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Most Adirondack chairs are 3/4" stock and curves. This one is 2x4s and straight lines — the seat geometry comes from a handful of angled miter cuts, not a traced template. That trade buys you two things: a chair heavy enough that the wind doesn't relocate it, and a build where every cut happens on a miter saw set to a number, which is far more repeatable than sawing to a curved line.
The cut list is the hard part, and it's worth reading twice. The stringers — the boards that run under the seat and carry everything — get a 35° cut on one end and a 20° cut on the other, angled in the same direction but NOT parallel. The back legs are cut parallel at 15°. Every angled dimension is given long-point-to-short-point or long-point measurement; mark which convention each cut uses on the board itself before you cut, because a stringer cut to the wrong reference point changes the chair's whole recline.
Build sequence matters here more than in most chairs: the frame goes together standing on a flat surface, with single screws first, so you can correct a rock before committing. The footstool at the end is one 2x4 and one 1x4 — build it. An Adirondack with a footstool is a different piece of furniture than one without.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| 2x4, 8 ftThree for the chair, one more for the footstool stringers and legs. Pressure-treated, cedar, or exterior-rated whitewood. | 4 each |
| 2x2, 6 ftArm supports. | 1 each |
| 1x4, 8 ftSeat and back slats, arm rests. The footstool wants one more 12-footer or equivalent. | 4 each |
| 1x4, 12 ftFootstool top boards. | 1 each |
| Exterior screws, #9 x 2-1/2", self-tapping | 30 each |
| Exterior screws, #8 x 2", self-tapping | 60 each |
| Wood screws, #8 x 1-1/4"Top of the back slats, where 2" would poke through. | 20 each |
| Waterproof wood glueExterior-rated. Plain interior glue lets go after a winter outside. | 8 oz |
Overall cost: $$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Back legsBoth ends cut PARALLEL at 15° off square, long point to short point. | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 20 3/4" |
| Front legs | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 20" |
| Arm supportsLongest-point measurement, ONE end cut at 15° off square. | 2 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 26 1/2" |
| StringersOne end 35° off square, the other 20° — same direction, NOT parallel. Long point to short point. The top corner gets trimmed off in step 1. | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 31 7/8" |
| Front apron and back support | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 22 1/2" |
| Seat slats | 5 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 22 1/2" |
| Back slats | 5 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 36" |
| Back top support | 1 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 19 1/2" |
| Back base support | 1 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 19 1/2" |
| Arm rests | 2 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 27" |
| Footstool stringersBoth ends 30° off square, parallel, long point to short point. | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 23 1/2" |
| Footstool top boards | 6 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 22 1/2" |
| Footstool legsOne end 30° off square, longest-point measurement. | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 13 3/4" |
Buy 11 boards at 8 ft.
4 boards
The stringers come off the miter saw with a sharp top corner where the 35° and 20° cuts meet. Mark the cut-off with a speed square and take it off with the jigsaw, on both stringers.
Do them together and compare — the two stringers set the seat plane, and they need to match each other more than they need to match the drawing.
Join the front apron (the 22-1/2" 2x4) to the two front legs, two 2-1/2" screws per joint. Keep the apron square to the legs — this U-shape is the reference everything else gets fitted against.
Stand the assembly upright on a genuinely flat surface. Attach each stringer to the front apron with a SINGLE screw, then check that the chair sits flat and doesn't rock.
One screw is the point: it's a pivot. You can rotate a stringer a degree or two to kill a rock now. After the second screw goes in, you can't.
Attach the back legs and the 2x2 arm supports, still checking after each piece that the chair sits flat. Once nothing rocks, go back and finish screwing the stringers to all four legs until the frame is rigid.
Starting at the front edge, screw the seat slats to the stringers with 2" screws and glue, leaving a 1/2" gap between slats. The gaps drain rain; a solid seat on an outdoor chair is a puddle with armrests.
Screw the back support 2x4 across the back legs with the 2-1/2" screws at the height shown in the diagrams. This bar and the base support are what the whole back panel hangs on — check it's level across the chair, not just attached.
Lay the five back slats on the base support with roughly 1/2" gaps, screw them to the base, then tie the tops together with the 1x4 top support and the 1-1/4" screws — the short screws matter here, anything longer comes through the face.
For the arch, trace a large round object — a trash can lid is traditional and works — across the slat tops, and cut the curve with the jigsaw. Cut with the panel assembled so the arc flows across all five boards.
Stand the finished back panel inside the chair frame and lock it down: 2-1/2" screws through the base, 2" screws into the back support. Sit in it before the next step — the back takes your full weight at a lever angle, so if anything flexes, add screws now.
Screw and glue the arm rests to the arm supports and the tops of the front legs. Round the front corners and soften every arris with the sander — arms are the part of an Adirondack people actually touch for hours.
The footstool is its own small cut list: two stringers at 23-1/2" with parallel 30° ends, two legs at 13-3/4" with one 30° end, six top boards at 22-1/2".
Cut the stringer angles on the miter saw first, then mark the corner cut-offs with a square and finish with the jigsaw — same technique as the chair stringers.
Screw and glue the six top boards across the stringers with 2" screws, keeping the gaps consistent with the chair seat so the pair reads as a set.
Screw the legs to the insides of the stringers with the 2-1/2" screws. Set the stool against the chair and check the deck angle meets your legs comfortably.
Sand everything, then either leave the wood to weather or put an exterior finish on — and if you used glue at every joint like you should have, this pair will outlast the deck it sits on.
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1 board
6 boards
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →