Newly Built Bench

I (with the help of a very handy wife) recently set about building a bench for my bonsai... I'm very proud of it and thought I'd share it with
others... I think, in the end, it turned out better than I expected. I made some modifications to the design as I went along, sacrificing speed for aesthetic value and sturdiness. For a cost, I haven't calculated exactly, but I'm estimating around US$300 for the wood, US$100 for hardware, and the labor was free, except for sore muscles.

The area essentially cleared...


Beginning work on the top tier...


Top tier complete and ready to be moved to the site...


End of day one. One of the modifications I made was to make the slats run front to back rather than along the length... this was a time intensive part and was the majority of the labor used to build the bench...

Second tier in place...


End of day two... second tier complete and third tier in place ready for the slats...


A more distant image to give you a better reference to size... It is 12 feet across, 5 ft high and roughly 6 ft in depth...


And the completed bench in place...


I chose, at this point, to not stain or paint... It's pressure treated wood, and I think I'll let it weather naturally... Thanks for looking!

Looks really nice!
I wish my girlfriend was a help like yours :p

Bonsai Kas wrote:Looks really nice!
I wish my girlfriend was a help like yours :p

Thanks! Yeah, she is amazing... I'm very lucky!

Very nice! I'm just finishing my benches up as well. You should put some sort of landscape fabric where you cleared the sod and then put a smooth type of stone down. I plan on doing that to give it that final bling Also did youe set the 4x4 in the ground with concreate or just in the dirt?

giga wrote:Very nice! I'm just finishing my benches up as well. You should put some sort of landscape fabric where you cleared the sod and then put a smooth type of stone down. I plan on doing that to give it that final bling Also did youe set the 4x4 in the ground with concreate or just in the dirt?

Good point! I haven't decided what to put under the bench... smaller pebble (river rock), larger stones or simply mulch it (which would be cheapest). The 4x4s are not cemented in... the bench is very wide at 12 ft and very, very heavy. I have no worry of it tipping or even rocking in place. I braced the back with 45 degree mitred pieces to add stability.

without setting them in concreate you might get some settling over time and make the bench uneven-that what I was reffering too, but then again maybe I'm just over thinking things lol. A grey smooth river rock looks really nice. I'm not much of a multch person myself.

giga wrote:without setting them in concreate you might get some settling over time

The optical illusion is that it is already off-level... as my back yard slopes. I decided to keep it level with the building it is up against. The settling is a concern to keep in mind, lessened by the heavy clay (and stone) it resides on...

I see one issue with the bench.................Where are the bonsai's?

giga wrote:I see one issue with the bench.................Where are the bonsai's?

One of the reason's to build the bench was to motivate me to begin placing some in proper pots, which was difficult to rationalize when they have been sitting in tupperware containers (and the like) for years on the ground (not a great thing for the trees to begin with and I think they have suffered as a result). I will post what it looks like with some trees in training soon

With some trees in training....

I only have like 10 bonsai but I hope mine look like that soon!

Congratulations on a lovely bench! Its amazing how fast the benches fill up

Todd Ellis wrote:Congratulations on a lovely bench! Its amazing how fast the benches fill up

True, true... This is just the stuff that was movable... most of the trees collected in the last 2 years are still on the ground...

Very nice looking bench. It should weather very nicely. Good move placing the slats back to front instead of lengthwise.

rickyricardo wrote:Very nice looking bench. It should weather very nicely. Good move placing the slats back to front instead of lengthwise.

I agree, in the end, it was the best choice, yet, doing it lengthwise would have saved about a day's labor and at least US$125... then again, this hobby is a 'labor of love' to begin with!

Hi All,

Nice bench - looks very professional!
I finally decided on the place I'm going (allowed) to build my bench. As you can see there is a small obstruction which needs removing first.




Shouldn't take long to dig out.......

Why don't you simply level off the top and incorporate it into your table system? Looks like it would last for a while. Digging a big stump is awfully like WORK.

I did think about that but its an ugly old thing, not exactly at the right height (and full of nails & rocks so difficult to lower) and keeps throwing out shoots from everywhere. And I like a challenge.

@Jason.P - In your avatar your wearing the right gear haha:) maybe you know someone with a 'stump grinder'???

Hi Dangerous,

I actually work for a firm that has a stump grinder but the stump needs to be on flat ground for it to work and this monster was on an old hedge bank and is too high. It'll have to be blood sweat and beers over the next few weekends I think.

Cheers
Jace

I'm getting there!

Hmmm... cut the roots, trench, fill with good soil, collect next year for bonsai training

er...anybody know a good potter?

Hello
Very beautiful building but in fact I was just asking a question.
During heavy rain, the water will go down on the roof of the shelter is she does not sink so fast it may damage the substrate trees?
Just a note to avoid unnecessary damage.
Beautiful bench

Numa