DIY Galvanized Top Bench

I have been so enjoying really dressing up my porch this summer and creating some fun projects. This time, my crew and I made a DIY Galvanized Top Bench for our front porch. I have long wanted a bench to “just fit” this spot by our front door. And when you want something to “just fit”, DIY is usually the option. Ever since we made over our front porch last year, I have really enjoyed making it a truly welcoming area. This bench will be perfect for plants, decorations, and maybe even to take a seat from time to time. Usually, I am right in the mix of a DIY project, but for this one, hubby thought it would be the perfect chance to teach our girls some DIY skills. They are 11 and 13 and the perfect ages to teach them some basic skills and get them comfortable with simple power tools. Start ‘em young and they will just know it is “normal” to DIY something when you can’t find what you want. The measurements of our bench are 31.5”L x 12” D x 22” H. The beauty of this project is that you can you use the same principals to make a bench of any size, depending on your space.To start, cut 4 pieces to the same size and use a chopsaw to cut the angled bottoms. The angle doesn’t matter, they just all need to the same. When determining the height of your legs, be sure to consider the thickness of your top for your final measurement. Use a square to mark a straight line at the same point on each leg. This is where you will be adding a piece of trim for the bottom shelf. This piece of trim will also serve to connect the two sides of the legs together. Cut the length of your two top boards and use trim pieces to connect them as well. One at the center and one on each end. We choose to use our Kreg jig to attach the legs to the top, but you could also just use screws.mAttach your top to your sides through the underside and through the side trim pieces. Use your Kreg jig, or regular screws, to attach two boards to the leg trim pieces for your shelf. We choose to leave a little bit of space between the two boards. We choose to add trim pieces to the long front of the bench, drilling into each of the three trim pieces along the top board. I added a bit of stain on the bench so that it wasn’t raw wood and then coated it with a green chalk paint. You could stop here and it would be a lovely bench. But I did decide to add one more step. I picked up a piece of galvanized sheet metal from the plumbing department of Home Depot. They run just under $10. Now, this is the part where I admit I cheated a little bit. We had a friend over and he helped me bend the metal with a special tool he had. But, you can use this method to shape it around the bench. The trick to not having to use any glue or soldering is that we folded the edges under first before bending them to the shape of the bench. Then we used sheet metal screws to hold it in place. On the corners, we softly hammered it to smooth it out. I chose to just leave the metal un-sealed because I want it to get pitted and aged in the weather. This is in a covered space, but I figure one winter will have it perfect! And since she was unwilling to move, this seem to be the perfect time to introduce to the newest member of our family – Hannah! Also, the rest of my front porch decorating can be found here.. Thanks so much for reading!