A beach chair from the hardware store or from a brand manufacturer is relatively expensive. If you are handy and have some experience with woodworking, you can also build a beach chair yourself. This saves a lot of money and gives you individual garden furniture that will be an eye-catcher in the garden.
How do I build a beach chair myself?
To build a beach chair yourself, you need building instructions, wooden panels or pallets, tools such as a saw, cordless screwdriver and sander as well as upholstery, cushions and durable fabric for awnings and covers. Building it yourself takes about four days.
Where did you get the building instructions?
If you have often built garden or other furniture yourself, you can also make a beach chair. However, you will have to spend a bit of time for this. You should also be familiar with tools and be able to use them safely.
So that you can build the beach chair yourself, you need building instructions. If you don't dare to design your own building plan, you will find many offers on the internet. Some of them are even free. The advantage of these instructions is that they contain lists of all the materials and tools required. You can use it to simply drive to the hardware store and get wood and other parts.
The step-by-step instructions are aimed primarily at craftsmen who have not yet gained much experience in building furniture for the garden.
Materials for the beach chair
Original beach chairs are made from wickerwork made from rattan or other types of wood. This material cannot be used for DIY construction. As a rule, a self-made beach chair consists of wooden panels that are screwed together accordingly. They can be individually designed using colorful varnishes.
For high-quality beach chairs that you can build yourself, use wood species such as larch and Douglas fir. This is more expensive, but the wood is largely weatherproof. Spruce is a little cheaper. You can save even more money if you use glued wooden panels or Euro pallets.
You can get used Euro pallets from commercial dealers who have discarded them. A beach chair made from pallets is certainly the cheapest way to build a beach chair yourself.
What tools are used?
To build a beach chair yourself, you need at least the following tools:
- Hand circular saw
- Jigsaw
- Cordless screwdriver
- milling machine
- Grinding machine
- Hammer
- Drill
You can also borrow devices that you don't own yourself from a hardware store.
How long does it take approximately to build it yourself?
Building a beach chair is more complicated than building a garden table or bench. You will have to cut a lot more parts and sand them if necessary.
You also have to allow for waiting times for the paint to dry. You should expect at least four days.
Build your own beach chair out of pallets
Pallets are an inexpensive alternative for building a beach chair. You need at least four of these, eight pallets for two-seaters. The pallets are screwed together to form the seat of the basket.
Depending on the building instructions, the side panels are made from glued wooden panels or other wood. They are screwed to the pallets on three sides to create the desired basket shape.
Above all, sand the pallets well before assembly. The wood is very rough and you get splinters easily. To make the beach chair as robust as possible, you should impregnate the wood to make it less sensitive to moisture and dirt.
Build a beach chair out of spruce or larch
A beach chair made of wood such as spruce or larch is more expensive. That's why you have to be particularly careful here that you cut all components precisely. If you don't feel confident enough to do this, get help at the hardware store.
The wood should be sanded in all rough areas before assembly. You can paint the beach chair in color when it is fully assembled.
Cutting pillows and upholstery
No beach chair is perfect without cushions, an awning and a covering. Make cushions out of foam. You can get foam in appropriate markets. The thickness should be at least six centimeters or more so that you can sit comfortably later.
As a roof, attach an awning to the top of the beach chair. It is particularly convenient if you can remove this awning so that you can have sun protection later.
The colors of the upholstery and cushions should match the colors of the awning and the covering of the beach chair. There are no limits to your creativity.
Fabrics for covering awnings and cushions
As the material for decorating the beach chair, use a fabric that is as durable as possible (€6.00 on Amazon). It must be tear-resistant, repel water and be easy to clean. Special awning fabric is very suitable. Oilcloth is ideal for children. If the little ones spill drinks or cake, you can simply wipe off the presents.
You can of course also use stronger cotton fabrics. However, you should impregnate these beforehand so that you can clean them more easily later.
If you sew pillowcases yourself, incorporate zippers or snap fasteners. The covers can then be easily removed later and machine washed.
Tip
A beach chair can be integrated into any garden. With the right decoration it becomes an eye-catcher and invites you to rest and relax.
