Outdoor Sun Loungers Wood Working Project!

4 Materials
$60
2 Hours
Easy

How I built simple outdoor sun loungers with changeable back rests for my deck. Way, way, WAAAAY back I was a little girl who spent the majority of every summer outside. I pretended I was Pocahontas! Now I am well away from those days lol I look more like Snow White these days but I remember my child hood in the sun very fondly and am always the last person to complain about any kind of summer heat. So, as you might imagine, I have had my heart set on an outdoor sun lounger project for my deck for a long time!

Last year I converted four goose hunting chairs into fun sun loungers out of table cloths and a little spray paint and they remain one of the most popular posts on this blog! I love them (I really do) but their “feet” would scratch up my deck something fierce and I really wanted something on my deck that could also double as benches for seating.

First thing was first, I needed materials so when I ran out to pick up green treated deck boards for my outdoor bench project I bought plenty extra with this project in mind as well. First I built the base which was just a rectangle with a leg in each corner. Simple.

The rectangle ended up 24 inches wide by 73 1/2 inches long, the odd length was the exact center point of my 12 foot 1×6 deck boards, no need to waste an inch so I just cut them in half. From there I covered 2/3rds of my rectangle with deck boards, spacing them out with small gaps between them. Then I tackled the “head” of the outdoor sun lounger. I wanted to be able to have it up for a supportive slant or laid flat so the whole lounger could also be a bench if I needed the extra seating.

I made the “head” by screwing down the exact same deck boards I had already cut to lay across the entire sun lounger to a support board I cut to the length of the head laid down vertically under the boards. You can see I put two screws in each board into the support board behind. Note here: I cut the support board short so it would not hit the rectangle frame when I laid it down, instead what would be sitting on the frame would be the main boards so, when the “head” is laid down, it won’t look different from rest of the lounger at all.

With the head built I then needed to figure out how to hold it up at a slant. I did this by creating a channel on the back of the head (near the top) and a “shelf” at the bottom top of the sun lounger base using scrap 2x4s. And then I got to lay on it several times trying to figure out the perfect “slant” for the support rest. It ended up 17 inches tall. Perfect!

Of course I made two of them  

Pushed together I have a four foot wide day bed. Of course my next project needed to be a table to set drinks on… seriously what would a sun lounger be without a place to put a drink!?

I may add hinges to the head rests in the future, it would make it easier to lift them and keep them centered. They are not necessary though and I’m going to see how they work before I go to the added expense.

Suggested materials:
  • Decking boards 1x6x12   (Lumber yard)
  • Deck screws   (Lumber yard)
  • Drill or Impact Driver   (Amazon)
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GrandmasHouseDIY
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  3 questions
  • Hank Wyllie Hank Wyllie on Oct 24, 2017

    Did you use "treated pine" which is or was treated with arsenic? If not, what did you use?

  • Bonnie Hilger Pelletier Bonnie Hilger Pelletier on Oct 25, 2017

    Looks great, but how many boards?

  • Dam13702895 Dam13702895 on Oct 29, 2017

    I love this idea. Can't wait to make some for my patio. How will you attach the hinges? I live in Florida and can use them year around.

    Thanks for the great idea

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