Turd in the punch bowl

[bradleyheathhays]

To make a long story short, I've got to make two Adirondack chairs out of Red Oak and have them ready, painted and presented by Christmas. I've been told by soo many people how bad Red Oak would be for soaking up water and that they'd have to be repainted almost every year, but I have no time to get a more proper species so I'll have to go with what I've got.

I'm writing to ask what I can do to make these chairs weather a little better. I've been told to coat the bottom of the legs with epoxy and that would help stave off water absorption. Does anyone have specific advice on how to do this? I've worked with two part epoxies plenty before now so this isn't totally unfamiliar territory. I'm assuming thinner epoxy would be better. The chairs will be sitting on concrete so maybe that'll help.

I've also been told to paint all the parts separately before putting them together, and that this would help with not absorbing water as well.


Any other advice on what I can do to help these chairs weather better?

Thanks

 

[2feathers Creative Making]

Thin epoxy applied to the bottom inch or two will definitely slow absorbtion but for the application, I would likely just preparing and then, since they are on concrete, add a plastic slider button or two to the bottom of each leg to keep from full contact with the concrete.
Even white pine will last quite a while outdoors if kept up off the concrete and coated with a sealant. We use it quite regularly in timber porches here in Tennessee and it ain't exactly arid here.

 

[Nature Man]

Red Oak isn’t the best species of Oak for outdoor use, unfortunately. But with Frank’s suggestions the chairs should last a bit longer. Chuck