How to Make Your Own Patio Furniture on a Budget

Free Material

• 1

  Use old windows for tabletops. Clean up the frames. Sand down the surfaces. Attach legs to the frames. Apply paint and weather sealant to protect it from the elements.

• 2

  Use discarded chimney blocks to make beverage tables. Pile one on another until they are 4 feet high. Apply mortar as you go, or wrap chicken wire around them and apply cement for a stucco design. Cover the top of the table with a thick slab of stained wood. Substitute old bricks if you cannot find chimney blocks.

• 3

  Find old logs and create woodsy patio furniture. Use logs with a diameter of 36 inches or more. Cut the logs 5 feet long to seat up to three people, or 2 feet long for single-seat chairs. Carve out the seating. Apply the stain and weather sealant. Removing the bark is optional.

• 4

  Learn to build with stone. Small stone can be used to build stands and tables. Larger stone can be used to create seating.

Wood Items

• 5

  Look for used or discarded pieces of lumber that can be put together to create your own patio furniture. Make simple tables, chairs or stands with a few 2-by-4 inch boards.

• 6

  Look around for discarded wood pallets. Many times, these will be broken in places but are repairable. Turn one flat and attach four wood posts underneath to make a table. Set two on end; attach another with the board side facing up between them in the middle. Attach another piece with the boards facing you half way up the back edges of the side pallets. You have a chair.

• 7

  Use the discarded spools or reels from phone lines or electrical contractors. These make good tables, or chairs, depending on the size. Wash off any dirt. Sand down the edges and burrs.

Plastic

• 8

  Locate discarded PVC pipe. PVC pipe can be bent, cut and fit together to form almost any type of patio furniture. Make your own patio furniture with PVC by using discarded pipe and fittings from plumbers, landscapers and home centers with damaged material. Design or search for plans to build your PVC patio furniture. Construct the pieces. Put it together and glue into place. Ideas include chairs, tables, swings, benches, stands or entire gazebos.

• 9

  Locate discarded or unused plastic bins or barrels. Turn them on end to form tables or stands. Attach seating to the top of smaller bins and use for seating.

• 10

  Use 55-gallon plastic barrels for seating. Cut up the barrel into sections. Reassemble the pieces with screws and bolts.