Basic Outdoor Bench Plans

Materials

• The primary material for this simple outdoor bench is one 8-foot-long piece of 2-by-10 lumber. Choose a piece that does not have any cracks or large knots. Have the lumberyard cut the piece in half to make two 4-foot-long pieces if you do not have a vehicle large enough to haul an 8-foot piece safely. Use treated lumber if you wish to leave your bench unfinished. You will need to prime and paint the bench if you choose to assemble it from untreated wood stock. Galvanized lag bolts 3 1/2 inches long will suffice when attaching the legs to the bench seat. Galvanized wood screws 2 1/2 inches long are needed to secure braces to the underside of the bench to give it strength. Waterproof wood glue makes sure everything stays together firmly in all weather conditions.

Tools

• A measuring tape and a carpenter's square are the first tools needed. A circular saw makes a quick job of cutting the thick lumber needed for this bench, although a handsaw will suffice if you do not have access to a power saw. A power drill and an array of drill bits are needed for boring pilot holes and for driving in the screws. A socket set and a three-eighths-inch drive ratchet wrench will make quick work of driving in the lag bolts. Finally, some 100-grit sandpaper will smooth all the edges.

Cutting

• Measure, mark and cut the 2-by-10 piece of lumber to make two 4-foot-long pieces, if you didn't already have the lumberyard cut the wood. One of the 4-foot pieces will make the top of the bench, so set one of them aside. The 16-inch-long legs come from the remaining piece of lumber. Measure the center of the width of each leg and make a pencil mark 7 1/2 inches up from the end. Two diagonal lines drawn from this mark to 3 1/2 inches from each side of the bottom of the leg will make a triangle. Once this piece is removed with the circular saw, each leg will have two "feet." Two triangular braces can be cut from the leftover lumber.

Assembly

• Assemble the legs --- feet down --- to the underside of the bench 5 inches in from each end with three lag bolts driven in from the top. Drill pilot holes to keep the wood from splitting. Apply a coat of waterproof wood glue to two sides of each brace and screw them into place on the underside of the bench and to the inside of each leg. No clamping is needed, since the screws will hold everything in place while the glue dries. Sand the edges of all pieces to round them off slightly. The result is a simple-to-make sturdy bench that will last many years.