Looking for the right wood for your outdoor furniture?
That’s what this post is all about. We’ll cover your 3 best choices when it comes to building outdoor furniture to complete your backyard oasis or front porch escape.
Wood is the most popular material used for outdoor furniture and the reason is obvious, it’s the best. It was literally born outdoors. Nothing could be more at home outside than nature itself, which is why all of your outdoor furniture should be made from wood. It is durable, it looks great and comes with it’s own built in weather resistance.
While all wood has that element of weather resistance, some are better than others, and here in sunny, sweltering and swampy Southwest Florida, choosing the right wood for your furniture is essential. *All wood furniture, outside or inside, should be maintained properly to ensure it lasts.
Ok no more fluff, let’s get into it. Here at Brooklyn Buffalo Woodworks I like to work with 3 woods specifically, and I personally believe they are your best options when it comes to picking a wood for your outdoor wood furniture and here they are:
- Cedar
- Ipe (Brazilian Walnut)
- Teak
Cedar
Cedar is a great choice for your wood patio furniture because it is insect and moisture resistant. It looks beautiful and is very light weight. Cedar is a soft wood however and does require regular maintenance to keep it looking good throughout the years. Cedar can be used to make outdoor furniture, pergolas or even siding for your house.
Another benefit of choosing cedar is it comes with “heat resistance”. This is obviously not a real thing, but it can keep relatively low temperatures compared to the blazing Florida environment because it develops natural air pockets as it grows. These air pockets help to keep the temp to touch low compared to the outdoor temperature. I think we can agree that living in Florida and actually being able to touch our furniture outside is a major benefit.
My preferred method to treat cedar is to char it using a method called Yakisugi or Sho Sugi Ban. This method helps further waterproof the wood and makes it unattractive for pests to feast on because it destroys all of the tasty treats in the wood that termites love so much. Personally I love the black charcoal color this process leaves on the wood especially when an oil finish is applied after the charring.
Ipe (Brazilian Walnut)
Ipe is harvested in South America and has very similar properties to teak. It is rot and pest resistant for up to and beyond 50 years. It is the number one choice amongst builders for natural decks. That’s because it is naturally very dense, which means it’s naturally very strong. It also comes with very little need for maintenance, a yearly clean and oil will usually do the trick.
Another benefit to Ipe is that is class A fire safe which means, in terms of fire resistance, this wood rates as high as concrete and steel. Anyone who lives in Florida, the lightning capital of the world, knows this is a major benefit.
This is our material of choice when building our outdoor adirondack chairs and benches. As for the price, Ipe is still a little on the high side but much more affordable than our next choice…
Teak
Our winner in this contest is teak. In my opinion teak is the best wood for outdoor projects. Hailing from South and Southeast Asia it is weather resistant, has a beautiful look and is very low maintenance. Teak has been used for hundreds of years in the boat building and patio furniture industries, so it clearly can handle both wet and hot conditions *hello Southwest Florida*.
A lot of the wood is grown at Teak plantations. This makes it much more sustainable than many other woods. So if you’re looking for an earth friendly option in your hunt for the perfect outdoor furniture, it doesn’t get better than teak.
The one major downside to teak however, is the price. Teak is very expensive compared to other options available for outdoor furniture.
You can maintain it’s natural color and shine by applying teak oil yearly or just let it oxidize and weather naturally to a light grey hue. Either way you’ll have beautiful, strong wood furniture for your porch or backyard.
Conclusion
There you have it, those are my top 3 picks for outdoor wood furniture. All of them have their own benefits and all of them would make an excellent choice for your outdoor project. Whichever you choose you’ll be making a good decision.
If you’re looking for an experienced woodworker, located in Southwest Florida, with a passion for creating and building awesome things with wood, we’ll be happy to talk and consult on what we can do for you. Visit the Brooklyn Buffalo Woodworks website to do some research or if you want to get right to business click here for a free custom bid.