Scrap wood garden bench

[Muggles]

We have a lot of odds and ends pieces of wood left over from various projects, and I was cleaning up my garden area and moving pots to a different location that had been sitting supported on 2 - 12 foot deck boards. So, after I moved all the pots I thought it would be nice to have a garden bench in the spot the pots used to be.

I ended up using scrap 2x4 for the frame, some 1x2's for decorative bracing, and then the deck boards as the seat and back boards. Here's a photo of my recently finished scrap wood garden bench.

I'm guessing lots of people have scrap wood left over from various home repair projects, so, what do you end up building with the scraps?

[Roy]

That looks pretty darned good...you could even sell projects like that for big bucks. ====

[Muggles]

Thanks. I just kind of designed and built it as I went and ended up with what's in the photo.

[hrhofmann]

Nice job!!!

[Muggles]

thanks!

[Ed Pawlowski]

Functional. Would make a good plant stand. You overbuilt the leg support and the strips in the front may actually interfere with some people's feet.

If not sitting for a long time it is fine. For comfort long term you need a pitched back and contoured seat.

Be sure to seal the feet where they contact the grounds or the bench will be rotting in a short time.

[Muggles]

I wanted it to be strong and hold up over time, and I wanted it to be able to support 2 full grown 200-300lb large men if they wanted to sit on it. It isn't going to move if the big men in my family want to sit out there and use the bench.

All the wood was scrap and much of it was warped in some way, so adding the extra supports on the bottom insured that the warped wood had support. The strips on the front and back form an open shelf under the seat, so I can put garden tools down there across the supports. I haven't decided if I want to put a solid shelf there, or not, so I can store some pots there under the seat.

The back is actually pitched at a good angle and isn't straight up and down. The 2 back boards support the lower back and right below the shoulders. It's actually pretty comfortable since the seat itself allows you to sit further back and there's more support for the upper legs and lower back. I could put outdoor cushions on it, but don't really want to mess with them.

It's not actually sitting on the open ground, but it's sitting on outdoor carpeting, and the wood it's also treated wood.