Tired Old Bench

Sandra Crosbie
by Sandra Crosbie
I bought this bench in my local supermarket 12 years ago.
The weather and the dampness of the area took its toll on the wood.
I was going to throw it out, but I decided to try to redo it myself.


I bought the wood for €6 can you believe that????


I wanted to do this completely on my own. But the rusty nuts and bolts had other ideas.
I got my hubby with his powerful angle grinder to cut the offending hardware off.


NOW it's all up to me. I got a new jigsaw for myself. Yay. I used the old wood for exact markings for size and holes ( for nuts and bolts )


I wasn't sure whether to paint or treat the wood.


I decided to use stain and varnish.
I used walnut stain and clear varnish. I let it dry inside my house because it just rained too much over the past few days. It was too cold at night so it wouldn't dry properly if I left it in the garage.
I painted the iron work with Rustoleum all surface gloss paint. Oh I really really love the coverage and finish of that paint.


Unfortunately a gust of wind took the card I had underneath the tin of paint and turned it upside down. NO!!!!! My favourite paint spreading out on my patio like a treacle river.
The side frame of the bench.
I was here on my own when I decided to put it back together, ( not a great idea ).


It's heavy and awkward trying to balance the wood and frame to bolt it up.


I did get a bit of help.....
One of my helpers. Not. Robbing the pencil.
I managed to get enough of a grip with the bolts to put the second side up. It was coming together.


I won't pretend it was all plain sailing from there, it wasn't. Trying to put the back part on was painful.
I finally got it on. After dancing back and forth for a good 10 minutes. I had it on its side, laying down, any position I could do to bolt it on.
Ta Dah!!!!!!
All done. I have put it back outside the front of my house. Hopeful it will last 12 more years.


There is another one of these benches on Home talk. Identical to this. Someone in Canada posted it yesterday, I think it was yesterday.


I'm amazed that both of these benches on different continents were revamped at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
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  3 questions
  • Rosemarie Prezioso Rosemarie Prezioso on May 13, 2016
    What kind of wood did you use?
  • Carol Claremont Carol Claremont on May 14, 2016
    We will be re-doing ours in a few weeks - it is only about 6 years old - bench is fine but wood is about done - we should have done something to protect it when it was new. I love the Rustoleum paint color - is it black or hammered?
  • Jannetta Norris Oliver Jannetta Norris Oliver on Jul 21, 2018

    Can you spray paint a child’s picnic table. The sun has faded it its made of plastic

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  • Marie R Marie R on May 15, 2016
    Looks great....well done!
  • Dobi Dobi on Sep 10, 2017

    we had an old glider that we had bought probably over twenty years ago, it weathered pretty good until just the last couple years. It was cedar, the wood has just rotted through. I had thought of fixing it, but didn't know when I would find the time.... my son has it and he redid it. all is not wasted! good job on yours! it looks fantastic! and I know that metal was heavy!

    • Sandra Crosbie Sandra Crosbie on Sep 10, 2017
      Thank you Dobi. That metal is quite heavy. I love fixing / making things. 👍
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