How To: Easy D.I.Y. Wood Patio Chairs

You can build these attractive and durable patio chairs in a weekend with inexpensive lumber from the home improvement store

Sage’s Custom Easy D.I.Y. Wood Patio Chairs

Table of Contents

My old wood patio chairs were on their last legs (literally in one case – 3 of the 4 legs were split), so I decided to replace them. I don’t like plastic, but when I went to research what new wooden chairs might cost, I was shocked. I guess it’d been a long time since I bought patio chairs because instead of a price around $40 each, they were more than $150 — and that was for the cheap ones.

I didn’t have a spare $300 sitting around for a couple of chairs, so I decided to see what it’d take to build my own.

As it turns out there are plenty of plans for D.I.Y. wood patio chairs on the web, but I wanted these to go with the 2 x 4 wood bench and patio table I already had and couldn’t really find anything that quite matched my setup. So, I decided to design my own.

I’m glad I did too. Not only did I wind up with some sturdy, good looking chairs, but I also spent less than $80 (just $40 per chair!) all in.

These chairs are super simple. Just some 2 x 4, 1 x 6 and 1 x 3 lumber from the local home improvement store, and no fancy angles or cuts, so you can build them with nothing more than a saw, a drill and a combo or rafter (aka “speed”) square. Here’s how:

Materials

Lumber (per chair)

• 24 linear ft 2 x 4 lumber (3 total 2″ x 4″ x 8′ boards)
• 12 linear ft 1 x 6 lumber (1½ total 1″ x 6″ x 8′ boards)
• 42 linear in 1 x 3 lumber (½ total 1″ x 3″ x 8′ boards)

(Note: I used regular pine wood, but you can also use treated wood or redwood)

Hardware & supplies

• 1½” exterior wood screws
• 3″ exterior wood screws
• Wood glue

Tools

• Combination Square
• Saw
• Drill
• Exterior paint, wood stain, or waterproofing

Cut List

* Note: I made my chair arms only 24½” tall (25¼” with the arm rest) because I wanted to be able to slide the chairs under the patio table. If you don’t need to do that, you can make the arms taller by cutting those as long as 27¼”.

Instructions

Construct the Chair Sides

Figure 1: The side(s) of the patio chair

1. From your 2 x 4s, cut four chair legs (A) 24-1/2″ long*, mitering in end of each leg at 45°. Cut two 21″ long chair arms (B), mitering both ends at 45° as shown in the drawing. Cut two supports (C), each 14″ long.
2. To assemble the side, place the arm (B) between the two legs (A), glue and screw the legs to the arm through the mitered ends using 3″ screws.
3. Measure up 7” from the bottom of the chair legs and insert the support (C). Glue and angle screw the support with 3″ screws to the two legs.
4. >Align the chair arm rest (D) with one side of the chair arm (B) as show in the drawing (easiest if you lay it on a flat surface). Glue and screw the arm rest to the arm with 1-1/2″ screws.
5. Repeat the above for the other chair side.

Construct the Seat

Figure 2: The seat support and seat with slats of the patio chair

1. From your 2 x 4 lumber, cut one front seat support (E) 18-1/2″ long, two side seat supports (F) 19-1/2″ long, and one back seat support (G) 15-1/2″ long.
2. Glue and screw the seat support with 3” screws as shown in the diagram. Note that the front (E) goes over the ends of the sides (F), while the back (G) goes between the side supports.
3. Cut four pieces of 1 x 6 board to 18-1/2″ long to make the seat slats (H). Align the long edge of the first seat slat (H) with the back edge of the seat support (G). Glue and screw it to the seat support using 1-1/2″ screws. Secure the remaining slats (H) to the seat support the same way, leaving a slight gap between each slat to allow water to drain (note that there will be about 1″ of over hang on the front seat slat).

Build the Chair Back

Figure 3: The back of the patio chair

1. From your remaining 2 x 4 lumber, cut two boards to make the back supports (I). Use your square to mark a 15° angle at the bottom of both supports, and use a saw to cut a bevel at one end of both supports.
2. From your 1 x 6, cut three slats (J) 18-1/2″ long. Align one slat with the beveled ends of the back support (I) as shown in the diagram. Glue and screw the slat to the back supports using 1-1/2″ inch screws. Attach the remaining two slats, again leaving a slight gap between slats to allow water to drain. The last slat should extend about 3″ beyond the end of the back supports as shown in the diagram.

Assemble the Chair

Figure 4: The patio chair as assembled

1. Take the chair sides and measure up 14-1/2″ from the bottom of the legs. Place the seat support between the chair sides (arm rests should be facing out), and attach it to both sides using 3″ screws through each leg and into the seat support.
2. Stand the chair up and place the seat back on it beveled side down so that the back of the bevel is flush with the back of the seat. The bevel should be flush with the seat so that the chair back leans back slightly as shown in the diagram. Screw two 3″ screws through the upper portion of both chair side into the back support on the chair back to secure it.

Sand and Finish

1. Once the chair is assembled sand all the surfaces so splinters and rough spots are removed. Make sure to round the edges of the front of the seat and the top of the seat back to avoid wood splitting and splinters.
2. Paint, stain, or waterproof the chairs with an exterior grade material to finish. (As you can see from my photos, I used an oil-based exterior stain to finish my chairs.)

Photo Gallery

Finishing Touches

These chairs are actually quite comfortable as is, but they are wide enough to accommodate standard 17″ wide outdoor chair cushions that you can find at many stores. So, if you want to spruce the up a bit more, or your behind appreciates a little padding, go for it!

Other Projects to Try

Looking for other inexpensive and easy things to build around the house? Try one of these!