How to Easily Build a Bench With Patio Blocks
Garden benches come in all shapes and sizes and a wide array of styles. Many are available from furniture stores and garden suppliers to fit almost any decor or pocketbook. If you are handy with tools or would just like to make a few rustic benches for low cost, consider making this quick and easy garden bench from patio blocks and a couple of boards. With a handful of simple tools, you can build a serviceable bench in about 20 minutes. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shovel or hoe
- 12 to 14 patio blocks, 16 inches square
- 2 boards (2 inches by 8 inches by 8 feet)
- Spirit level
- Saw
- Pencil
- Carpenter's square
- 8 deck screws (2 1/2 inches long; Phillips head)
- Drill with Phillips-head screwdriver bit
- Screwdriver (alternatively)
Instructions
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1
Decide the location for your bench -- it will not be easily portable so make sure you choose the site before you start building. Clear debris or other obstacles over a space approximately 2 feet wide by 7 feet long.
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2
Use a shovel or hoe to level any high spots within the cleared space, if the bench will sit directly on the ground. (Skip to Step 5, if placing the bench on a paved surface.)
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3
Stack four patio blocks experimentally, in the desired finished position for the bench (two each, spaced 78 inches apart as measured from the outside edges of each stack). Place a board across the two stacks and check the level using a spirit level. (If level, remove the board and proceed to Step 5.)
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4
Mark the position of the blocks by scribing a line around each bottom block with a nail, screwdriver or other slender sharp object (if the board was not level when checked). Remove the board and blocks and scrape away more soil from the high points. Restack the blocks in the same positions (using the outlines you drew around the blocks before removing them) and recheck the level. Continue in this way until everything is perfectly level.
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5
Stack 6 or 7 patio blocks carefully -- keeping all edges aligned -- in each of the two positions (78 inches apart measured from outside edge to outside edge).
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6
Measure and cut one 18-inch-long piece off each of the two 2-inch-by-8-inch-by-8-foot-long boards.
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7
Lay the two long pieces of board on a flat surface, spacing them so that they measure 18 inches across from the outside edge of one to the outside edge of the other. This leaves a 1/2-inch space between the boards to help drain rain away from the surface. Use a pencil and carpenter's square to mark a line across each end of each board, 3 inches in from the ends. There should be 72 inches, or 6 feet, between marks.
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8
Position the two shorter boards on top of the longer boards (maintaining the correct 1/2-inch spacing between the long boards) and aligned to the INSIDE of the penciled marks. (The short boards should lie across the long boards exactly 3 inches from each end.) Fasten the short boards to the long boards using two deck screws inserted through each end of the shorter boards. This is the bench top.
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9
Turn the bench top over and position one end on the top of each patio block stack to finish. Double check the level with the spirit level placed on the bench top. Adjust as necessary (as previously described).
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Tips & Warnings
Alternate colored patio pavers for an interestingly striped support for your bench, or use round pavers to make the supports.
