Pallet
90 x 45 Treated Pine
Bugle Batten Screws

Circular saw
Hammer
Impact Driver
Tape-measure

Find yourself a pallet. Many stores will give these away for free so don’t be afraid to ask. Here we have used a 1200mm x 1200xx pallet from Bayswater Timber Mitre 10.

Use a tape measure and mark 430mm from the top of the pallet on both sides and centre rail on the pallet. Remove the centre slat below your marking with a hammer, and don’t forget to remove the nails. 

Tip: If you remove the centre rail carefully it can be reused for the handrails.

Using your circular saw, cut both sides and the centre rail of the pallet. From here, we now have our backrest (shorter section) and our base (longer section). You will need four legs that will also double as handrail supports. We are using 90 x 45 treated pine at 550mm, but you can change the length depending on how high you want your bench seat to sit. 

Prop up the base, we have it on a slight angle. You can adjust this according to your preferences as you may want it to lean more. 

Keep the bench legs nice and square to the ground, screw the legs on with the bugle batten screws. On the back two legs screw into both the seat base and seat back to ensure stability and strength.

Using the centre slat that we removed earlier, cut to desired length for handrails; we went 10mm proud of the front leg. 

Predrill the holes in the handrail and use bugle battens to screw them into place.

Tip: if you need an additional slat, you can take one from the rear or underside of the bench.

There’s your outdoor bench.

Options for finish:

Option 1: add some cushions.

Option 2: sand and stain

Option 3: nail decking across for a smoother finish