Suidh Sìos!

So when you want to sit down, you need something to sit down on. Easy enough indoors, plenty of options. Not so much outdoors though... But how to solve this problem without spending any money? That is the challenge!... Then I remember I had an old ikea shelf unit in the parents loft that hadn't been used in 10+ years and a plan began to formulate...

This will be more of a how to guide than a blog, but if even one person takes on the idea and possibly even improves on it, then I'll be happy! :)

Step 1: Work out what height you want your bench to be and screw in the shelf as if you were building up a normal shelf unit.

From left to right: Step 1, step 2 & step 3.

Step 2: If you only have two shelves to play with like I did... Locate some two by two or similar and cut two pieces to the same length as the two pieces of wood at either end of a shelf. Drill a hole in either end suitable for the screws that come with the shelf unit or similar if you don't have these (I for some reason had enough screws for four shelves but only two shelves... I think the other two are in the loft somewhere still...).
If you are lucky enough to have a third shelf then take it apart as described in step 4 and use the two end piece. Then decide what height you want your arm rests to be, screw the pieces in place and saw off the front two pieces flush with your arm rests. See second picture.

Note: If a member of your family is helping you, do not leave them unsupervised whilst you go off to find some sandpaper, otherwise you might come back to find them sawing the back bit off instead of the front bit and end up having to swap the bits round...

Step 3: If you don't have a third shelf locate some wood similar in shape and size to the planks of wood used on the shelves. If you do have a third shelf then use two of the planks from the shelf you've just dismantled. These pieces of wood will finish your arm rests. Place the plank on top of the arm rest and decide how far you would like it to over hang and mark with a pencil. Mine was about two inches. Draw a straight line with the back of your saw and cut to size. You could nail the pieces in place, but I chose to screw them in place. See third picture above.

Of course there's always one stubborn nail...

Note: Remember to sand down any rough edges, in particular those that will have plenty of human contact such as the top of the arm rests.

Step 4: Take your second shelf and dismantle as shown above. The planks of wood are nailed in, so it's easy enough done with the likes of a chisel, the reverse end of a hammer and a bit of gentle persuasion...

The Bodach comes in useful sometimes...

 Step 5: Take the three planks and place on the back of the bench and decide where you would like them to be. I went for option two as I felt the back would be too high in option one and I wasn't sure about having such a large gap in the back... Now place the bench on it's back and nail the planks in place.

My nails are on the left, the bodach's are on the right, no competition!...

Step 6: Take the two end pieces of your dismantled shelf and screw them in on either side anywhere below the seat of the bench for extra support. I didn't take a picture of this, but you can see the additional lower supports in the pictures below.

Step 7: Now that the back is on you need to saw off the excess, preferably at a slight angle slopping down and away from the back of the seat.

It looks complete, but we're not quite there yet...

Although your basic bench is now complete, it doesn't have much depth and is therefore not as comfortable as it could be. So we need to add an additional plank on the front.

Step 8: For this you'll need either the third plank from the third shelf or in my case, one on the pieces cut off from the arm rests cut to the same length as the shelf planks. Decide which side is up and cut the front corners off at an angle to round off the edges.

Step 9: You then need three pieces, cut from the excess wood from the back, that will be screwed underneath to give extra support to the seat. At this point it would be useful to place your bench upside down to screw the supports in place. See the first picture below.

I forgot to mention, if your shelf came with one of those metal cross supports, you might as well use it...

Step 10: You now need the second piece of excess wood cut from the arm rest to act as a brace across the front of the seat. Cut to size and and screw in place. See second picture above.

The bodach just couldn't help himself...

 Step 11: Turn it the right way up and test it! As you can see, it's a very generous seat for one, or ideal for two little people...

Undercoat seems to be salmon coloured...

Step 12: This wood has not been treated for use outdoors, so you need to protect it. How you do that is entirely up to you. As I was on a mission to spend zero pennies I raided the shed and found a pot of exterior under coat for wood, with just enough to cover the bench, and a pot of exterior red gloss paint with just enough paint for one coat. It will need a second coat at some point but one coat will do for now...

New technique for drying a brush when you want to use it later that day...

 And the final product! Not bad for a days work! :)

Dèan Suidhe!