DIY Outdoor Garden Sofa Build - a Step by Step Guide

How I made outdoor wooden furniture out of siberian larch. A DIY guide to making modular garden furniture using every day tools.

I would be so grateful if you Joined my Channel:

0:00 Introduction
0:39 Tool Kit
1:09 Sourcing the wood
2:44 Planning the Assembly
3:42 Routing the Mortices
7:19 Making the Tenons
7:40 Making the Bar Clamps
8:22 The Assembly
11:32 Cleaning & Sanding
12:05 Construction
12:33 Weatherproofing
15:35 Repairs
15:56 Feet
16:20 Cushions
17:06 Conclusions
17:51 Subscribe to Me!

GARDEN FURNITURE PLANS
- to follow shortly :)

TODAY'S TOOLKIT*:
- Sliding bevel mitre saw
- quarter inch shank plunge router
- Shokunin saw to cut the dowels off with but any thin tooth saw would do
- Universal preserver primer and Fiddes Exterior High Build wood oil
- Random orbit sander
- Masking tape

* The Amazon links above are affiliate links. It doesn't cost you anything to click on them but I do earn a small commission if you do.

And here's the legal bit I have to state: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

LET'S CONNECT!
Charlie DIYte
#garden #furniture #outdoors

[mjouvcc]

God I wish I had 10% of your skill and vision ! You are a master DIYer ! Love this channel with its mix of everything you could wish to do at home ❤

[jonarchdeacon]

Charlie is the little voice in your head that says "You can do this project yourself". His videos are always perfectly detailed and to a level anyone can engage with. Keep up the great work Charlie!

[nielsdevries]

Normally I watch your videos together with my wife. I think I will not show here this one, I will then have to build one as well you see. Nice job. Greetings from Holland!

[hbrealhousewife]

Another brilliant video Charlie.
Love the construction and your wife is very talented re the cushions. 😊

[HostileButHonourable]

Thats a nice and neat build. The colour isn't nearly as important as being with the family under the stars on those long summer nights. It will change and fade. Unlike the memories.

[StrawbyteWorkshop]

Great result. Finish is a tricky thing but lately I’ve learned to be happy with using up what I’ve got. Thanks Charlie.

[jpamely]

Fantastic content. I found this had a slightly different style to your other videos which I thought was brilliant. Nice work! I also enjoyed the dry humour 😂. Thanks Charlie 👍

[nicomonkeyboy]

<lol> Word for all your 3D planning needs! They look great. And very comfy!

[patburke]

Always love any of your woodworking videos charlie.

[ElekTrikPurple]

Looks amazing. ❤ I like the fact that you can change the seating arrangements to suit your families or guests. 😊

[peterdnreynolds]

Great video!! Brilliant build and great to see all of your mistakes and evaluation of how it could go better for future builds.
Hope all is well, take care

[paulzirker]

Great idea Charlie. Well carried out. Great results.

[stingray]

Is it just me thats fed up with being notified about a new video only to find I cant watch it for a day or 2?

[eliotpalfreman]

Hi Charlie, liking the video, the premier doesn't impact me either way. You could do a mini series of short format videos on making different clamps for DIY and I'd watch every one of them, loved the simplicity of your method here.

[OllyParryJones]

That larch looks beautiful and well worth the investment! Also glad to see you've discovered Wealden tools - I try to shop there before anywhere else, in a world where social media keeps shouting T**d. 😉

I enjoyed the video and the timber held its shape well through all that time in storage.

[tomincognito]

I used Manns decking oil on larch decking I made last year, possibly at your recommendation! I liked the golden colour, and how droplets impressively sat on the surface. But after the water evaporated it left horrible blotches, and I still don't know if it was something I'd done wrong. I'm reluctant to do it again and am letting it weather for now.

[johnm]

Buying the cushions first is the top tip here!

As for glue. I’ve found the gorilla outside wood glue fairly effective.

[BillyGold]

Adding some asbestos cladding to the wood would make it more weather and fire proof

[Stormin_Mike]

Great build

I created a thick wood outdoor table top using B and Q finest untreated timber, i think it was about 5x1. The first treatment i used was no nonsense oil and what a fail that was. I found that the ott hot weather we've had actually made it tacky and attracted dirt. I gave up on that and sanded back then a go with tinted decking oil. Was ok for a while but got grubby. Ive resigned to orbital sanding annually with no finish. An inch thick will mean it lasts for ages.

[richsmart]

Id recommend Roxil for treating the wood. provides you with a really solid water repellant finish, but with an untreated wood look