Outdoor benches are an excellent way to enhance a garden, create additional seating in a backyard, or add a quiet resting spot on a lazy afternoon. With outdoor benches, you will find a huge selection of materials to include stone, wood, concrete, brick, and more. When choosing a bench, you need to consider the material. For instance, choosing a garden bench made from granite, marble, stone, or concrete could be uncomfortable so you want to add cushions. Then, some types of wood do better outdoors such as teak, redwood, beech, birch, cherry, ash, maple, oak, mahogany, poplar, walnut, pecan, and cedar, which are all great choices. However, pine is too soft, meaning it will not handle outdoor elements well.
Since wood outdoor benches are the most popular, we will address those. Wood is easy to work with, offers a warm and inviting appearance, and is very durable. Depending on the design of the outdoor bench, it may or may not be made with a combination of solid wood and veneer. Regardless of the type of wood being used, the quality of construction is crucial. Remember that an outdoor bench needs to be made using the best joint method possible to make it stable and sturdy.
For the joints, manufacturers use a number of methods. The tongue and groove method is very popular in that it looks nice while providing the needed stability. Another method is called mortise and tenon, which involves a socket and two pieces of projecting wood. Other options for the joints include a doweled joint where a wood pin fits tightly into a drilled out hole, rabbeted and butted joint that has two pieces of wood placed at angles, glued, and stapled, bolted or corner blocked, and the least expensive is with stapling, which will wear down over time.
Next, you want to choose a wooden outdoor bench based on stability and sturdiness. Since various people will be sitting on the furniture, you need something that will accommodate. To ensure sturdiness, make sure the bench meets certain criteria. If the bench has a back, the outside posts or rungs on either side should go all the way through the bench seat to the underside, thus making the posts and rungs less likely to break. The legs of the outdoor bench should be solid and large enough to handle weight.
One way to tell if the bench is not sturdy enough is to sit on it. If you hear a creaking noise, then be concerned. While sitting, move your weight back and forth a little to see if the bench feels wobbly. You can also do a push/pull test with your hands, pressing on the bench’s legs to see if they feel solid or loose. Most manufacturers will provide specifications on the various types of outdoor benches so you will know exactly the weight limitations, type of wood used, joint process, and so on. Use this information to your advantage when selecting an outdoor bench so you end up with the option best for you.