DIY Outdoor Wood Bench
Intro: DIY Outdoor Wood Bench
With summer underway, I set out to transform my small 5 ft x 9 ft balcony into an intimate al fresco dining area able to seat 4 to 5 people. Having that many chairs on such a small balcony would have been cumbersome, so instead I decided to build simple wood benches to make a corner booth. I didn't want anything too complicated to build so I came up with a very simple design that only takes a couple of hours to make using basic tools and materials.
I'll walk you through how to make one of them and then you'll be able to customize the design to work with your outdoor space. You can also watch the video where I show how I made the benches (you can fast forward to 3:28 min)
Bench dimensions: 56" long x 16 1/4" wide x 17 3/4" high
Materials needed: 6 x 1" x 4" x 6 ft pine boards (~ $4.50 each), 1 x 2"x 3"x 6 ft stud (~$2.00), weather proofing stain or paint, decking screws (1 1/4", 2")
STEP 1:
Cut list:
Frame (1"x4"): 2 x 55", 3 x 13 3/4"
Top (1"x4"): 4 x 56"
Legs (2"x3"): 4 x 17"
STEP 2: Paint or Stain the Wood
STEP 3: Build Frame
Use corner clamps to hold the pieces together (adding wood glue before doing this will make the joints stronger but skipping the glue will allow you to easily disassemble the bench later). Drill two pilot holes and put in screws (use 1 1/4" screws). After the four sides are put together, add the middle piece for extra support.
STEP 4: Attach Top
Screw in place the remaining pine boards, using a scrap piece of 1" x 4" as a spacer.
39 Comments
funandez 3 years ago
First of all, thank you for posting this. I've been looking for something like this for a long time, I'm glad I came across this. This may be a silly question, but how big is the spacing between your 1x4s on the top? I assumed you were using a 1" spacer, but then the width doesn't add up for me. Was your spacing more narrow?
leejos1118 3 years ago
EYSpace 3 years ago
MasonO1 4 years ago
buck2217 8 years ago
That is a great looking bench
EYSpace 8 years ago
Thank you!
pchervin 10 years ago
built these three other weekend, great instructions. I was able to make them in just under an hour each.
EYSpace 10 years ago
Your benches and balcony look amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing!
seftonypony 10 years ago
EYSpace 10 years ago
I_love_cookiez 10 years ago
EYSpace 10 years ago
zaaid 10 years ago
EYSpace 10 years ago
nmoses1 10 years ago
EYSpace 10 years ago
explosivemaker 10 years ago
drizzydraw 10 years ago
EYSpace 10 years ago
poofrabbit 10 years ago