No garden is complete without seats and you’ll save a motza if you build these little beauties yourself.

You’ll need a few tools and basic skills and each seat comprises two parts mounted in the ground together to create one bench.

Gather your Supplies

Sleepers (4) 2.4 x 200mm x 100mm H4 treated pine

Galvanised coach screws (16), at least 120mm in length 

About 8 bags quick-set concrete (4 per bench)

Drill with bit, for predrilling screw hole, and spade bit, for countersinking

Planer and sander n Spirit level and marker paint

Here’s how

STEP 1 For 1 bench you need 2 sleepers. Cut each sleeper into 3 parts; two 600mm pieces for legs, and a 1.2m piece for the top. For a neater finish, chamfer edges of sleeper pieces, once cut.

STEP 2 Drill a pilot hole for each screw, then countersink a hole to accommodate the screw head. Insert a screw and fix legs to top pieces.

STEP 3 Form each bench by putting 2 part-benches side by side. Position benches perpendicular to each other and mark out around their legs with marker paint.

STEP 4 About one-third of the legs will need to be secured below ground, so dig the holes about 200mm deep. Position benches and check they are level and plumb.

STEP 5 Using about 2 bags for each end, use quick-set concrete to secure the benches. For best results, follow the mixing guidelines on the bag. Give new benches 1-2 coats of colourful exterior paint. We used Dulux Weathershield Daintree. And here’s a tip to save heaps: look for mis-tints at the paint shop and you can pay as little as $3 a litre for premium quality paint!