DIY wooden bench dimensions. DIY bench with backrest: excellent photos and drawings

Garden benches are the most popular small architectural forms. They can be made in any size and design, but in addition to their direct purpose, benches also perform a decorative function. You can make a garden bench for yourself using our drawings and photographs.

How to make a bench from waste materials

The easiest way is to make a bench out of wood. This is a traditional material for garden furniture, affordable and easy to process. But even in this case, you can save money by choosing as the main material the one that literally lies under your feet.

The first option is trees, poles and stumps from your own site or a nearby forest plantation, in which sanitary felling is carried out.

Having carefully cut off a couple of medium-sized stumps, they can be placed on the base of the bench. Use poles to make a bottom crossbar for structural rigidity. And for sitting, loosen part of the trunk on the circular. If there is no equipment for longitudinal sawing, then you can take an unedged board 75 mm thick.

In this example, the bench is already more comfortable - in addition to the seat, it also has a backrest. The model is a little more complicated, since you will have to find a higher part of the trunk and process it in two steps - first make a profile cut with a “ledge”, and then split the workpiece into two halves.

And to assemble the next bench, you will need:

• two short logs of the same diameter for the base;
• two medium-thick poles for back support;
• one long log, sawn into two halves (for the seat and back).

In short logs, you need to choose a groove so that the long log fits into it. Then the seat is secured in the grooves, and each pole is fixed at two points - to the base and to the seat. For fastening, it is better to choose powerful self-tapping wood bolts.

Another budget material for a country bench - pallets ( wooden pallets). But not just any pallet is suitable for making garden furniture. Ideally, you need one from a good edged boards, the so-called Euro pallet, which can be identified by the EUR marking.

In principle, the standard width of a Euro pallet is somewhat large for a seat - 80 cm. You can shorten it to 67 cm by cutting it along the contour of the central bar. But you don’t have to do this. Here are some examples of simple designs with different options bases and seats:

1. A bench made of four pallets uncut to width. Three serve as the base, and the fourth serves as the back. You will have to remove some of the support bars from the pallet for the backrest, and ensure the rigidity of the bench using wooden slats.

2. In this case, four pallets are also used, but already trimmed. Three ropes woven with a braid are used to secure the backrest, and wallpaper nails are used for decoration.

3. This bench is made from just two pallets. One is whole, and the second is cut and, as it were, bent at an angle - it serves as both a seat and a backrest. The design is good for its mobility - there are small wheels as legs.

Perhaps the only inconvenience of using Euro pallets as a source material is standard sizes 80x120 cm. They to some extent limit the possibilities for creativity. The use of ordinary lumber (boards, beams and beams) allows you to make a garden bench to suit every taste.

Board and block

It’s worth saying right away that any bench drawing can be adjusted for specific conditions. The only limitation is that the thickness of the board and the cross-section of the beam are sufficient to provide load-bearing properties.

Below is a drawing of a bench, which is made of only three “paired” elements:

• seat and back;
• a short support (back leg) made of a trapezoid-shaped board;
• long support (front leg).

1- front leg; 2 - rear leg; 3 - seat; 4 - back; 5 - front view; 6 - side view

The result is a stable structure with a triangle at the base and two transverse stiffeners.

This is what this bench looks like in real life.

This drawing shows the bench in a more complex design. To make it, you need a 40x140 mm board (supports, back and seat), a 40x70 mm block (short bundles of supports) and a 20 mm board (long bundle between the sidewalls).

And this is the same design, but using a board and a block 75 mm thick. Small differences in the base and attachment of the ligaments are not fundamental.

In principle, there is only one condition - the boards in the seat are fastened with a small gap, sufficient to compensate for the expansion of the wood under high humidity.

Large forms

Wooden benches in a “large format” look original.

For example, here is a “thick” unedged board across the entire width of the log. Covered with transparent varnish, it conveys the natural beauty of wood with all its color transitions.

From rounded logs you can build not only a cottage or a bathhouse, but also a garden bench like this.

And from timber you can assemble an original chair that can serve not only under a canopy, but also on outdoors— removable pillows are easy to bring into the house in bad weather.

Stone and wood

Stone, like wood, also fits organically into the landscape suburban area. Of course, a smooth slab is practically never found in nature, but you can use sawn stone.

The next option is easier to implement - the bench is made of small blocks of wild stone. And since such a surface is not only cold, but also uneven, you can’t do without pillows.

Pillows add comfort, but you have to constantly bring them in and out. That is why wood is used for seats on garden benches, regardless of the base material. This is how this original bench uses a gabion (a mesh cage filled with stone, crushed stone or pebbles) at the base.

Concrete is no less popular for making the base of a bench. But it’s difficult to make a form with a complex contour for pouring at once, but small formwork is simple. And even a “cold seam” when poured in two steps will not affect the strength of the structure (such as in this photo).

Another option artificial stone– hollow construction concrete blocks. It is enough to fasten them together with good masonry glue, and lay a beam in the cavity, and the bench is ready.

Metal and wood

The simplest benches on a metal frame use a square profile.

You can weld two sidewalls in the shape of the letter “H” from a profile pipe, and a solid wooden seat will also serve as a “stiffener.”

The following example also uses solid wood as a stiffening element, but the supports are made in the form of a square with a cross member for attaching the seat.

And this is the simplest self-supporting structure made of a square profile, the strength and rigidity of the welded base is sufficient for the seat to be made from a wooden block.

The following photo shows a factory-made bench.

But if you have a pipe bender in your home workshop (and it’s easy to make one yourself), then bending two types of arches and a “wave” from a round pipe is easy. Then the metal blanks must be welded, plastic plugs must be placed on the legs (sold for any profile and pipe size) and the bars must be secured to the “wave”.

Arriving at country cottage area, many people expect to relax, unwind and have a good time. In order to turn these plans into reality, care must be taken to create the appropriate conditions. It is not enough to simply install a few benches.

You can make an attractive and original corner in which you can relax, enjoy the surrounding nature and the results of your own labor.

Location

The first problem that needs to be solved is choosing a location for the bench. It affects the material of the structure. For example, for an old garden with large branched trees, wood products are suitable for small area, not heavily planted with trees and shrubs, small openwork structures are recommended.

If you look online for examples of photos of benches in the country, you will see that they are often an integral part of gazebos, verandas and summer areas. If you are planning to do something similar, then make sure that all the details are made in the general style.

Choose a place for the bench so that it offers a pleasant view. It’s unlikely that you’ll want to admire your neighbors’ fence or the walls of your barn.

It is advisable to choose places in front of lakes or rivers, flower beds, etc. The main thing is that the surrounding objects attract and please the eye, help you relax and put you in a positive mood.

It is advisable that the bench be located in the shade. It is placed under the crowns of large trees or under canopies. Remember that it acts as a place for rest and relaxation.

You can put benches next to the beds. There are several advantages here. Firstly, site owners will be able to monitor the growth of the crop. Secondly, the bench is suitable for taking a break from the physical labor(digging, watering, harvesting).

Don't forget about decorative jewelry. Have you made a simple bench with your own hands? Place it around it flowering shrubs. Flower beds are also suitable for decoration. They are placed on a raised platform or a special platform is created from bricks, tiles or logs.

Materials

There is a large selection of materials that are used to make benches. The most common option is wood. And there is nothing surprising here. It is considered easy to process, affordable and lightweight.

It is not necessary to use identical, perfectly even bars. If you take natural material into natural form, then the final result will certainly please both the hosts and guests. Instead of an ordinary bench, you will get a real decoration for your garden plot.

Stone structures are also popular. They are durable and aesthetically pleasing. But there are also disadvantages. It is recommended to sit on them only in warm seasons.

Forged Products - the best choice for fans of luxury and grace. However, this option is not suitable for those who are looking for how to make a bench with their own hands. High quality and beautiful designs Only an experienced blacksmith will make it from metal.

Models that combine various materials look good. For example, a bench made of wood can be decorated with textiles (pillows, bedspread). This will make it feel homely and comfortable.

Preparing for work

Having decided on the material and location, you can begin to create a drawing of the bench. At this stage, the shape and dimensions of the product are determined. There are no strict rules here, but if you encounter difficulties, you can adhere to the following scheme:

• seat height – from 40 to 50 centimeters;
• width – from 50 to 55 centimeters;
• back height – from 35 to 50 centimeters.

If you want to make a bench with a back, then decide in advance how you will attach it to the seat. Also great importance it matters whether you plan to transfer it or not. In non-portable models, the legs are securely fixed to the ground.

The drawing will allow you to understand how much material will be required. Additionally, you need fastenings (nails, self-tapping screws, screws), primer and protective paint.

Scheme of work

Let's look at a simple diagram of how to make a bench with a back. For work you will need: two bars, wooden scraps (two or three pieces measuring 150 x 200 millimeters); croaker

We work according to the following scheme:

• We make two holes in the ground (it is important that they do not differ in depth);
• We even out the angles between the bars and posts. You need to make sure everything is level. Otherwise, it will not be comfortable to rest on the bench;
• We fasten the bars (using self-tapping screws or nails);
• We dig in the workpieces and compact them well;
• We fix the back;
• We cover the wooden parts with primer and protective paint.

This is the simplest bench that any craftsman can make.

DIY bench photo

A bench is an item that should be on every personal plot. However, it is not always possible to allocate funds to purchase a metal bench. Therefore, you can make a bench with your own hands from a profile pipe.

Advantages and disadvantages of profile pipe

The profile pipe can have different shape sections:

• oval;
• diamond-shaped;
• square
• rectangular.

It is made of carbon and low-alloy steel, therefore it is very often used in both civil and industrial construction. This type of pipe is easy to cut, weld and bend. From it you can make a beautiful garden gazebo, swing and sliding gates, children's swings, carousels, different kinds fences and other small architectural forms for a personal plot. Including a bench.

The professional pipe has:

• increased level of resistance to large physical and mechanical loads;
• quite reasonable price;
• light weight finished design shops.

At the same time, it is very easy to work with her.

Pipes with a round (oval) cross-section have high degree resistance to mechanical loads, so they are best suited for making a metal yard bench. It is recommended to choose thin-walled pipes with a thickness of 1 to 4 mm, as they are easier to work with at home. The material is inexpensive, and the metal structure will be quite light.

A significant disadvantage of such a pipe is its susceptibility to corrosion, so the benches will need to be regularly painted with oil, alkyd, epoxy or polyurethane paint with preliminary priming and removal of the old coating and any rust that has appeared. But if you properly care for such a product, it will serve you for a long time.

Photo gallery: benches made of corrugated pipe at the dacha

A garden bench made of metal profiles will fit perfectly into the garden landscape You can always independently adjust the width of the backrest and seat Garden benches made of metal profiles can be decorated with decorative elements You can make a bench without a back

Tools and materials for work

Metal pipes are not the only material that will need to be used to make a bench with your own hands. You will need:

• pine boards for constructing the base of seats and backs;
• powerful welding machine;
• pack of electrodes - 3 mm;
• angle grinder (or hacksaw);
• powerful drill (for drilling wood and metal);
• file or sandpaper;
• precise level;
• tape measure or regular meter;
• plane for grinding work;
• paint and primer for metal;
• safety glasses (welding mask) and gloves;
• wood paint (you can use varnish or stain);
• reliable hammer;
• large pliers;
• wood bolts with nuts.

To bend the pipes you will need a special “Snail” tool, which can be used as a regular brake disc from a car. It will not damage the material.

How to make a metal frame for a garden bench with your own hands

Before starting to manufacture a bench of any type, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work; in particular, it is recommended to study the technology of bending and welding pipes in advance.

Metal pipe bending

In order to create bent elements, you need to plug one end of the pipe with a stopper, pour fine sand into it, and then close it on the other side. Then place it in the bending device, pressing it between the protrusion on the brake disc and the pin, and then bend it at the desired angle.

If the pipe does not bend well enough, you can use a blowtorch and heat the bend.

To make various elements for a bench, it is best to take pipes with a round or oval cross-section, as they are best able to bend.

The sequence of making a bench without a back

A bench without a back is a very simple design, so to make it you will need to make three rectangles that are connected to each other with pipes that act as a seat.

To make a bench you will need to take:

• metal square or rectangular pipe 11 meters long (rolled section 30x30 mm);
• 2 pieces of profile pipe, 2.3 meters each;
• 6 pieces of 60 cm;
• 6 pieces of 45 cm;
• 8 wooden boards 6 cm wide;
• 24 bolts with nuts.

To make an ordinary bench without a back, you need to weld 3 pre-prepared rectangles, and then connect them together with two guide pipes, which will serve as a frame for the seat. Further work should proceed according to plan:

1. Long support sections must be placed horizontally, and shorter ones must be mounted vertically.
2. In the process of welding cut pieces of pipes, it is necessary to maintain the angles of the supports, since they must be exactly 90 degrees.
3. After all welding work has been completed, it is necessary to thoroughly clean all seams with a special grinder or a regular file.
4. Then the seams must be well primed.
5. After the frame is welded, 8 holes (symmetrically located) need to be drilled on each of the supports to attach the boards.
6. To prevent rust, the bench frame must be coated with metal paint.
7. Wooden boards It is recommended to impregnate with stain.
8. If desired, wooden boards can be replaced with pipes rectangular shape. They just need to be welded to the structure and also painted with anti-corrosion paint.
9. To ensure that sharp corners do not interfere, the slats can be placed in a specially prepared metal frame. You will need 1.2 m of pipe.

How to weld a bench frame with a small backrest

You will need:

• profile pipe with a cross section of 25x25 mm (8 m);
• pine boards (thickness 30 and 25 mm) for the seat and backrest.

To construct the frame you need to prepare in advance:

1. Profiled pipe - 1.55 m. To create a jumper between two supports.
2. 2 bent pieces of pipe, 78 cm each. Supports for the back of the bench.
3. 2 pieces of pipe, 35 cm each. To make the base for the seat.
4. 2 pieces of pipe 39 cm each. For front supports.
5. 2 pieces of pipe 20 cm each. To strengthen the front supports.
6. 4 steel plates 40x40 mm. For the manufacture of stands for supports.
7. 2 bent steel strips of 45 cm each. For connecting future supports.

To make the seat you will need:

• 3 pine boards: length - 1.6 m, width - 6 cm, thickness - 3 cm (for the base of the seat);
• 3 boards: length - 1.6 m, width 6 cm, thickness - 2.5 cm (for the back);
• 24 bolts with nuts.

The work of making a bench consists of several stages:

1. First you need to weld the crossbar and two pieces of pipe 35 cm long. The jumper must be located exactly in the center of each of the pieces and at an angle of 90 degrees.
2. To this structure it is necessary to weld two bent pieces of pipe 78 cm long. Welding must be done at the bend point.
3. Then the front elements of the supporting structures must be welded to the workpiece. In this case, the location of their connection should be 9 cm from the base of the bench.
4. In order to increase the strength of the bench, the front supports must be connected by welding to a pipe, which will serve as a transverse jumper.
5. Next, you need to weld 2 arcs between the supports and secure them to the ends of the legs. The finished product must be well sanded in the areas of welding seams.
6. Then the metal structure must be primed and painted with a special anti-corrosion paint.
7. On the finished structure, it is necessary to symmetrically place wooden boards, which will serve as the basis for the seat.
8. Before attaching the boards, they must be treated with varnish or stain. The boards are attached to the bench structure using special bolts with round flat heads. Thicker and stronger boards are used for the bottom, and slightly thinner ones for the back. If necessary, they can be painted in any way. oil paint. If there are no wooden boards, then the same metal pipes with a rectangular cross-section can be used for seats.

For convenience, you can make metal armrests on the bench. To do this, you need to take two pieces of pipe 75 cm each and simply bend them at an angle of 90 degrees, and then weld them on the sides metal frame. Sand the seams with a sander or file. The armrests can also be painted.

If you make rounded soles at the legs, then you can also swing on such a bench.

Finishing the bench after its assembly

After the entire structure is assembled, you can simply paint it special paint for iron. It is recommended to treat the wooden slats of the seat and back using varnish or stain, and then the bench will acquire a beautiful natural color. This bench will look great on any garden plot. The decor is chosen taking into account landscape design.

You can sew soft ones yourself comfortable pillows and back covers. Children and elderly people will find it very comfortable to sit on them on warm summer days.

Video: how to make a bench from metal pipes without a diagram

Whatever design of street bench you choose, profile metal pipes can significantly reduce the cost of the finished product, and at the same time its appearance and the strength will remain the same high level. These benches will look great on your garden plot country house or cottage.

A garden bench is not just ordinary furniture designed for relaxation. With this furniture you can decorate personal plot, create entire compositions that will fit perfectly into the surrounding space of the garden or yard. It’s not difficult to make a garden bench with your own hands; the main thing is to choose the design of the furniture, its location and the material from which it will be made.

Materials for a garden bench

Plastic

Light plastic furniture has many advantages: it is easy to move from place to place, easy to care for, and has an affordable price range. You can choose any color option, which fits perfectly into the landscape design. Disadvantages of plastic furniture: it quickly becomes scratched, fades in the sun, looks cheap.

Or even a chair. By the way, the chair cushions are foam chips in plastic bags. Warm, cozy, extravagant

Tree

This material is ideal for creating furniture: it absorbs heat, looks noble, and is easy to process. Any type of wood is suitable for making a bench, the main thing is that the material is sufficiently well dried and has no external defects.

Stone

This one is natural and beautiful material fits perfectly into any stylistic direction landscape design. Stone compositions look solid, noble and unusual. But, despite many advantages, a natural stone has several disadvantages. Sitting on a stone bench is not very comfortable, and it is also unsafe for health. Therefore, it is imperative to make warm covers or pads along with the bench. Stone compositions are installed permanently; they cannot be moved from place to place.

Metal

Garden benches, made by hot or cold forging, are a real decoration for a garden or a place to relax. The designs look beautiful and stylish, especially if additional decorative elements. Metal is most often combined with wood, glass or other material.

Requirements that a garden bench must meet

Convenience

First of all, you need to think about the ergonomic design of relaxation furniture. It should be convenient and comfortable. It is best to make furniture with a backrest on which you can lean back and relax.

Safety

A garden bench must be strong, carefully assembled and withstand heavy loads. For these purposes, it is best to use high-quality materials and fittings.

Resistance to changes in humidity and temperature

Since the furniture is made for the garden or yard, the material must withstand all climatic changes without defects or damage.

Prices for garden benches

Garden benches

Bench design

The length of the seat and backrest will be 1500 mm. This furniture can comfortably accommodate three people at once. Seat height - 450 mm, back height - 900 mm. It is advisable to place the back at an angle of 18-20 degrees. The seat width is 400 mm.

Material and tools for making a garden bench from wood

1. Wooden boards 1500 by 150 mm, thickness 35-40 mm. Three blanks for the seat and two for the back.
2. Blanks that serve as legs and holders for the back - 900 by 150 mm, 35-40 mm thick.
3. Blanks for the front legs of the bench - 360 by 150 mm, 35-40 mm thick.
4. Beams 40 by 40 mm will be used to strengthen the structure of the bench.
5. Self-tapping screws.
6. Electric jigsaw for cutting boards.
7. Electric planer for grinding the surface of boards and processing chamfers.
8. Screwdriver.
9. Sandpaper.
10. Varnish and primer.

Making a wooden structure

Step 1. Boards for making a bench can be purchased immediately to size; if they are not available for sale, the wood will have to be cut into blanks using a jigsaw or miter saw.

After the wood is cut to the desired length, it needs to be carefully processed. The blanks for the back and seat need to be sanded. All ends of the boards also need to be processed with an electric planer, it is advisable to give them a rounded shape.

Step 2. The long rear legs of the bench, which additionally serve as a frame for the backrest, need to be set to the correct angle of inclination. To do this, you need to apply markings to two wooden blanks having a length of 900 mm.

The first to be noted is the height of the bench - 400 mm. This section of the board does not need processing. Starting from the segment, you need to make a 20-degree cut along the entire remaining length of the board, which forms the angle of inclination of the back of the bench. The cuts on the two rear legs should be the same in both height and angle. Otherwise, the bench will be skewed.

Step 3. The legs are assembled first in the bench design. The distance between the front and rear legs is 280 mm. The legs are connected by a beam, which is cut to cover the entire width of the bench - 500 mm. It is advisable to do a double strapping - top and bottom.

Step 4. After the two sides of the bench are assembled, you can connect them together with boards intended for sitting. The boards are screwed using self-tapping screws to the upper beams of the frame. It is desirable that gaps of equal size remain between the wooden pieces - 1-2 cm. These gaps promote air circulation and moisture removal.

Step 5. Strengthening the bench structure. In order for garden furniture to be stable and durable, it is advisable to strengthen its structure. For these purposes, you need to make the lower strapping along the legs using beams. Two pieces, 1500 mm long, are screwed to the front and rear legs of the bench. If there is not enough lumber, you can use one cross member, which is attached to the lower beams of the frame.

Step 6. Installation of the bench back. The bench is almost ready, the final touch remains - attaching two boards that serve as a backrest. It is recommended to attach the first board at a distance of 200 mm from the seat. The second is at a distance of 380 mm from the seat.

Step 7 Finish coating for garden furniture. To protect wood from damage environment, it is advisable to use varnish. Impregnation will protect the bench from moisture, mold, and pests.

The varnish will give the furniture a beautiful and elegant look. To give the wood shine, you need to thoroughly polish the material and varnish the workpieces several times.

Video - Detailed instructions for making a garden bench

Video - Shop in 6 minutes

Find out some interesting options on how to make it from our new article.

DIY metal garden bench

You can decorate your garden plot not only wooden furniture. Metal benches are another way to create a cozy and comfortable place to relax. To make a metal frame, it is not necessary to master hot forging techniques.

An example of a bench made of metal and wood

You can use cold forging technology, in which a frame of metal blanks is welded into a single structure. During production, it can be refined with various decorative elements, unusual inserts and additions.

Tools and materials for making a garden bench using cold forging

1. Angle grinder with discs for cutting and polishing metal.
2. with a set of electrodes.
3. Pipe bending device. This could be a mini-machine “Snail” or a metalworking vice, with which you can bend the metal according to a template. This device is needed if you plan to have a complex backrest shape with rounded edges.
4. Metal pipes square shape(30 mm by 30 mm).
5. Decorative elements of hot forging to decorate the structure.
6. Material for seat and back (wood, MDF, plywood).
7. Roulette.
8. Level.
9. Primer for metal.
10. Protective coating for wood.

Step-by-step instruction

It is quite difficult to make a complex and elaborate bench design without experience. But make it simple and robust construction can be done without difficulty.

Step 1. Develop the dimensions and dimensions of the bench. A standard-sized garden bench has a length of 1500 mm, a width of 400-500 mm, and a back height of 800-900 mm. Corner furniture shapes are the easiest to make, so for the first time it is better to try to make a simpler model with your own hands.

Step 2. Making a frame for the seat. The metal pipe needs to be cut into 4 fragments: 2 x 1500 mm and 2 x 400 mm. All details are in a rectangle. To make the seat more durable, you can weld 2 additional stiffeners into the rectangular frame.

Step 3. Making legs. The metal pipe needs to be cut into 4 identical sections of 460 mm each. These blanks need to be welded to the corners of the bench. It is recommended to weld additional stiffeners between the front and rear legs.

Step 4. Making the back. Two workpieces 440 mm long and one workpiece 1500 mm long need to be welded together. This structure is then welded to the finished part of the bench. The back should be mounted at an angle of 15-20 degrees. In this case, sitting on the bench will be comfortable.

Step 5. To make the back of the bench stronger, you can additionally strengthen its frame with stiffeners, transverse or longitudinal.

Step 6. The metal frame of the garden bench is ready. The final work is cleaning all welding seams, polishing the metal and coating the frame with a primer.

Step 7 Making the back and seat from wood. Wooden boards or beams are the most suitable material for finishing a metal bench. The wood for the back and seat must be carefully planed and polished, and the chamfers must be processed. The wood needs to be cut into blanks that can be fastened both along and across the back and seat. It all depends on the length of the material.

Step 8 Using an electric drill, you need to drill holes for installation in the metal frame of the bench wood finishing benches. To connect metal and wood, it is recommended to use bolts with rounded heads and nuts.

Step 9 After the back and seat are screwed to the metal frame, the wood needs to be covered with stain or varnish. This will protect the material from environmental influences.

The garden bench is ready. Thanks to metal pipe The inside is hollow, the furniture is not very heavy and can be moved from place to place. Well-processed metal and wood can easily withstand high humidity and temperature changes, so a DIY bench will serve for many years.

Garden bench for the prevention of diseases of the spine: side support, back and front legs, armrest, rectangular frame bent at an obtuse angle, wooden seat, wooden back, armrest section with through holes, hinged joint, side view Side support, back and front legs, an armrest, a rectangular frame bent at an obtuse angle, a wooden seat having a width less than the width of the seat outline, and a wooden backrest spherically curved upward, a section of the armrest with through holes, a hinged connection, a wooden seat and a backrest in the form of a beam, shifted along grooves in extreme positions, side view Wooden seat or backrest attachment point, vertical hole and metal plate with hole



Relaxing on a garden bench is a pleasure

Video - Making a garden bench from a metal corner

The bench as a household item competes with the stool in antiquity. Because if a stump or boulder is already a stool, then a fallen tree is a bench or, if a branch extends from it, on which you can lean your back - a bench. In the last two forms, it has successfully survived to this day, which we will return to later.

A bench, with or without a back, “on paper” is not a piece of furniture, not a building, not a gardening tool and is not classified in any way. Therefore, it exists in many different types, and no restrictions are imposed on its design and design. The requirements of ergonomics, strength and reliability must be observed in it, but no one has the right to make claims for themselves.

Most often, this type of seating is outdoor: courtyard, garden, country, park. It could be a simple bench made from a board on a pair of logs, a classic village bench for gatherings, or no less classic garden sofa and a park bench, top row in Fig.

A wooden bench is an exquisite object and in many ways determines the face of landscape design, therefore it is the object of close attention of specialists in the relevant field. In the 2nd row from the top in Fig. individual results their delights. But the prices are my respect, sometimes more expensive than a good furniture set. There is a unique material, design, and wages for the craftsmen who embody all this in the product. And most importantly, there is a complete absence of restrictions on markups, because these are luxury goods.

Exclusive samples of benches/benches are not so technologically complex that you cannot make them yourself. However, in this article we will look at how to make a bench with your own hands, content with ordinary carpentry techniques and not even the most complex of them. You will get something like those on the 3-4 rows of Fig. And the acquired skills will be quite enough to later create a unique thing, if only there was material. You may have to learn only the simplest methods of wicker weaving on your own.

What about at home?

The bench, in fact, has never been completely pushed out onto the street. There were, are and will be benches in utility and utility rooms. Now they are gradually returning to living rooms: the increasingly popular studio apartment is essentially the same hut where everyone lived together in one large room. And the shop has proven over the centuries its ability to create a cheerful and benevolent life in housing not for biryuks. And we will further highlight a section about some types of indoor benches.

What to make it from?

The seat and back of the bench are almost always wooden. The metal gets cold, rusts, which is why it requires annual painting, and gradually erodes. Plastic is cheap, requires minimal care at first, but is uncomfortable and does not last long in the open air and/or with heavy use by random people. We are talking here about the arrangement of private property, so most of all we are interested in a bench made of wood, as a harmless material that is most pleasant to the eye and touch.

Note: The wooden parts of the benches are impregnated with biocides before assembly. The most affordable one in this case is used motor oil. The entire product is varnished (primed, painted) after a week of drying after impregnation. It is preferable to take water-based acrylic varnish; it somewhat protects the wood from darkening under the influence of ultraviolet radiation.

However, the supports/legs or power frame of the bench may not be made of wood. For example, profiled metal resists shocks and impacts better and is more durable than wood in contact with the ground, especially concreted metal. Therefore, for benches for public use - street, courtyard - this design is preferable, especially since a simple country bench on a steel base will cost less, at least due to the smaller volume of blanks to be delivered to the assembly site.

Bench and stone

A very good garden bench is made on a stone base. For example, at pos. 1 pic. The flagstone only adds naturalness to the wood and the masonry joints do not detract from it at all. The creators of the one in pos. 2, they simply poured the rubble into wire baskets, which also served as supports for the tray-table. Shop with flower girls at pos. 3 nothing prevents you from relying on mini-rock gardens instead. If you also build a pergola over such a bench, you will get a very cozy alcove, pos. 4.

Note: There are also benches with a stone seat, but a suitable slab will be expensive; it requires quite a bit of stone valuable species, very tough, resistant to fracture and chipping.

To rest to your heart's content

At the dacha you want to have a good rest, especially after agricultural work. Therefore, it is highly desirable that the garden bench meets the requirements of industrial ergonomics:

• Seat height 400-500 mm.
• Seat width 500-550 mm.
• Back height 350-500 mm.
• Backrest tilt 74-78 degrees.
• The profile of the seat (back and seat) is smooth, without a dip under the buttocks.
• In the area of ​​the neck and knees, smooth bends of the profile are made back and down, respectively, so that you can throw back your head and tuck your legs without feeling the sharp edge.

Note: The dimensions of the bench are selected within the recommended limits individually according to height and physique.

Drawings of a garden sofa suitable for such conditions are shown in Fig. Its design is quite labor- and material-intensive, but technologically not complex: it does not contain parts whose configuration would require the use of patterns or templates. Its significant drawback is the large waste of expensive timber, 1.3 m from a 6-meter piece, but not enough from a 3-meter piece. Garden bench-sofa on the trail. rice. It’s simpler and doesn’t require a thick beam, but 4 parts need to be cut out along the grid. Which, however, is not scary if you have a jigsaw.

And the children too

It is known how much children love to play on benches, whether it is a noisy group of people rubbing elbows, or a whole doll world of the little mistress. As well as the fact that at the same time they fidget with enthusiasm, crawl, and, not feeling lateral support, flop around. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just a child's matter. But there will be less roaring and pouting faces if the children's bench is equipped with low railings. However, it does not need a backrest, so that several shellaputs can approach both from the front and from behind, or sit astride the seat with their legs dangling.

A suitable hybrid of a bench, bench and sofa in this case is shown in Fig. It is better to place this structure near the children's playhouse. However, see what is most convenient for you, this bench is suitable in size for adults, and it is much easier to make than the previous one.

The whole world

A table with benches at the dacha just begs to be next to each other. On an already landscaped plot with overgrown trees, there will be a cozy family seating area: a table with benches. A diagram with the dimensions of one of the designs of a combined country table with benches in one block is shown in Fig. Its design is characterized by ease of assembly and disassembly and the almost complete absence of metal fasteners.

There are only 4 permanent and somewhat technologically complex connections in this product: T-shaped bench-beams in cross-section are assembled on dowels or dowels, depending on whether you have a manual wood router or not. But for the winter, the entire complex can be easily disassembled, put into a compact bag and put away in the pantry. Material: weather- and pest-resistant wood: pitch pine, larch, oak. On the base panel you will need 24-30 mm plywood, waterproof or twice impregnated with a water-polymer emulsion.

Note: It is advisable to attach wooden blocks to the lower edges of the base panels using glue and screws square section. This will additionally protect the plywood from delamination. Gluing the connection is necessary, otherwise, due to capillary locking, the service life of the panels will only decrease.

Combi for two

Fans of a philosophical and romantic tete-a-tete in the lap of nature may like a pair of garden chair-bench with a back and a table. For a volume of favorite poems, of course. The diagram of its device is shown in Fig. on the right, and drawings and assembly diagram in Fig. below. The material everywhere is 30 mm board. This product is already designed for quite experienced craftsmen, because patterns are given only for shaped parts (the grid pitch is 10 mm), and other dimensions will have to be restored using the base grid (see appendix); forming a radius of recesses for the backrests in the rear support of 1300 mm.

Metal based

A 40x40x2.5 corrugated pipe with welded ends, thrown directly onto the ground in the Moscow region, rusts right through from below after more than 15 years. And after that, the remaining box can hold the bench no less. There is no need to talk about strength: even Hollywood superheroes cannot cut steel with their hands. True, in the USSR they once made a rather stupid movie in which the late Lev Durov pierced a metal tank with his finger. Tin, for drinking water.

So, everything is OK with the strength and durability of metal benches. Garden benches made from profile pipes can be quite attractive, see fig. But please note: a pleasant appearance is achieved by using parts bent along a radius. To achieve the same aesthetic effect with straight pipes, you will need at least twice as much work and material, as shown below on the right.

To smoothly bend the workpieces, you need a fairly expensive and complex pipe bender. profile pipes. An alternative option is hot bending of a pipe filled with sand. But, firstly, at current prices, you need a forge with a forge: in order to bend the sides of the bench with a propane torch in the tutorials, bottom left in the figure, you need to almost completely burn a 20-liter gas cylinder. Secondly, hot bending is a delicate matter. If you manage to ruin no more than 3 blanks before the part comes out without wrinkles and with the ends in the same plane, you are a born blacksmith.

The next circumstance is that the strength of a bench made of metal profiles is significantly excessive. Therefore, if you make one, the main thing is your own taste and invention. And we give a couple of drawings of benches made of corrugated pipe 40x40x2.5 for purely utilitarian purposes. On the left in Fig. - a large hardware store, and on the right is Scott's shop. Why it is and what to do with it is well known to fans of bodybuilding and fitness.

Is it just a pipe?

The corrugated pipes are drawn from ordinary structural steel, and nowhere does anyone say that any other metal will not work on the bench. For such cases in Fig. several examples of metal benches. Pos. 1 – a shop for secluded and little-visited places. There is no point in stealing it: the “gain” is tiny compared to the fuss of robbery and dismantling, and reclaimed wood is not yet accepted anywhere. Material – steel strip 4-6 mm thick. Its legs won’t be able to withstand wild fun, so this bench is mainly for the cemetery.

Pos. 2 – bench/lounger-wicker for sun and air baths. There is no pressure anywhere, the body breathes from all sides. The base is made from an old Soviet folding bed, so even a child can rearrange it much more conveniently. The supporting frame, instead of the now expensive aluminum, can be assembled from propylene water pipes.

A functionally and aesthetically complete garden bench, pos. 3 is collected on the basis of worn-out parts of agricultural machinery and vehicles. The latter, however, is not necessary: ​​instead of leaf springs, the same steel strip or corner will be used.

About transforming benches

Transformable furniture saves a lot usable area. In a city apartment this advantage can be decisive. Unfortunately, it is the only one: transformable furniture is more complex, more expensive, serves less functionally than conventional furniture and requires additional user operations when converting to another use case.

“Transfurniture” probably came to the garden/dacha only under the influence of fashion. A transforming garden bench is most often either a paired bench or a lounger that can be folded out from a table with benches, see fig. However, it is still more pleasant to bask in the sun on something soft, like the wicker described above. And if the transformer is a double bench, then it’s a garden bench, not a park bench. It is not customary to sit with your back to each other between relatives, friends and acquaintances.

There is one more circumstance: there is many times more dust and climatic influences outside than at home. therefore, if, say, a transforming apartment table, with careful use, will last 7-10 years, then a garden table will last 3-5 years, especially with wooden hinges.

In general, transformable garden furniture is not for everyone. If you want to practice mechanics and kinematics, it’s your choice. But in reality it will be easier and more useful to think through the layout of the site so that everything you need fits there separately.

Benches indoors

A bench as a piece of furniture is absolutely necessary in a bathhouse: it’s where they change clothes, take a break from the gang, relax after steaming, drink tea with linden blossom, dried raspberries or blueberries. Very useful, by the way. But grabbing something cold after something cold or eating something strong is a perversion that is fatal to your health.

But for the bench, the bathhouse is not a pleasure, but hard labor: every now and then there is dampness, the temperature can jump from –30 to +60 in 2-3 hours. Therefore, firstly, wood for a bath bench is required to be resistant to rotting, but without resins, tannins, salicylates, aromatic compounds and other natural chemicals. And it should only be treated with biocides made from purified mineral oils or silicone-based. Steamed skin is sensitive to substances that are harmless to it under normal conditions, and when sweat is reabsorbed, unwanted “additives” penetrate the body.

Secondly, in a small bathhouse, where the beds won’t fit, they steam on a bench. What kind of steam is this if there is a squishing under your stomach? Therefore, the bench in the steam room is made in the form of a lounger with gaps or a grid of small slats, see fig. But even in this case, wood is required to be porous, easily absorb moisture and just as easily release it into the air.

Thirdly, the sauna bench should not contain metal parts that could be accidentally touched. The thermal conductivity of metal is high, which means it gives off heat easily. A piece of wood heated to +80 can be touched without fear, but a piece of iron at +60 (which is normal for a bathhouse) will cause a burn.

The best bath benches are made from Asian poplar tugraq. An almost complete replacement is aspen or black alder. Linden and birch are much worse; they rot easily. Silver poplar, sycamore, horse chestnut or, in southern regions, ailanthus. All these types of wood in a bathhouse will not become slippery only if the bench dries well, for which purpose there should be no gaps in the structure that can retain moisture for a long time. And it is desirable to have the entire product easily disassembled for maintenance and, if necessary, replacement of unusable parts.

Branded shops do not meet the latter conditions and are expensive, because... made from special types of tropical wood. And a homemade bench for a bathhouse can be made no worse than a “company”, at least according to the drawing in Fig. With the thickness of the seat/lounger boards being 50 mm, its length can be increased to 2 m to allow you to steam while lying at your full height. Then the width is needed from 60 cm; it is obtained by adding a board and a pair of its heels with legs. The red arrows show the oak pads of the legs; they greatly increase their resistance to rotting.

Not only for the bath

In addition to the bathhouse, benches, as mentioned at the beginning, are also returning to living quarters. And not only in studio apartments: in country house or in the kitchen, a bench will save a lot of space. Don’t be surprised, a bench under the wall, equivalent to a pair of chairs there, saves about 0.5 square meters. m area. And this is a small stove or corner fireplace, plus you can sleep on the bench. Of course, the appearance of a home bench should be more elegant, and it is assembled “in a furniture style”, from wood on dowels or from laminated chipboard on confirmations. A technologically simple version of a home bench for two riders is shown in Fig. It will also fit into a city kitchen if there is no room for a soft corner.

Note: in Fig. on the right are options for making the well-known household mini-bench from available scraps. Height – at the knees; seat dimensions - according to your own fifth point.

Anything from

Antique

Here we will talk about benches made from scrap materials. Since the log bench is perhaps its oldest variety, we are looking for logs of suitable thickness, from 200 mm. Because independent logging is prohibited by law (although it is practiced in some places) and does not benefit nature; we pay attention primarily to dry fallen trees (easier to process) or unusable trees cut down in the garden. Crooked, knotty - so much the better; visible roughness only gives the log bench more rustic charm, see fig.

Next, you should turn the log into a bench. Here you can find instructions like: “Accurately (carefully) saw the log lengthwise.” Without a sawmill with a centering and feeding mechanism? Advisers of this kind have a clearly vague understanding of wood processing. In fact, it is possible to make a bench from a log at home in 2 ways.

The first produces a large waste of material, so it is only suitable if there is an excess of it, but it is accessible to any amateur, and you can work with a regular cross-cut saw, even a hand-held one. For those who don't know: wood is cut along the grain with special rip saws. So, first we make cuts on the log to the required depth more often, pos. 1 in Fig., and break out the pieces with a crowbar (this is by no means just a thief’s tool), a nail puller or a pry bar. They just jump out of dry dead wood, but on damp wood you will have to sweat over the first ones, and remove the others with a chainsaw, it will cut along, pos. 2.

Next, we first remove the remaining chips with an ax and chisel, pos. 3, and then rough out the surfaces with a planer. The product is cleaned using a grinder, pos. 4, or just use sandpaper by hand. In this way, a solid log bench is obtained. It is up to you to debark the sides or leave it as is, and biocidal treatment, staining and varnishing are the same as for any wood outdoors. Slightly rotten dead wood (with dark spots) will first have to be treated with a wood restorer (brightener).

For the second method, you only need a chainsaw, because... she saws both along and across. It requires a steady eye, a steady hand and a strong grip, but the result is a full-fledged bench with a backrest, as in fig. higher, with virtually no waste. Technological process in this case it is elementary, and the bench is completely ready for sitting 2-3 hours after starting the saw, see video:

Video: log bench without nails

Rough, but fast and easy

Summer residents and developers, as a rule, do not immediately think about benches. And they soon realize that it’s in vain: you can’t rest or eat properly on bricks, a box or a random log. If by this time the first pallet from under the brick has been released, then it will fit just right on the bench, which can be built within an hour.

Benches from pallets can also be made in two ways. According to the first, a standard 110x80 cm pallet is cut into 2 unequal parts, on the left in the figure, which will go to the seat and back. Simple and fast, but the side braces and legs, right there, require additional lumber, or you need to remove the board from the seat with the backrest, and an uncomfortable gap forms under what they are sitting on.

The second method requires extra work for disassembling the pallet, see below, but it allows you not to touch the boards prepared for construction and the bench is more convenient, because its back turns out to be inclined. The first cut is made across the top side of the pallet, where there are more boards, pos. 1 in Fig. The next one is across the bottom side (red line in position 2), but on the opposite side of the middle bosses from the top (shown by the red arrow).

Next, the part with 2 rows of bosses is disassembled, as shown in pos. 3. The bosses of the upper shield are inserted into the openings of the rest, pos. 4, for which they will have to be pulled apart with a crowbar or a pry bar (double-sided arrows in the same place), and fastened with nails or self-tapping screws, as shown in pos. 5. Residues visible in pos. 4, will go on legs, pos. 6.

How to disassemble pallets

The pallets are assembled on nails with their heads recessed, and the nails sit in them very firmly, especially those that have rusted in pallets that have been in use for a long time. If you disassemble them as usual, then one or several boards will definitely crack. Therefore, the board to be removed is first carefully lifted a little; It’s more convenient to do this with an axe, because it provides a large support area. Then the same board is put in place and the nails are pulled out by the exposed heads using a nail puller or pliers.

Simple and economical

Construction pallets are made from high-quality wood, which can subsequently find a variety of uses; at least for building a shed or building a shelving unit. If you are going to disassemble the pallet, then it is advisable to use less wood from it on the bench. A simple bench, which will require barely half the boards of the pallet, and all the bars will remain for better use, is shown in Fig. on right. Its backrest is somewhat flatter than ergonomics require, due to the smaller width of the seat; This makes this bench quite comfortable.

A little about technology

Bolted joints are often used in garden furniture. If it is one-piece and not hinged, it is better to hide the heads of the bolts with washers and the nuts with them. The first is for the sake of aesthetics, and the second so as not to get scratched.

For hidden connections of wooden parts with bolts, you will also need twist drill on wood still feather, on the left in the figure. Use a pen to select holes for the head and nut. After assembly, the remainder of the threaded body of the bolt is cut off with a grinder and the connection is tightened again, because when pruned it weakens. Then the holes are filled with wood putty; You can thickly mix the sawdust with Express glue (liquid nails) or PVA for wood. Not office grade PVA for paper!

As for the hinge joints, steel clips must be inserted into the bolt holes in both parts being connected; their diameter must be taken into account when drilling. Without clips, the bolt will quickly break the wood and the hinge will wobble haphazardly.

Bolt clips can be rolled from sheet metal or galvanized steel. In this case, 2-3 drops are added to them twice a year, at the beginning and end of the season. motor oil. If it does rust and seize, brake fluid will help out, the same 2-3 drops. The rust disintegrates from it and the hinge “releases” almost instantly. After the “brake” it is dripped with oil again.

The manufacture of garden furniture also requires tongue-and-groove connections, on dowels and dowels (through round wooden bosses). In this case, firstly, the wooden fasteners are made from the same wood as the parts being connected. For outdoor use, some strength must be sacrificed in order to ensure that the temperature coefficients of expansion, moisture capacity, swelling and drying of the wood of the entire assembly are the same. Otherwise, the connection will quickly become loose.

Secondly, it is very, very desirable to make joints of “open sky furniture” with wedging, see fig. on right. Wedges are cut from hard, durable wood: oak, walnut, boxwood, dogwood. Their thickness is 2-2.5 mm, but not narrower, because... the achievable accuracy of the wood-to-wood connection is plus or minus 1 mm.

An important condition: the wedges must be oriented across the fibers of the attached part, otherwise it may split during landing and subsequently the connection will fall apart. If perpendicular (crosswise) parts are connected, then the wedges in the dowel (dowel) should be oriented at 90 degrees relative to each other. Otherwise, the production of country and garden furniture does not contain anything that would not be subject to ordinary working ingenuity.

Appendix: how to take grid dimensions

Let's look again at the drawing of a paired “romantic-philosophical” bench. How to calculate missing dimensions? First of all, we visually determine the type of oblique projection; in this case it is isometry, so both oblique axes are equal.

Then we take a longer part, for which the linear size is indicated; in this case, it is a drawer with a length of 1350. According to the drawing, using the Pythagorean theorem, we determine its length in fractions of the grid pitch. Relating it to the known linear size, we get the scale factor. If the projection is arbitrary, then you will need to calculate 2 scales based on 2 parts, for each of the oblique axes.

Next, quite painstaking work begins: we determine the missing dimensions from the drawing in fractions of the grid pitch and multiply by the scale. For each pair of parts to be joined, we check the fit, taking into account that the accuracy for wood is 1 mm. If, for example, the tenon turns out to be thicker than the groove associated with it, it’s clear that it won’t fit, you need to look for where the error crept in. If it is already more than 2 mm, this is also not good, it will wobble and the error will begin to accumulate in the calculations. And if the tenon fits into the groove with a gap of 0-2 mm, everything is tip-top, calculated perfectly.