We use Larch for our Adirondack chairs, but how does Larch wood weather?
As with all natural materials, wood will deteriorate over time. There are various techniques to prolong the lifetime of wood, such as pressure treating, staining or painting, but all of these add extra cost, and can be harmful to the environment. Also, these are generally temporary measures that need to be repeated periodically.
Larch Wood, however, does not require any treatment at all. See our other blog posts for more information about that, but in short, Larch contains a natural preservative that stops the wood from rotting. Mother Nature knows best!
This natural preservative (called Tannin) is also responsible for the silvery-grey colour that your chairs will eventually turn. The rate that they change will depend on how your chairs are exposed to rain and wind. Here are pictures of a chair that has been out in the wind and weather for one year:
I took these pictures in January, in the drizzling rain! I did not bring the chairs in out of the damp in Autumn, but neither the Adirondack chairs nor the footrest are suffering too much. In fact, they are weathering excellently, so I expect them to be fully greyed in another year or so.
Sometimes, the weathering process can look really dramatic! I have seen chairs with differing amounts of weathering on each piece, ranging from light grey patches to strikingly black spots. Although this can at first seem quite alarming, rest assured this is only a temporary phase. The result will be wonderfully silver-grey chairs, which will match any English garden perfectly. These are my 6-year-old Adirondack chairs, still going strong:
You should expect ten years or more out of your chairs, depending on the climate they are in. We use stainless steel screws, so you don't need to worry about rusting hardware.
What is your experience with Larch wood garden chairs? Let us know in the comments! Visit our shop to purchase the most classic Adirondack Chair on the UK market.