The past year was too busy raising Hannah to blog much but I still managed to get a few things done. I needed somewhere in the courtyard for me and Hannah to spend time with Sam to watch the sun rise over the mountains, so I built this for us.
After burying Sam in the courtyard, I fixed up his grave and decided that Hannah could enjoy the sunrises with me and Sam too outside but we’d need somewhere to sit and set down my breakfast tea. I’d also need a light for the darkness before the dawn.
A few ideas came to me, so I got to work, designing the memorial bench to scale on the computer. That way, I could figure out the list of materials I’d need. This is what I came up with.
It would be built of 2×3 studs and 1×2 slats. It would have a storm lamp and an GFCI electrical outlet to charge my phone with a breaker to shut off the power, if it got a drink spilled on it.
Once I had a list of materials, I cut the 2×3 studs to the lengths specified on the computer. I was on a budget, so I had to go with slab sided construction with 2.75 inch drywall screws.
The seating base has the capacity to uphold at least 400 pounds, and with the additional leg blocks, it can uphold even more. That’s good for me and a full-grown German Shepherd to jump around on, without any concern for breaking the base.
The seat back doesn’t have to be quite as over-built. The slats would keep it rigid and strong enough to sit on top of it without failing.
I used quite a few scrap 2×3 short ends to stay on budget. Here, I used two pieces to hold the electric utility box in place so it wouldn’t flex every time I plugged in a phone.
After painting everything with exterior latex paint, I cut and installed the long pieces of the backing. The table top, seating slats, and the lower backing would use those straight edges to keep it all square.
With the framework and long slats done, I just had to cut and install the lower backing and seating slats.
I used the electric power outlet on the wall to plug in the bench electric. This consisted of a utility box, a power line to the wall outlet, an on/off switch for the light and an GFCI outlet. I put in a two foot line for the lamp and a seven foot line for the power plug to the wall outlet.
Once it was done, I was eating rice and beans in the sun with a Corona. Of course, I installed a bottle opener below the table so I could pop open a beer, on occasion.
Before dawn, the storm lamp works just fine so I can set down my English breakfast tea without knocking it over in the dark.
Hannah likes to sit on the bench with me too because she has her own seat and Sam isn’t far to enjoy the sunrises with him, like I used to do.
That was the whole point of this project.