Hi there~

I can't answer for sure on this one, I'll be looking to see what others who have actually tried it have to say, but I would say that if you used exterior paint and/or shellac or varnish, your bench should hold up as well as any other wooden seating does. Post your pictures! I love seeing what others are doing! :-)

So many others on this forum have advised to type what you are looking for in the search box at the top of page. I have done so many times and have come up with tons of posts. Give it a try. Good luck.

Kathy

If you use indoor furniture outside, it's good to redo all the places where one piece meets another, as the old glue will fail quickly. If you can get the joints apart easily, re glue them with exterior wood glue. If the joints are re glued or not, add corner brackets at every joint, or straight brackets where straight pieces come together, or hold some pieces together by drilling pilot holes and adding screws to secure them. Any reinforcement will help.

Fill holes with exterior paintable caulking (not epoxy, which can't be painted). I use window and door exterior painter's caulking, I think Alex brand. Put a good frame under the seat boards. We make them from 2x4s, with a couple of boards that run back to front on the bench to support the seat. Don't use pressed board or MDF for any part of it, as any moisture will ruin it.

Someone on this forum suggested to use car undercoating from the car parts store to seal things. I tried it and really like it. It's 5 bucks a can and one can would do a bench. It's black, but can be painted (be sure the brand you buy is paintable), and sticks well to wood or metal. It says it can be painted over in a very short time, but that hasn't been my experience. I let it dry about 2 days before painting. Use undercoat on the entire bench, even underneath. Whether you use the undercoat or not, prime (I like Zinsser Bullseye primer) and paint it with exterior paint products. Use a few coats of paint. It shouldn't need any further sealing. If you don't have any exterior house paint laying around, check at Habitat Restore, or the mis mix paint section at HD. The prices are great at both.

Don't let the legs sit in water. Little metal 'feet' or pieces of old tires or bricks can be fastened to or put under the legs to keep them dry. Hope this L O N G post helps. Have fun.

Don't know there are no spaces appearing after commas and periods. Linda

Thanks for the info, Linda! I was wondering how people went about making the bed/benches too!

Thanks, Linda. It will be awhile before this project happens. Right now we're just trying to get the new yard landscaped. We're old and tired so it's a slow process. I haven't approached DH with the bed/bench idea yet, but he likes benches so I'm hoping he'll be game.