While walking to get coffee last week, we found these two chairs put out on the street by one of our neighbours. They were obviously in bad shape, but I thought they were worth salvaging for our backyard.
The main problems with the chairs were that 1) the finish was badly worn, 2) the screws used to assemble the chairs were not suitable for exterior use, and 3) a few pieces of wood were cracked or broken. I basically removed each piece of wood, sanded it roughly with 80 grit sandpaper (just to remove old finish), and then re-installed it with exterior grade screws. I also used longer screws, added additional screws, and/or added additional support in a few places that needed to be strengthened (primarily the arms).
My brother then cut, sanded and routed four replacement pieces out of some spare oak we had lying around. The oak is much harder than the existing wood (pine I believe) and stands out, but it was free and will work fine. To protect the chairs, I then applied some Cabot Clear Cedar stain that we had lying around from when we stained the cedar shingles. Eventually, we will paint both chairs brown or white ... or maybe a more creative colour? For now though, they should be great as a comfortable spot to sit in the back of the yard by the garden.
Oh ya ... and while shopping for hydrangeas last weekend, we saw these EXACT chairs for sale for $220 each. I realize that ours aren't new, but they are very solid now and will look pretty darn new once they are painted. This project cost us about $6 for a box of exterior screws.
