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Many years ago I had downloaded the details of making a Patio Bench from the BlackNDecker site. That page no longer exists, but thankfully I have the download.
It looks like this:
And the internals are like this:
Now I’m about to build this, pretty much like shown, but for the dimensions.
Their bench is 21” high, 24” deep, and 48” long.
Mine will be 23” high, 16” deep, and 43” long.
You can see the material list in the 2nd picture above.
I’m going to vary from it slightly – because my shelf is less wide (long) across, I have reduced the width of the face frame - 2” wide instead of 4”.
Also, the face frame will be in pine, and the ply on the side will be ¾ birch ply.
Reason is, wife wants it to be painted. And I’ll be d*** if I use oak only to paint it!
But it’s select pine – no knots or anything, looks great. I’m not dumpster diving here.
My changes also includes a third stile in the middle, between the two rails, 1 ½ “ wide, to add some strength to the FF.
The FF is screwed to the 2x4 frame(s), and to the side panels.
So my question is – while red-oak would have been really strong, will pine be significantly weaker, as in danger of breaking?
In sum, oak changes to pine, width changes from 4” to 2”. But a stile is added at the center.
The bulk of the weight is held by the ¾ ply on the sides, I feel.
Other info :
This will be placed outside, in the patio, which is fully covered. The bench will fit tighly between two walls and a back wall, so only the front is visible.
While there’s some exposure to moisture from rain splatter, it’s not direct rain.
There’s a similar bench there now for the past 10 years, and does not show any extraordinary wear.
And while it is meant to be sat on, it’s used rarely as a seat, and more to store casual slippers, garden shoes, etc.
While I have your attention, might as well ask: for abundance of caution I should paint even the sides and the back, right? I have some exterior paint that I'll use for the front and I might as well paint all over.
It looks like this:
And the internals are like this:
Now I’m about to build this, pretty much like shown, but for the dimensions.
Their bench is 21” high, 24” deep, and 48” long.
Mine will be 23” high, 16” deep, and 43” long.
You can see the material list in the 2nd picture above.
I’m going to vary from it slightly – because my shelf is less wide (long) across, I have reduced the width of the face frame - 2” wide instead of 4”.
Also, the face frame will be in pine, and the ply on the side will be ¾ birch ply.
Reason is, wife wants it to be painted. And I’ll be d*** if I use oak only to paint it!
But it’s select pine – no knots or anything, looks great. I’m not dumpster diving here.
My changes also includes a third stile in the middle, between the two rails, 1 ½ “ wide, to add some strength to the FF.
The FF is screwed to the 2x4 frame(s), and to the side panels.
So my question is – while red-oak would have been really strong, will pine be significantly weaker, as in danger of breaking?
In sum, oak changes to pine, width changes from 4” to 2”. But a stile is added at the center.
The bulk of the weight is held by the ¾ ply on the sides, I feel.
Other info :
This will be placed outside, in the patio, which is fully covered. The bench will fit tighly between two walls and a back wall, so only the front is visible.
While there’s some exposure to moisture from rain splatter, it’s not direct rain.
There’s a similar bench there now for the past 10 years, and does not show any extraordinary wear.
And while it is meant to be sat on, it’s used rarely as a seat, and more to store casual slippers, garden shoes, etc.
While I have your attention, might as well ask: for abundance of caution I should paint even the sides and the back, right? I have some exterior paint that I'll use for the front and I might as well paint all over.
Loring in Katy, TX USA
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