Custom Deck Bench and Railing

[Tim E Daniels]

I don't have a deck, but if I did, I would love to have deck benches and railings.  There are several brackets to do this easily, but they get pretty expensive.  I started looking for inspiration and saw this picture on another site.

It looked very much like a knock down sawhorse.  So I got designing.

What I came up with uses 1 2x6x8 or 2x4x8 (as shown) for each "sawhorse" they mount upside down sitting on the deck joist.  They have a 13 degree recline,  17" seating height, and 36" railing height.  They can be planked with 2x4s or 2x6s (as shown).  All of the planks are attached from the rear with pocket holes.  Notch out the bottom 3/4" on each side for mounting over a single joist.  The cross braces would be bolted on.  Add the bottom brace after you add your decking.  The handrail and the rail under the seat I took 13 degrees of wood off the edge to make sure they can be attached to the adjoining rails.

Hopefully someone can make use of these.

[Tim E Daniels]

it kind of reminds me of this http://consumerist.com/2010/07/how-a-police-barricade-becomes-a-diy...

[KregRep]

Great project idea, Tim. Thanks for sharing! Excellent.

[Barry Jewer]

Thanks Tim, I have been looking for something like this for quite a while. I also think the premades are too expensive. The fact that only one board is used for each bracket is awesome. Your efforts are appreciated!

[Tim E Daniels]

Let me know how it comes out!

[Robert Showalter]

does anyone have the angle of the cuts?

[Tim E Daniels]

I think it should be 13 degree angles from the description... so maybe 13, 103, and 87 degree cuts.  If I'm thinking that through correctly.

[Matt McKeown]

Hello Tim,

I am about to build some of these great benches. Can you tell me the length of each of the end pieces in order to determine where to start the measurements for cutting? I'm talking about the cross brace, bottom brace, and the rail under the seat (as you describe them in the diagram.

What really impresses me the most is the great use of a single 8' board. Other than the notch, you use the entire board! Very nice.

Matt

Tim E Daniels said:

I think it should be 13 degree angles from the description... so maybe 13, 103, and 87 degree cuts.  If I'm thinking that through correctly.

[Matt McKeown]

OK I built this in Sketchup to find the lengths myself ;)

Matt McKeown said:

Hello Tim,

I am about to build some of these great benches. Can you tell me the length of each of the end pieces in order to determine where to start the measurements for cutting? I'm talking about the cross brace, bottom brace, and the rail under the seat (as you describe them in the diagram.

What really impresses me the most is the great use of a single 8' board. Other than the notch, you use the entire board! Very nice.

Matt

Tim E Daniels said:

I think it should be 13 degree angles from the description... so maybe 13, 103, and 87 degree cuts.  If I'm thinking that through correctly.

[Tim E Daniels]

I haven't built them, were you going to build them with 2x4 or 2x6 stock?  Might take a look at http://www.2x4basics.com/gallery.asp?area=Other-Products to see how other people designed their decks with a similar bench design.  Some of the transitions used are nice, or the clipped corners of some of the decks.

[Matt McKeown]

Thanks Tim; that's a great gallery. I did some plans for 2x4.

Tim E Daniels said:

I haven't built them, were you going to build them with 2x4 or 2x6 stock?  Might take a look at http://www.2x4basics.com/gallery.asp?area=Other-Products to see how other people designed their decks with a similar bench design.  Some of the transitions used are nice, or the clipped corners of some of the decks.

[Dan Terpstra]

Matt -

Would you be willing to share your Sketchup files?

I'm thinking about doing a variation of this in 2x6 for a pre-existing deck.

Thanks!

Matt McKeown said:

OK I built this in Sketchup to find the lengths myself ;)

[Matt McKeown]

Let me see if I still have them. I ended up making benches and adirondack chairs from ana-white.com.