After building a big shed for firewood,

there was a lot of left over lumber and also the need for relaxing the tired muscles!

the idea for an outdoor lounge area was born!

it took only a couple of hours from idea to chill out

- an easy project that will please your BBQ-guests as well as yourself.

I built it for 3 people but it's even more comfy alone :D

Step 1: Find and Cut Your Pieces for the Frame

Tools and materials needed:

miter saw or hand saw
clawhammer
nails with 6cm and 8cm length or skrews with 6 and 8cm length
stain or paint in desired colour

prepare from 2x4s:

10 pieces with 25cm length - that is for the legs and adds height

6 pieces with 180cm length - for the square frame and one for the back rest

3 pieces with 85cm lenght and an 45 angle on one side, for the back rest

i used half round scrap wood (thats what's left when your sawing boards in a saw mill) for the coverage of the frame, but of course any other style is possible - maybe pallets?- you can cut them later

Step 2: Nail the Leg Pieces

nail or skrew 2 pieces of the 25cm legs together, to gain a more rustic look,

- nail it diagonally for more strentgh.

screw the frame together as shown in the pictures.

- predrill the holes and use skrews that are at least double the thickness of your 2x4s

The pictures show very good how to assemble the pieces!

Step 3: Bend the Nails and Add the Legs

i show you an easy technique i learned from an old swedish carpenter.

it makes nailing in angles much easier

the nail curves and will be almost impossible to remove - a incredibly strong connection.

The pictures show it all from bending to hammering.

Do so:

slightly bend the lower end of the nail between your hammers claw.

hammer the nail in with the bend part down - you start horizontally and the nail will move up by itself with every hit.

Add all 4 legs with this technique - two nails each.

if you have: add som roll roofing pieces under every leg, but its also ok if you have some gravel under each leg - it won't rott that fast if you do so.

(of course you can use skrews for that as well! )

Step 4: Back Rest

Assemble the pieces for the back rest as shown in the picture

cover it with the half round - scrap pieces, but leave the lower part free, otherwise you can't join it properly to the frame!

now add it to your frame:

nail it in the same technique as the legs were joined, with at least 2 nails

or skrew every part with at least two long skrews

Step 5: Cover All of It!

now cover the whole thing with your half-rounds or whatever you're using :)

there're two techniques:

cut all pieces in the correct length before joining them

add the pieces in random lentgh and use a circular saw to cut them all at once on place

both techniques will work fine!

Step 6: Sanding, Staining and Finishing Touches

while relaxing, splinters are not very welcome - so sand the rough edges

when that job is done it's time for the stain or paint of your choice.

last but not least - cover the frame with some of the half round pieces - that adds a nice finish!

paint that ones as well...

Step 7: Relax!

meanwhile the paint dried you may have found some nice big logs as tables for refreshing drinks and a good book.

you might have also captured some sun-lounge cushions on sale - to make it even more irresistible

- but a blanket will do as well!

enjoy the last days of summer!

Runner Up in the
Lazy Life Challenge

Runner Up in the
Outdoor Structures

Third Prize in the
Outside Contest 2017

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13 Comments

bglick21

4 years ago

this looks really awesome and will favorite it to add to my wish list of creations for our backyard. That looks perfect for a backyard addition especially if we ever make our brick patio. I will let you know if i ever do it. thx for the post.

PitStoP

4 years ago

Great Instructable and thanks for that tip on the bent nails never had heard of that one ;). I just saw a post from a guy yesterday with a saw mill giving away a lot of the top cut lumber and was thinking of what can I do with it since they looked to be about 8 to 9 foot long and this is a great idea for that wood and it will fit just right with my new outdoor patio I'm working on. Thanks Mimikry and keep smiling.. =) btw voted!