Free garden bench plans

This diy step by step article is about free garden bench plans. We show you how to build a simple bench by yourself in just one weekend, while keeping the costs under control. Placing a bench in your backyard is great for your leisure breaks. In addition, if you choose an area under a large tree, you will enjoy the summer afternoons a lot more than before. Adjust the size of the bench to your needs.

This is a basic woodworking project, as you have to cut several components from 2×4 and 2×6 slats, and lock them together with screws, after aligning and plumbing them properly. Moreover, building an outdoor bench is a cheap project, as it should cost somewhere between 50 – 150 dollars (according to the used materials ). It is a lot cheaper to use pressure-treated lumber, but a cedar bench would have a distinguished look.

Use a router and a 1/4” bit to round the exposed edges of the 2×4 slats, to give your garden bench a nicer look. Align the components at both ends, before inserting the wood screws. In addition, check the corners for squareness, after every step. If you want to make the wooden bench more rigid, you could add a 2×4 stretcher between the sides and lock it into place with 3” screws.

 

Made from this plan

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Building a garden bench

Building a garden bench

Building a garden bench

 

Materials

  • A – 2 pieces of 2×6 lumber – 17” long, 2 pieces of 2×6 lumber – 37″ long LEGS
  • B – 4 pieces of 1×4 lumber – 18″ long, 4 pieces of 1×4 lumber – 21″ long BRACES
  • C – 6 pieces of 2×4 lumber – 57″ long SLATS

 

Tools

Tips

  • Pre-drill holes in the wooden components, before inserting the screws
  • Smooth the edges of the wooden components with sandpaper

Time

  • One Day

Related

 

 

Simple Garden bench plans

Free garden bench plans

Free garden bench plans

 

Building a nice park bench is a straight forward process, if you use the right plans for your needs and budget. There are many outdoor bench designs to choose from, but in this article we show you how to build a simple bench, at a low cost.

Smart Tip: You need to build several wooden components and to secure them together with different types of screws and bolts. You could adjust the size of the bench, according to your needs.

 

Garden bench legs

Garden bench legs

 

First, you need to build the legs of the garden bench. Therefore, use 2×6 wooden boards to build the front leg and the back support, according to our free plans. Cut both ends of the back legs at 75 degrees. If you want to customize your bench, you could adjust the angle of the back support to fit your needs (75º cut).

Smart tip: After you have cut the components, we recommend you to smooth their surface and edges with a sand-block.

 

Building the garden bench

Building the garden bench

 

Next, build the cross braces, to lock the wooden legs together. In order to obtain a rigid and durable structure, we recommend you to cut the braces from 2x4s or 1x4s. Make sure you cut one end of the braces at the same angle with the pitch of the back supports.

Smart tip: Drill pilot holes through the legs and through the cross braces, before inserting the 5-6” carriage bolts, as in the image.

 

Installing the slats

Installing the slats

 

Use 2×4 slats to cover the garden bench, as in the image. Cut the wooden boards at 57” and install them into place, as to overhang 2” on each side. Before locking them into position, we recommend you to sand their edges with a sand block and to cover them with several coats of wood stain.

Smart tip: Drill pilot holes in the 2x4s, to prevent the wood from splitting. Use 2 1/2” screws to secure the slats properly.

 

Installing the wooden slats

Installing the wooden slats

 

You should notice in the image how to secure the 2×4 slats to the frame of the bench. Therefore, you have to drive in 4 screws in both ends of the slats: 2 in each brace. Draw two parallel lines before drilling the pilot holes, in order to obtain a neat look and consistent results.

Smart tip: Leave at least 1/2” from the edges of the slats, to prevent wood from splitting. Use a nail to get a consistent gap between the 2×4’s.

 

Installing slats on the back support

Installing slats on the back support

 

Next, install the 2×4 slats on the back support of the bench. The technique is straight forward. First of all, you have to measure the size of the back support, to determine the gap between the slats.

In our case, you should leave about 1/4” between the wooden boards, if you want to place them equally spaced. Nevertheless, you can adjust the gaps between the boards, to satisfy your needs and tastes.

 

Fitting the stretcher

Fitting the stretcher

 

Enhancing the rigidity of the garden bench is easy, but essential for your woodworking project. As you can easily notice in the image, you need to fit a 2×4 stretcher between the bottom braces of the bench.

Smart tip: Drill pilot holes trough the stretcher at angle, before driving in the 3 1/2” galvanized wood screws. It is also essential to check if the support is horizontal, by using a spirit level.

 

Garden bench plans

Garden bench plans

 

After you have built and secured the components together, you should sand the surface of the bench with medium grit sandpaper and apply several coats of varnish. If you want to protect it from water damage, you have to freshen up these coats, every few years.

Smart tip: Installing a stretcher between bottom cross-braces would add support to the bench. This step is not compulsory, but highly recommended.

 

 

Thank you for reading our article about free garden bench plans and we recommend you to check out the rest of our projects. Don’t forget to SHARE and LIKE our projects with your friends, by using the social media widgets, if you want to help us keep adding free woodworking plans.




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    • Jack Sander
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