How to Build a Deck Chair
A warm summer’s day means a nice book, a cool drink, and a comfortable deck chair. Sitting in a comfortable deck chair makes a summer day float by with little care for the outside world. Building a deck chair is a fairly simple project and one that will bring years of enjoyment.
Required Materials
- 1×2” stock-pine or teak are good choices
- planed furniture stock
- tack nails
- galvanized screws
- fabric of choice
Required Tools
- hammer
- drill with full bit pack
- coping saw
- router
- palm sander
- pencil/paper
Instructions
- Layout - Having a solid idea of which type of deck chair you are going to build is the first step. Adirondack, fabric or chaise chairs all are essentially the same design but are different in certain ways. Check your local home store, or several books to find out more on the chair that you are interested in.
- Stick Construction - A majority of deck chairs are made out of fairly thin stock. The stock may be thin, but remember that there are a lot of thin pieces. Together, they will support a lot of weight. Piece organization is critical.
- Rails - Decide on the height that you would like to chair to be. Cut and round over the corners of two side rail pieces. Drill a 1” hole at the upper end of the side rail, about two inches from the end. Do the same 5/8ths of the way down the rail, from the end you just drilled a hole in. Do the same for two shorter rails that are 3/4 of the length of the first two rails. Drill the same size hole with the end hole being located toward the ground as you slide a 1” dowel through each hole, connecting all four pieces. Glue and tack nail the outside rails, but not the inside rails. The shorter rails should be inside the longer ones. Drill, glue, and attach dowel at the end of the shorter rails.
- Supports - Use strapping sized wood to cut lateral supports for the rails. These lateral supports can be joints, or simply glued and nailed to the thick side of the rails. These should be nailed at the halfway point of the lower section of the rails.
- Back and Seat - The upper lateral support can be omitted if a fabric backed chair, or if the support rail, is replaced by cutting and mortising back rails to an added piece of 1×3” stock at the top and middle dowel portions of the side rails. Repeat for the seat portion of the chair.
- Stain and Paint - Regardless of the wood that you have chosen, a stain or paint job will be needed to protect the piece. For a showy wood like teak, you will need to stay away from paint and just go for a poly finish that will seal the piece. Teak has its own luster and does not need help. If a more common wood is chosen, the end result is the same; you will need to seal the pores. With the wood, use a non-lead containing oil based paint.