Last Updated on August 18, 2025 by Team Ideas24
It’s nice to end the day by spending quality time in your outdoor living space. But for you to fully enjoy the experience you need a comfortable and stylish chair. The best option is an Adirondack chair.
Made from recycled pallets, this Adirondack chair will give you a comfortable place to relax and unwind in your outdoor area without breaking the bank.
You can build a couple of these for your friends and relatives when they come to visit. Not only do you get great seating for your outdoor area, you also learn new skills, and help lessen the garbage in our environment.
How many of these do you need?
Contents
Building an Adirondack Chair
Materials:
- 3-4 good Pallets
- Wood Putty
- Screws
- Bolts, Nuts, Washers
- Wood Glue
- String
Tools:
- Hammer
- Crowbar
- Drill
- Small Bit – for pilot holes, size depends on the screws you use
- 3/8″ Spade/Forstner Bit – for counter sinks
- Circular Saw
- Reciprocating Saw
- Power Drills Screw Driver
- Router (optional)
- Sander
Steps:
Pallets aren’t easy to take apart. They’re also usually not made of very good lumber. If you use them for projects, you’re going to spend A LOT of time dismantling them and you’re not going to get much from a single pallet.
Working with power tools is dangerous, doubly so when working with pallets. There are hidden nails, knots, warped boards, etc. Use proper safety equipment, especially eye protection when breaking pallets for your Adirondack chair. Don’t use a power tool unless you’re familiar with it.
I start by cutting off the outside stringers (the 2×4’s) with a skill saw for my Adirondack chair. Watch out for nails! Draw a straight line on each side as a guide to cut off the outside stringers. A chalk line works well. You’ll want to set your depth at a fraction more than the 3/4 inch board. After you cut along each outside stringer (not the middle!), flip the pallet over and do the same on the other side.
Pallets are usually made of the lumber that got rejected for other uses. It’s hard, often warped, has old broken nails embedded in it, and generally is just a pain to work with. Be careful. Wear goggles. Repetitive work breeds carelessness.
Some other methods: Cut the nails with a sawzall. Use a pneumatic chisel. Use a catspaw to dig the nails out (for certain pallets, this is easy. For some, it’s darn near impossible.) Use a hammer to knock the stinger off if it’s stubborn.
You’ll be left with a bunch of 1X4’s and 1X6’s attached to the 2×4 in the center. By rocking the 1×4’s and the 1×6’s back and forth, you can get the board off without totally destroying it. There will still be quite a few ruined boards. Good for the woodstove.
Pull or remove any nails left in the board and stack it to the side. You may also want to grade your boards, based on knots, warping, bark, etc. This will help later when you try to decide what to use for what job.
I usually get about (6) good 1×4’s and (3) good 1×6’s per pallet for my Adirondack chair. I also get a (3) 4′ lengths of 2×4.
Using a 35″ 1×6, draw a grid of one inch blocks like the picture below. Keep in mind that the lumber is only 5.5″ wide. you”ll end up with a course of 1/2″ blocks at the top. Using the blocks, one at a time, draw the pattern. You’ll need two and you can use the first to trace out the second.
REMEMBER! If one side of the board is better than the other, to cut accordingly. In other words, the stringers should be mirror (opposite) copies. Pallet wood usually has both a smooth and a rough side.
Using a 21.5″ 1×4, draw a grid of one inch blocks like the picture below. Keep in mind that the lumber is only 3.5″ wide for my Adirondack chair. you”ll end up with a course of 1/2″ blocks at the top. Using the blocks, one at a time, draw the pattern.
Using a 22″ 1×4, draw a grid of one inch blocks like the picture below. Keep in mind that the lumber is only 3.5″ wide. you”ll end up with a course of 1/2″ blocks at the top. Using the blocks, one at a time, draw the pattern. Cut out (2) armrest brackets. Use the measurements below.
Using your jigsaw (or a bandsaw if you have one), cut out each of the pieces. You’ll want to make sure you clamp them down securely. For the rear Adirondack chair leg/seat stringers and the armrests, you’ll need two each. You can trace the first one after you cut it out to avoid having to draw the one inch grids again.
You’ll need (4) 20″ x 3.5″ boards for (2) front legs, (1) front crosspiece, and (1) front seat slat. You can cut these with a handsaw, a table saw, a circular saw– whatever you have.
You’ll save yourself a lot of heartache if you remember to label these pieces. Use a pencil to write “front leg” on two of them and “front cross” on the third, etc. Make it small– you’ll be finishing the Adirondack chair later and the pencil marks will probably show through.
Cut (1) 18.5″ x 3.5″ rear crosspiece.
You’ll need (2) rear back supports. Get a 1×4 and measure 26″ on one side, 23″ on the other for your Adirondack chair. Draw a line between the two and cut.
Rip a 3.5″ inch board down the middle to get (2) 1.75″ seat slats. Cut the length to 20″.
Drill pilot holes and countersink on each end of the slat. The pilot hole should be with 3/4″ of the slat’s end. In practice, you can simply “eye it” so that you get as close to the edge as possible without allowing the countersink hole to ruin the board. You’ll need (9) slats.
You’ll need (7) Adirondack chair back slats. These are tapered cuts. I made a simple (yet dangerous) taper jig out a sheet of masonite and a few smaller pieces of wood.
You can simply mark the board from the measurements below and use a circular saw to rip the taper.
I marked the length approximately; this is a good place to use some of your less than perfect boards. Anywhere from 34″-36″ should do fine. As you’ll see later, we’re going to trim the tops to make the fan shape at the top of the Adirondack chair.
To cut the fan tail, lay the back slats together like in the picture shown. Use a board to line up the bottom edge.
Tie a pencil to a couple of feet of string (or use a ring at the end of the string like I did.)
Use your thumb to hold one end of the string in the middle of the center board at the bottom. Use the pencil to etch an arc into the top edge of the boards for your Adirondack chair. Obviously, if your boards are different lengths, use the shorter ones at the edge and the bigger ones in the center.
After you draw the arc, number the boards with a pencil so you know what order they go into later.
Use your jigsaw to trim off the end of the Adirondack chair boards.
You should end up with something like this.
On a flat surface, arrange the Adirondack chair’s front leg, rear back support, and seat stringer as shown.
Remember, if your boards are smooth on one side and rough on the other, make sure the “good” side is facing out. In this picture, you’re looking at the rough side, i.e, the “inside”.
PLEASE NOTE: The front leg is UNDER the seat stringer. The Adirondack chair back support is OVER the seat stringer.
Use a board or the table edge to line up the pieces on the bottom. Measure the distance between the front leg and the rear back support on top and the bottom to make sure it’s reasonably straight. Mark the Adirondack chair’s leg and support locations with a pencil.
Drill two staggered pilot holes through the top piece and halfway through the Adirondack chair’s lower board. Use the 3/8″ bit to countersink the holes. Spread a generous amount of glue between the two pieces and attach with 1″ wood screws.
Tip: Sometimes pallet wood is especially soft. Set the drill’s torque as low as possible to avoid stripping out the pilot hole.
Don’t forget the glue. Make sure that the Adirondack chair’s back support is evenly spaced (about 21″) from both the top of the front leg and the bottom. I’ve seen similar designs that incorporate a carriage bolt, washer, and a nut here, instead of two screws. Definitely a stronger way to go!
Place your finished Adirondack chair’s seat stringer/front leg/backrest support flat on your workspace. Use it to line up the opposite assembly. Remember, these should be a mirror image (opposite). Mark board locations, drill, countersink, glue and screw.
Take your (1) 18.5″ x 3.5″ rear crosspiece and attach it to the Adirondack chair’s seat stringer/rear back support as shown in the photo.
Measure one inch from the top of the seat stringer so you’ll know where to attach it on the other side. Don’t forget to drill, countersink, and glue. You may want to mark and trace where you want your screw holes.
Mark and measure your other front leg, seat stringer, and back support to attach the rear crosspiece. Try to connect it in precisely the same spot as you did on the other side. Did I mention not to forget the glue?
Connecting the front crosspiece is easier than the rear one. Mark and measure the center of each front leg beneath the seat stringer. Hold the crosspiece up so it touches the seat stringer and attach to the front leg with glue and screws.
You cut two backrest rails earlier. One is square the other is rounded. The bottom backrest rail is squarish.
Take the Adirondack chair’s bottom backrest rail and lay it into the two grooves cut into the seat stringers. Drill pilot holes, countersink, then glue into position. Use (4) 1-inch wood screws.
Take the rounded, top back rest rail and mark it 2.5″ from either side. The distance from each of your sides should be 18.5″. Drill and countersink two holes on each side at you marks. Position the backrest rail over the rear back supports and attach with glue and screws.
You may have to squeeze the rear back supports gently together to get them plumb.
Measure and mark the center line of the top of the front leg. Drill pilot holes, countersink, and attack the armrest brackets. Make sure the top edge of the bracket is level with the top edge of the front leg. Repeat on the other side.
Glue and screw on the front seat slat. Drill pilot holes and countersink.
Find and mark the center of the top and bottom back rail. Drill and countersink a hole on the bottom of the slat, then attach to the bottom back rail. Line up the top slat/rail, drill, countersink, and attach.
I would not use glue on the backslats– you may want to move/adjust them later.
Attach the first and seventh back slats to the bottom back rail. You’ll want to dry-fit the two armrests before you attach the back slats so you know you’re leaving enough room to attach them. After you connect the bottom of each slat, attach the top.
Attach the remaining slats in the same manner, spacing as evenly as possible.
You’ll want to dry fit all the slats first so you have an idea of how to space them.
This is a time consuming part. You’ll want to be really careful drilling the pilot holes into the seat stringer. Be patient! You don’t want to blow it now.
If you’ve got the means, I definitely recommend routing the edges of the armrests. If not, you can skip to the next step.
Measure and mark 20″ from the bottom of the rear back support.
Move the armrest into position. The 20″ mark should line up with the bottom edge of the armrest. Use a screw to tack the armrest in place, or prop it up, or clamp it, whatever. Just keep it in place.
Drill three pilot holes through the armrest and into the front leg and armrest bracket. Countersink the pilot holes and fasten with screws.
To attach the rear part of the armrest, drill two pilot holes and countersink. Attach with two 1.25″ screws. I’ve seen similar designs that incorporate a carriage bolt, washer, and nut here, instead of two screws. Definitely a stronger way to go!
Grab your wood putty and get to work. Fill all the holes you can.
I like to wipe off the residual putty with a wet cloth while it’s fresh. Sanding it off can be a real pain and also ruin the way your stain or paint looks.
Then get to work sanding it down. At the minimum, you’ll need to lightly sand off the shiny glaze to allow stain penetration or paint adhesion.
An inexpensive project, and a beautiful piece of furniture – wouldn’t that make you feel good already? Now how about finally grabbing your favorite drink and relaxing on your chair? :)
Thanks to jkratman for this great project.
Best Woods for a Long-Lasting Adirondack Chair
Picking the right wood sets up durability, comfort, and clean finish. Costs vary, as do weather resistance and weight. Here’s how common choices perform on an Adirondack chair living outdoors.
Cedar: Light, Stable, Naturally Rot-Resistant
Cedar stays light in weight and stable in changing weather. It sands fast and smells great in the shop. Screw holding is good with pilot holes. Stain brings out grain, while paint covers knots. Expect gentle graying without a clear sealer. Refresh with an exterior oil once a year for high sun areas.
Pine: Budget-Friendly with Solid Finish Options
Pine keeps costs down for a first Adirondack chair. Choose cleaner boards with fewer knots to avoid weak points. Prime end grain before paint. Use exterior screws and pre-drill to reduce splits. Dents happen more easily than with cedar or hardwoods. Paint hides wear and gives strong UV protection on a patio.
Durable Hardwoods: Oak, Teak, Acacia, Eucalyptus
Hardwoods deliver serious longevity and a premium feel. They’re heavier and tougher on blades, so keep cutters sharp. Pre-drill every fastener. White oak and teak handle moisture well. Acacia and eucalyptus perform nicely with yearly oil. Weight improves stability in wind. Moving the chair will take more effort, so add felt pads.
Composites and Plastic Lumber: Low-Maintenance Choice
Composites won’t rot or splinter and need almost no upkeep. They’re heavier than wood and can flex on long spans. Beef up rails and use stainless fasteners. Pre-drill to prevent mushrooming. Edges round over cleanly with a router. Expect a uniform look that pairs well with modern deck colors and hardware.
Adirondack Chair Gallery
Click on any image to start lightbox display. Use your Esc key to close the lightbox. ?
Safe Pallet Sourcing and Prep
Not every pallet is safe for furniture. You want clean stock, stable boards, and minimal hidden fasteners. These steps help you source, test, and prep pallets for an Adirondack chair.
Read the Stamp: HT and KD Are Your Green Lights
Look for HT for heat treated and KD for kiln dried. Skip any pallet stamped MB for methyl bromide. DB means debarked, which is fine. Favor newer, intact pallets with clear stamps. Food and beverage supply chains often yield cleaner stock. When in doubt, don’t bring it into your shop.
Inspect for Spills, Odors, and Pests Before Cutting
Check for oil stains, chemical smells, or black mold. Reject anything with unknown residue. Look under stringers where grime hides. Tap boards and listen for hollow spots that signal decay. Avoid pallets stored in soil. Confirm boards are dry to the touch. Damp wood twists fast once inside a warm room.
Deconstruct with Methods That Protect the Boards
Cut along the outside stringers with a circular saw to free deck boards. A reciprocating saw with a metal blade slices nails cleanly. Pry only when needed and back your bar with a scrap block. Wear gloves and eye protection. Hidden nails can shatter edges. Keep a magnet handy to find leftovers.
Prep Boards for Furniture-Grade Assembly
Pull or punch every nail and staple before sanding. Joint or rip edges to clean up gaps. Flatten cups with light passes on a planer or by selective sanding. Sort by straightness and grain for legs, arms, and slats. Pre-drill all fasteners. Seal end grain and apply an exterior primer or oil before assembly.
Conclusion
Building an Adirondack chair gives you durable comfort and classic style for your outdoor space. Careful material choice and solid joinery keep it sturdy through seasons of sun and rain. Safe pallet sourcing and precise prep turn scrap into reliable parts. A weatherproof finish and rounded edges make every sit feel better. You save money, learn skills, and end up with a chair you’re proud to use and show.
Are you still looking for more upcycled furniture? Check out our bench chair project next!
