How to Build a Bench That Seats 10

Making the Legs

• 1

  Lay two planks of 18-inch 2-by-6 lumber flat on your work surface, parallel and oriented vertically with 16 inches between their outer edges.

• 2

  Place two planks of 16-inch 2-by-4 lumber across both of the 2-by-6 planks, flush with each end of the longer planks. The 2-by-4 planks should be oriented horizontally, making them perpendicular to the 2-by-6 planks. The ends of the 2-by-6 planks should be flush with the outside edges of the 2-by-4 planks.

• 3

  Drill four pilot holes, sized for the shaft of a 2-3/4-inch lag bolt, through the horizontal 2-by-4 planks into each of the vertical 2-by-6 planks. Fasten the 2-by-4 planks in place with 2-3/4-inch lag bolts through the pilot holes.

• 4

  Turn the 2-by-6 planks over to expose their other sides, and attach two more 2-by-4 planks across them. They should mirror the placement of the first set of 2-by-4 planks. This is one leg unit. The 2-by-6 planks are the legs, with the bottom pair of 2-by-4 planks forming the feet of the leg unit, and the top pair serving as the upper braces for supporting the bench top.

• 5

  Repeat the process above until you have made five leg units.

Assembling the Bench

• 6

  Stand the leg units upright so they are sitting on the feet with 4 1/2 feet between them.

• 7

  Place four planks of 10-foot 1-by-4 lumber across the top of the first three legs. Adjust their position to space the planks 1/2 inch apart. The plank ends should cover half of the third leg unit, allowing space for the ends of the next four bench slats to sit on the third leg unit as well.

• 8

  Place another four slats across the remaining two leg units, with the ends across half of the middle leg unit to match up with the ends of the first four bench slats.

• 9

  Drill two pilot holes, sized for 2-inch wood screws, through the bench slats into each of the upper braces on the leg units. That will be 20 pilot holes per bench slat.

• 10

  Secure the bench slats to the leg units by driving 2-inch wood screws through the pilot holes.