Composite wood for adirondack chairs

[Matthew Curtis]

Anyone ever use composite wood for adirondack chairs?

How does it cut,sand and rout? Does it screw together ok? Will it glue ok?

[Jim Becker]

You need to be sure to source the right kind of product for this, Matthew. Not all composite material is going to work well for furniture projects. I could be wrong, but I believe you're limited to mechanical fasteners, more or less, but check with the manufacturer of the material you settle on to get their recommendation on an adhesive that might work well with their product.

[Pete Hay]

Composite 'wood' is not to be used for structural applications. Most all parts in these chairs bear some load, some substantial.
Around our church I've replaced oak slats on outdoor benches with composite. Cuts & routs fine. However, unless you install supports on no more than 12", the slats sag way too much. Problem increases over time, also.
Cypress is much better for your application. Looks better too.

[Philip Johnson]

If your seeing those brightly colored chairs being sold I believe but not 100 percent sure it is furniture grade plastic lumber, do a google search and you will find a few sources. I have not been able to find a local source at a reasonable price and shipping is too much.

Phil

[Craig Hemsath]

There's a guy near me that makes adirondack chairs, etc. out of composite decking he gets at Menards, Lowes, etc. Never looked real close at them, but I know he'll sister some pieces to make it a little more stout. Can't vouch for how they'll last, etc. but it must work OK as he sells quite a few of them.

[ken gibbs]

Eight years ago I made two deck chairs out of Trex which was left over from a decking job. I used Trex, galvanized bolts, and Gorilla Glue. These chairs have been out on a pier over tidal saltwater for eight years, and have been through two major hurricanes. To date, these chairs have not even discolored. I slathered Gorilla Glue on the exposed bolt heads. If you want Hatterus chairs that will last for ever, use Trex. I don't know who told you not to use Trex, but I can tell you that is not correct.

[Ben Hatcher]

Eight years ago I made two deck chairs out of Trex which was left over from a decking job. I used Trex, galvanized bolts, and Gorilla Glue.

Ken, does the gorilla glue adhere well to the Trex? I've been wanting to rebuild my mailbox using plumber, but wasn't sure what kind of adhesives would work.

[David Giles]

Ben, I've made fences and gates from Trex. The gate consisted of three 3/4" boards faced glued together. So I ran a Trex gluing experiment with different glues and techniques.

Some composite boards are PVC and wood fibers. These can be easily glued with PVC (plastic pipe) cement. Some composite boards, like Trex, are polypropylene (PP) and wood fibers. Nothing sticks to PP. Glue bottles are made from PP for a good reason.

However, Trex is still 50% wood fiber. Sanding the surface finish will expose sufficient wood fiber that normal glue will provide some strength. For the structural gate, I used epoxy and it has not deteriorated over the last 5 years despite constant use.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Is there a problem with composites absorbing solar heat and becoming uncomfortable or even unbearable? I don't know the answer, but it seems like a legitimate concern.

[Rob Price]

I was about to post the exact same question, did you ever build the chairs? How are they holding up?

[David Prince]

I wouldn't plan on moving them around much because they are gonna be heavy!