Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Cafe Benches: Built to Last

The past two weekends I've spent building a set of benches for the soon-to-be open coffee-shop cafe section of The Pillar Lounge. These benches are to run on the side of the cafe opposite the large concrete sales counter I created over a year ago.

When planning out the 16' long bench (2 benches @ 8' each), I was considering how to build it on multiple levels.
  1. Build it cost efficiently - tight budget and schedule
  2. Make it look good - timeless and clean
  3. Make it durable - daily usage and beatings
  4. Build it sustainably - be conscious of materials and waste.
After some improv planning and brainstorming at the Home Depot, my materials list looked as such:
  • Two sheets of 4'x8' 5/8" thick oak pre-finished plywood ($40 each)
  • Fourteen 8' long 2"x4"s ($2.25 each)
  • Two oak 6"x1"x8' planks ($20 each)
  • 1lb of 2.5" multipurpose screws (just the right amount) ($4)
  • 1lb of 2" trim nails (way too many) ($4)
  • 1 tube of liquid nails ($2)
  • 1 quart of dark stain. ($6)
  • 25' Electrical wire, 4 outlets, 4 boxes and covers ($30)
  • Total cost = $197.50 + tax
The bench is comprised of a 2x4 frame, spaced every 16" to distribute the weight. Seven frames were used for each bench, each shaped like the a lowercase "b". Measurements were made so that each 2x4 was used with only a few inches scrap. I worked with a 10˚ angle on the cuts so the backing and kickboard would be more comfortable. The kickboard, seat, and back are all cut from one piece of ply with exactly no scrap left over. (15 1/2" kickboard, 16 1/4" seat, 16 1/2" back, allowing for 1/8" cuts from saw blade). The oak planks were fastened to the top to make a narrow sill.

Because we are covering two outlets, I decided to bring the power out to the kickboard for customers using laptops or chargers. In doing so, we wired plugs to tie into the existing power so that if the benches are moved in the future, we simply unplug and go.



The benches are simple, sturdy, and beautiful - a perfect addition to what is going to be a lively and creative coffee shop. I believe they will welcome many years of abuse. Thanks for looking!
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7 comments:

  1. belliboneJuly 18, 2011 at 10:07 AM

    hey, thanks for this post, its great. just one question, how did you finish off the ends? with ply or what?

    ReplyDelete
  2. David RossJuly 18, 2011 at 10:42 AM

    Hi Bellibone, thanks for stopping by. The bench design above didn't account for a side. You can see for the two benches above I only needed one side panel. For this, I used a piece of ply that was lying around and cut to fit, stained it to match. Even through it was a different type of wood, the dark stain hid that pretty well.

    One thing I should mention, the framework at the ends, they are inset 3/4" of an inch. That way if the benches are put together, like they are here, a few 2x4 scraps will be used as a brace between the two. Also, this allowed me to place the 5/8" ply on the end and still had a 1/8" overhang.

    Hope this helps you in your own bench project!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2011 at 11:32 AM

    question, how did you tie into the electricity on your wall into your bench? I see the wiring on the picture but what was the connection from the bench wiring to wall plug?

    Jared

    ReplyDelete
  4. David RossSeptember 8, 2011 at 11:52 AM

    Jared, In the second photo you can see wire coming out of the box and out to the bottom right. I left about 6' of slack and then attached a grounded NEMA 5-15 straight plug.(8$ Home Depot) Now it can be plugged into existing receptacles on the wall. Thanks for your question I hope this post helped!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2011 at 2:36 PM

    awesome, we are building one based off your specs for a youth room hang out area this weekend, but modifying it to fit our 22' wall with one receptacle. thanks for your help!

    Jared

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2013 at 9:22 PM

    WHERE ARE YOU FROM

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousAugust 10, 2024 at 5:15 AM

    Cool and that i have a swell give: When To Renovate House house renovation credit

    ReplyDelete

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