden Chair

DO IT YOURSELF

As soon as the weather allows, do you prefer spending time outdoors? How about a matching reclining chair? The “Adirondack Chair” combines the benefits of a lounger and a chair thanks to its unique design. We’ve got the instructions for this classic American garden chair – including all the tools and materials you’ll need.

Two homemade wooden garden chairs stand side by side on a lawn.

In this article, we’ll show you how to build your own garden chair in the Adirondack style.

Tools & Materials

Tools

Jigsaw
Circular saw
Router
Cordless screwdriver
Drill (3.5 mm)
Clamps
Sandpaper
Belt sander

Materials

2x Side panels 950 x 130 x 20 mm
2x Front legs 510 x 130 x 20 mm
2x Back legs 650 x 130 x 20 mm
1x Front cross brace 510 x 90 x 15 mm
1x Rear cross brace 140 x 90 x 15 mm
1x Lower backrest support 510 x 90 x 15 mm
1x Upper backrest support 560 x 115 x 15 mm
7x Backrest slats 810 x 72 x 15 mm
12x Seat slats 510 x 38 x 15 mm
2x Armrests 900 x 130 x 20 mm
2x Supports 150 x 90 x 15 mm
Screws, 40 mm – approx. 70 pieces
Weather-resistant wood stain

Building the Garden Chair

Step 1: Cutting to Size

First, you’ll need to cut the boards to length using a jigsaw or circular saw. Then, mark the shape of the seat on the side panels.
Next, draw the outline of the armrests on the designated boards. Be sure to include a small curved arc on the inner side – the side facing the seat.
For the supports, you can either draw a diagonal line or go for a gently curved shape.
After that, mark out the slats for the backrest. My slats, for example, are 840 mm long, 72 mm wide at the top, and 35 mm wide at the bottom.

Technical drawing number 01 shows a curved wooden part, 940 mm long and 150 mm high.

Technical drawing number 02 shows a curved wooden part, 800 mm long and 180 mm high.

Technical drawing number 03 shows a small curved wooden part, 15 cm wide and 9 cm high.

Technical drawing number 04 shows a narrow, trapezoidal wooden part, 840 mm long.

Once you’ve marked all the parts, you can use a jigsaw or band saw to cut out all the components.

Five white wooden templates in different shapes lie next to each other on a workbench.

An Einhell surface planer with vacuum hose lies on a cut-out wooden board.

Step 2: Sanding

Once you’ve cut out all the parts, take a belt sander and smooth everything down thoroughly.

Various sawn wooden slats and curved parts lie on a workbench.

Next, you can saw the seat slats and then round off and sand the edges as well. After that, use a router to smooth and round over all the edges. Feel free to use a bit that creates larger curves if you prefer. Finally, go over everything again with a sanding block and fine sandpaper for a clean finish.

Step 3: Treating the Wood

In this step, you’ll need to treat the wood with your chosen weather-resistant stain, as mentioned earlier. Once you’ve applied the stain, set the pieces aside to dry for a while. I placed a few wooden strips underneath to allow the parts to dry evenly from both sides.

Several wooden slats are stacked on a workbench, ready for assembly.

A red Einhell cordless screwdriver lies in a wooden frame on a workbench.

Step 4: Assembly

Start by taking the two side panels and the lower backrest support, and screw them together. At this stage, only use one screw per side so that the side panels can still be adjusted. Then, take the first seat slat and screw it onto the bottom. This should ensure that the two side panels are aligned parallel to each other.

The frame of a wooden garden chair lies on a workbench, with several cross slats mounted.

To keep the spacing between the seat slats consistent, you can use either a 10 mm drill bit or a thin wooden strip. I used a 12 mm thick wooden strip and placed it between each slat. Continue this process with each slat until all of them are used or you reach the lower backrest support. This will ensure that the two side panels remain perfectly parallel.

A garden chair is fixed with clamps, with the seat slats clearly visible.

For the next step, I used a few clay bricks and placed them under the front cross brace. Once that’s done, take two clamps and fix the front legs to the side panels, making sure they are positioned about 13 cm from the front edge on each side. Then, secure each leg to the panels with four screws. The rear legs are then mounted 44 cm behind the front ones.

The frame of a wooden chair lies upside down, showing the slatted seat from below.

Next, screw the upper backrest support onto the rear legs. If you prefer a steeper backrest angle, attach it at the upper point; for a more reclined position, use the lower point for screwing it in place. I opted for the flatter angle in this case.

A cross slat is being clamped to the lower part of a wooden chair using clamps.

To make screwing easier, I recommend fixing a small board to the underside of the seat using two clamps. This gives you a stable base to work from. You can then easily arrange and align the individual backrest slats. Once they’re evenly positioned, secure the slats to both the lower and upper backrest supports, following the curve.

The curved armrest of a wooden chair is seen from above and already attached.

Now, fix the armrest to the front leg using two screws. Make sure the rear cut-out fits snugly in place. Once aligned properly, secure the armrest to the rear leg as well.

A close-up shows a supporting wooden joint beneath the seat of a garden chair.

Next, position the support with the appropriate holes on top of the front leg, mark the positions, and pre-drill the holes into the leg. Once that’s done, you can screw the support in place using the pre-drilled holes.