I needed a bench. I had some scraps. I now have a bench. Super simple build for some pleasant outdoor reading!
I’ve been thinking about this one for a while. I like to sit outside with the dogs and play fetch and such, but the porch is a little too low for me to sit on comfortably. I had a bunch of treated scraps left over from my fence build, so I decided to build!
wereI started with a few short 4″x4″s that I trimmed to equal length and then cut stretchers out of a leftover fence panel. I did this without any plans, so I just used what I had. It came out about 25″ by 17″ or so and luckily fit the space on the patio perfectly!
Stretchers were secured with coated deck screws to keep them rust free. I had a few splits because I didn’t pre-drill the thin slats, but that’s okay. It’s a patio bench… to sit with my dogs. I’m not presenting it to the queen.
At some point, while putting these stretchers on, I quickly realized the fatal flaw with my design. There was no way to attach the seat! These slats come about 5/8″ and I wasn’t going to run drywall screws into them. There’s no way that would hold.
The solution I came up with was to resaw another leftover 4″x4″ to use to secure the top seat. I think this added quite a bit of strength also. 
The slats were all screwed down only into the makeshift 2″x4″s and I gave the top a 1/4″ roundover and a good sanding to minimize splinters. I didn’t go crazy here. It’s not fancy at all.
I’m pretty happy with the result, and the dogs love having me sit out there with them.
