Deck Furniture
At one point, we had to trash our cheap patio furniture, and the idea was to make some simple and inexpensive replacements. This page shows off most of the pieces that were built. Notice that there are still a lot of straight, simple cuts and simple round-over profiles.
Click on an Image to pop up a larger version.
Patio Chair Before Stain
This is a picture of one of the chairs before painting.
The natural wood looks nice, but since the chair is made from inexpensive untreated pine, the wood will not hold up very long outdoors. Even with exterior varnish, sun and weather can age the wood quickly. Therefore, it was decided to seal the wood and to use exterior caulk to waterproof the joints. After that, multiple coats of a well-reviewed and hopefully high-quality exterior paint were applied.
We'll see how long these last.
Patio Chairs
The concept was that we already had some lovely cushions, so we should build chairs designed to fit them. This photo shows the chairs with their cushions.
The chairs were made from construction-grade 2x4s, which kept costs low. The design was simple: build a left and right rectangle for the sides, then a rectangle for the seat bottom and another for the back. Each rectangle was constructed using straightforward lap joints; the seat bottom and back had cross supports for the cushions. Next, attach the sides to the seat bottom using support blocks and pocket screws. Finally, attach the back at a 10-15 degree angle.
End View of Patio Table
The construction philosophy of the table closely resembled that of the chairs. In this case, we repurposed the old tabletop made of black glass.
The table was built using a similar 2x4 rectangular construction as the chairs, as shown in the photo. The left and right rectangular sections were connected with pocket screws and 2x4s cut to match the width of the glass.
Side View of Patio Table
I added those 2x4s across the bottom at the end of the assembly. They were not part of the original plans, but this wood adds some strength and forms a shelf that might be useful in the future.
Deck Storage Box
It would have been easier to buy a plastic storage box, but instead, I built one. This outdoor storage box was designed to hold outdoor cushions and gardening supplies.
As shown in the photo, the box was painted white with multiple coats of exterior paint to protect it from the weather. It is made of cedar deck boards screwed onto a treated wood frame. Significant effort was made to waterproof the exterior. It will be interesting to see how long the box lasts before it needs refinishing.
Storage Box Open
With the lid open, one can observe the natural cedar interior and some of the 2x2 framing.