Garden furniture items are necessary to create a place to relax at your own discretion in your summer cottage. Photos of benches in the garden look attractive. Any craftsman can make such furniture himself.
First, you will need to decide on the choice of material for the future product and select a suitable design solution.
Wood for garden furniture
To make original benches for a summer residence, craftsmen often use wood. Wood is easy to process, the material looks noble, and installation does not take much time.
The main requirements are the absence of defects and good drying.
How to add personality to your garden plot
According to the classic, everything in a person should be beautiful. This also applies to everything that surrounds us. When creating comfort in your country house, don’t forget about your garden plot. A smooth lawn or flower beds serve as decoration for your garden, it doesn’t matter at all, the main thing is that there is a place where to sit and relax from the bustle of the city and household chores. A DIY garden bench is a great opportunity to add individuality to your summer cottage. Let's look at several interesting options for hand-made benches and figure out how to make some of them.
The simplicity of the design and the availability of materials allows even a novice craftsman to decide to create such an interior element. The best material for creating a garden bench is wood or stone. They will fit perfectly into the design of your garden plot and create a feeling of unity with nature. It is possible to create a bench from scrap materials. Surely a zealous owner will have a couple of outdated wooden chairs that can be put to use.
Whatever you decide to make a bench from, the first thing you will need in any case is a design project, and the necessary drawings and assembly diagram for it. Drawings of garden benches for every taste can be found on the Internet, but if you wish, you can develop them yourself; after all, we all received the initial skills of creating them in school, and the design of a bench is not so complicated.
In order for the bench to be comfortable, the following dimensions are recommended:
- height - about 40-50 cm;
- seat width - on average 55 cm;
- back height - 30-50 cm;
- the height of the armrests from the seat is 15-20 cm.
These are the dimensions that will allow you to sit comfortably on the bench.
Stone products
The naturalness of the material is its undeniable advantage; it attracts with its natural beauty. In finished products it looks luxurious and stylish.
Items made from natural stone are easy to make with your own hands. However, the material has not only advantages, but also disadvantages:
- Sitting on a cold stone is harmful to your health.
- Installation of the bench is carried out exclusively permanently.
Manufacturing and fitting the main parts of the bench
Making a garden bench with your own hands begins with preparing the main components:
- 1- front legs;
- 2 – hind legs, turning into the back;
- 7 and 4 – transverse beams;
- 6 – longitudinal beam;
- 3 – slats for the back and seat.
It is very important to avoid using wood that has any serious defects in its structure. Such as knots and others like that. Inclusions of this type reduce the strength of the bench, especially if it is located outdoors. A breakdown can occur at the most inopportune moment, leading to injury.
If for some reason you have to use material with defects, it is necessary to process the illicit area as much as possible using a grinding machine or plane.
All elements of a garden bench made of wood must be made strictly in accordance with the dimensions indicated on the drawings. A discrepancy of even a few millimeters will lead to the subsequent need to redo the entire structure; the parts of the garden bench will need to be aligned.
What about metal?
Metal benches are an excellent decoration for a recreation area. The cold forging method, like the hot forging method, allows you to create beautiful designs.
In addition, metal combines perfectly with glass or wood.
Bench with wooden back
A bench with a back is undoubtedly a more convenient option than a bench. And don’t think that making one yourself is more difficult. You can, for example, create a bench with a backrest with your own hands in an ethno style from a solid log.
For the seat of such a bench you just need to cut a log. The second part of the log can be used to make bench legs. These parts are connected to each other using metal pins.
First, holes are made in the fastening areas, the diameter of which is slightly less than the diameter of the pin. First, the pin is driven with a sledgehammer into one part to about half the height, then the second part is pushed on top.
Advice! Before hitting the material with a sledgehammer, place an unnecessary piece of board on top, this will prevent damage to the surface of the material.
The back of such a bench can be made from a log of smaller diameter. To fasten the backrest, you can use metal elements or, if not available, take wooden ones.
Don't forget to treat the wood with a protective antiseptic.
