Cypress or Cedar?

[Matt Schnurbusch]

Among the many, MANY things that I want to build for the house and family, a new table and chairs for the back porch ranks pretty high.

I'm thinking the table will be something like 4'x6' or so, and have four chairs. While I'm at it I would also love to build a couple Adirondack chairs.

So I have a few questions...

Which wood is better for a project like this? I would love to use teak, but that is so far out of my budget it's less than funny. The area gets pretty much full sun, almost all day.

How do I figure out how many board feet of whatever I need to make this, or any, project? Currently I use whatever I have, and just start cutting.

Any ideas, or resources where I can get an idea on pricing for this and other wood? I would prefer to stay local, and not use one of the large Wurth type merchants.

 

[ScottM]

Matt, white oak also has good outdoor properties. A number of folks on the site have used it for outdoor furniture.

I do know Ivey (down toward Wilmington) normally has a lot of cypress. Cypress air dries fairly quickly. I think East Wake Hardwoods would be another good source.

 

[ptt49er]

And if you want to drive out to Albemarle, Old Reggie (JackLeg) might be able to hook you up with some of Ivey's cypress that's gone through his solar kiln.

 

[Adirondax]

I build a lot of cypress outdoor furniture and it seems to hold up pretty well over time. The air dried stuff has much more color but I think it moves a little more than KD. If you intend to apply a finish, that might figure into your calculations.

BTW, the latest issue of FWW tested a number of outdoor finishes. One finish was the clear winner but it costs something like $45/quart and requires 7 coats! It looked great after one year. You might want to check it out. Cypress was not among the woods FWW tested but oak was. It did well with this finish applied. Can't recall the name of the finish off the top of my head.