Whether in the garden or in the dining room: a bench is a practical and decorative piece of furniture. By designing and building it yourself, you can tailor the bench to your own wishes. Our ideas and tips will help you plan and build an individual seat or garden bench.
How can you build a bench or garden bench yourself?
The construction of a bench or garden bench varies depending on the model, but the basic steps are the same:
- Pre-drill the screw holes.
- Sand the woods.
- Paint the components in a color of your choice or seal them with glaze.
- Screw the parts of the frame together.
- Place the seat and, if necessary, the backrest and screw them together.
In the following you will find out in detail how you can best do this.
Tailor the bank to your own needs
Before you start building the new seat or garden bench, it is advisable to do a little preparatory planning . The variety of benches that you can build yourself and the possibilities for individualisation are great. For example, should the self-built bench:
- Single or multi-seater?
- have arm and backrests?
- consist entirely of wood or are created in combination with other materials – e.g. B. with pipes made of metal?
- offer storage space?
Find the right wood
Once the shape of the bench has been planned, it is important to find the right wood for the construction. If you want to build a garden bench yourself, robust, weather-resistant woods such as larch, Douglas fir, robinia, thermal ash or Bangkirai are ideal.
Inexpensive woods such as spruce, pine and fir can be used in the construction of outdoor furniture if they have been treated with one or more protective coatings . Protection against fungal attack, pests and UV rays is particularly important. Weather protection paint, wood protection glazes and some impregnations are suitable for a long-lasting garden bench.
But not only the wood has to withstand the weather: The screws used should also be protected against corrosion, i.e. rust. Stainless steel screws and screws that are explicitly declared for outdoor use are ideal here.
The right color for your garden bench
Once you have finally assembled the bench or garden bench, you can color it as you wish . If the bench is intended for outdoor use, make sure when choosing a color that it is weatherproof, such as weatherproof paint . This is the only way your new bench in the garden will remain attractive and safe for a long time.
Before applying the paint, it makes sense to sand the wood to create a smooth and even surface without splinters. This is how you create the basis for an even application of paint. First stroke across and then along the direction of the grain. For your own safety, wear a surgical mask or respirator and safety goggles during sanding and painting . If you use steel elements such as pipes in your bench, you should degrease them before painting. To do this , spread acetone on a cotton cloth and use it to thoroughly clean the steel elements. Wear work gloves to protect yourself.
Tips and tricks
When making furniture, it often pays to work in pairs . In this way, for example, one person can fix the pieces of wood in the right position while the other screws the elements together. Before screwing the seat, backrest and legs together, it is also a good idea to pre-drill the holes . So that the screw can be tightened, however, only the wood that the screw penetrates completely is pre-drilled. Placing a piece of wood underneath when pre-drilling will prevent the drilled holes from fraying.
materials and tools
- suitably cut wooden floorboards and beams
- if necessary, other components such as steel pipes
- Cordless screwdriver and, if necessary, Allen key
- Bits
- wood drill
- Hand saw
- Grinding block
- sandpaper
- folding rule
- pencil
- Covering plan
- brush or paint roller
- Paint, varnish or glaze
Quickly built: crate bench and pallet sofa
Building a bench out of boxes is particularly time-saving . Here you use prefabricated elements, which is why such a construction is also suitable for furniture construction beginners. A pallet sofa has similar advantages , which can be used indoors or outdoors as an alternative to a bench and has a special charm thanks to its industrial look. A pallet usually forms the seat, backrest and siderest, so that you only have to screw the individual pallets together. Depending on the thickness of the wood, it is also advisable to pre-drill holes for pallets.
