Cinder Block Bench: Part I

4x4s...Check.
Cinder blocks....Check.

It's time to get outside.

The weather was excellent this weekend, so I ventured outside instead of being glued to my sewing machine. Mulch needed to be spread, plants needed to be planted, and frankly I'm pooped. But next weekend will be when I get started on my cinder block bench.

I've got the materials and put it together to get a sense of the size, now comes the hard part: finishing it!


I had a couple of lame plastic Adirondack chairs on my front porch. And every time the wind blows, they wind up in my pond. Not cool. I needed something that would not blow away, and someone posted a picture of a cinder block bench on Facebook, so I knew that was going to be my solution. I've been waiting for the weather to improve to get started, so here we are!

I picked up 8 cinder blocks from Lowes and snagged the 4x4s from Home Depot. The nice people at HD will cut your lumber to size. For free. I do believe I have a circular saw somewhere in my garage, but I like my fingers, so I intend to keep them. I know my limits.

The nice dude at HD who cut my lumber pointed out that I need to wait 3-6 months before painting this lumber. That was not in my plan, but I will heed the instructions. Instead, I will be painting only one side of the front 4x4 for curb appeal and maybe at the end of the summer, I'll paint the rest and flip around that one 4x4 if it looks bad.

I'm planning to paint the cinder blocks, so I picked up some TSP and will clean those sometime this week so they're dry and ready to go for the weekend.

But the fun part (for me) will be making the cushion. Joann's to the rescue. I found a floral outdoor print by Tommy Bahama (50% off plus and end of bolt yard at 50% off of the 50% off) that makes me think of Hawaii, and I think it will be a nice compliment to my green shutters.

I was going to order the foam online but since they had some at Joann's (and there was a sale and a coupon), I decided to pick it up locally. The porch is covered and while it does get a little wet, it's not in the direct path so I think it will be ok. We'll see.

Hopefully by next Sunday, there will be a pretty bench on my front porch!

Read on for Part II