Hi, I’m Jeff Patterson with Home Repair Tutor, and in this video I’m going to show
you how to build an awesome outdoor storage bench, like this one here. And the reason
why it’s so awesome is because it’s got a ton of storage in it. So whether you’ve
got to place toys in there or cushions for your outdoor seating, you’re covered.
So let me show you how to build this. It’s fantastic. Let’s get to it.
The reason I need the outdoor storage bench is for the cushions of our patio seats. So
I needed to remove all the cushions and then stack them to get the height that I need for
the storage bench, which I’m going to make out of this 2” x 4” sheet of ¾” plywood
and this 4” lumber. So the plywood, the actual length of it — what
I’m going to do is frame the plywood first. But the actual length is 477/8” wide. The
lumber is ¾” wide. The long piece of lumber that’s going to frame it is 493/8”, which
I’m marking off here and then going to cut with my circular saw.
Set your circular saw to about ¾” to accommodate the depth of the lumber. So cut the long pieces
of lumber first for the frame. And then measure for the short side of the lumber which, in
this case, is 23 7/8” wide. So cut the short pieces and then dry-fit all of them together
to see if they frame in the plywood, which they do here. Perfect.
Now use Outdoor Wood Screws for this project and Titebond III Wood Glue because it’s
waterproof and you can use it for exterior and interior projects.
So I predrilled holes into the lumber. Used my rafter square to make sure that it is perfectly
90° to the plywood. So I predrilled all the holes and then screwed that frame to the plywood.
And that gives you a nice base to work from, see?
We’re going to add castors to the storage bench because it’s huge and it’s going
to be heavy. You’ll need 4 coupling nuts. The coupling nuts screw into the castors like
so. Get the height of the castor plus the coupling nut to determine the height of the
skirt you’re going to add to the bottom of the frame you just built. In this case,
I’m just going to use another piece of lumber. Now measure in – I measured in about 3½”
from the side and the front – and make a mark. That’s where you’re going to position
the castor. Now I used a 2” screw because it would go through the piece of 2” x 4”
here and not through the plywood. So I attach-clamped and screwed in a piece of lumber. Then I used
a Speedbor bit to drill a hole into the 2” x 4”. And that’s where I’m going to
put the castors. We’re going to use the Kreg Jig R3 to create
pocket holes in our lumber. This is awesome because you can set the depth of the Kreg
Jig to the depth of your lumber, in this case, ¾” thick. You get a drill bit, which you
also need to set to the depth of your lumber – again, ¾” thick. Clamp the Kreg Jig
to your lumber, and then drill your pocket screws. We’re going to use pockets screws
to attach the skirt to the frame. In this case, I’m going to opt for coarse screws
because coarse screws need to be used for soft woods, and the wood that we’re using
is pine so it’s very soft. Attach the skirt to the frame using the coarse
jig screws. I still predrilled and screwed the face of the skirt around the frame. So
as you can see here, I’m predrilling and then I add this extra wood screws to the skirt.
The last thing I did in this step was pound these coupling nuts into place. So 4 coupling
nuts into the 2 pieces of 2” x 4”. Turn your storage bench over. Now what you’re
going to do is build up the sides. Again, add the short sides first, and then add the
long sides using the exact same methods that you used to build the skirt. So again, screw
in screws for the sides for the corners and then add pocket screws for all the interior
support. Screw in the castors to all 4 coupling nuts, and tighten them down using channel
locks. Oh, and look how cool this is! Castors are awesome, right? They’re going to allow
you to move the storage bench wherever you want.
So again, build up the sides using pocket screws on the interior and then screws, face-screwing
on the edges. Pretty simple. And what you end up with is a built-up storage bench where
you can put all your cushions. Last step you need to take is build a lid.
And what I did is I just built up the cabinet one more row that I needed, and then I removed
all the pocket screws. This will give you a perfectly square frame for the lid. Pretty
sweet, right? So now what you need to do is add some interior
support to it. I just simply added pocket screws to 2 slats – and sometimes it’s
easier to add the pocket screws to your wood, by the way – but I added the interior supports
then I drilled out pocket screws for all the long sides, added wood glue, and then screwed
the long pieces of lumber into place. Oh, I clamped it down to the interior supports,
added the pocket screws, and then I added some additional screws on the interior.
You can add 2 rope chains to the left and right side of the bench to support the lid
when it’s in the up position. Add your hinges to the back, a nice, handle, and you’ll
be all set. The last step I took was adding Flex Seal to the bottom of the lid to make
it water proof. All my cushions fit in there, nice and easy. Pretty sweet. Nice storage,
ain’t it? The storage cabinet is so big you can store
kids in there, particularly kids eating popsicles. Just a joke. Don’t store your kids in the
storage cabinet. Totally awesome project, right? All you need
is the Kreg Jigs, circular saw, a drill, and some screws and glue, you’re all set! So
if you’ve got any questions for me, ask them in the comments section. I’d be more
than happy to help you out. And remember, if you haven’t already done
so, click on the subscribe button, especially if you’ve got a house because I’m sure
you’ve got projects creeping up on you, and I’ve got a ton of tips every single
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So thanks for joining me today. I really appreciate your time. Take care. I’ll see you in the
next video.