Make a Seat; Bench Plans; Guest Feature
08 May 2010
Does anyone need seating in their back yard? Here are some great plans from Tru Tales Designs and Drafts. I can picture these around a fire pit, having a backyard party with friends and throwing marshmallows in each others faces... fun!
These are the benches I made for the play area in our yard for the Grandchildren. I made 4 of them, 2 for each of the corners by the driveway, rather than have a fence. I was going for a look that would be cohesive with my landscape and not look totally playground. These break down for winter storage, because they had to be out of the way for snow removal.
Here's how I did them.
Make 2 for each corner you want them in.
MATERIALS:
2X6X8 Pressure Treated Boards (2 for each bench)
1X4X8 Pressure Treated Boards (3 for each bench)
2 1/2" Coated Deck Screws (I used 3 in each
area of the 2X6s, total of 30)
1 5/8" Coated Deck Screws (I used 2 in each area
of the 1X4s, 10 for each board, total of 60)
Chimney Blocks (2 for each bench)
Exterior Latex Paint
Deck Stain and Sealer
TOOLS:
Power Miter Saw or Table Saw
Power Drill
Small Square
Corner clamps or Band Clamp
Pipe Clamps
Paint Brush or Roller
CUTTING DIAGRAM:
STEP BY STEP:
Some pics of the final product
That is like your grandkids personal park! How Fun!
For anyone that is planning on making these be sure to jump over to thier blog to get the a pdf file.
Thanks for the party link this is a great simple idea!
Labels:
Fire Pits,
Furniture,
Guest Projects,
Outdoor projects,
Project Plans
Posts
3 comments:
I just wish I had such a big space in my backyard for such a cool play area and handy seating arrangement.
This will come of as a beginner question, but hey, I"m a beginner.
In this picture http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6dEqx5hV7r8/S8XS24mDdRI/AAAAAAAAB2k/Cciv10dFgq8/s1600/Box+Frame01.jpg
you say use a square to make sure the corners are 90*. But if you don't have any other bracing than just at the screws, won't it be kind of a wobbly structure? I know it will: I just built a 5' x 7' x 6" just like that. And ... well I could make it go easily from a rectangle to a parallelogram.. :-|
Same question applies for when putting studs in a wall. How does using the square _really work_.
This is not my own personal project but I have framed enough and built enough furniture to know what you mean and why it will be okay.
At first the frame that you just created will be unstable, you are right- but by following the next step and adding the center braces, they will secure the structure.
Then by putting the top on, it will finish off the strengthening and you will have a sturdy piece.
(this same concept works with framing a wall. You have the outside square of the wall etc. and the inside supports or studs, then the drywall skin that keeps it all in place. But also walls, are secured usually to the floor and ceiling. If not, "skin" drywall or whatever it may be adds additional strength.)
As for how does a square work, it is basically a tool just to make sure that you can see that the corner it at a 90 degree angle. For me, one of the easiest ways to check square is measure the diagonal measurement of the square or rectangular frame. So you measure from corners A to C and from corners B to D. These measurements will be the same if it is really square.
The square tool doesn't actually support anything it is just helping you to check that you are building the structure properly. If you start off without a square frame you will have more frustrating problems later!
I am not sure if that totally answers your question. But hope it helps a little.
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