Contents
- Pros and cons of a transformer shop with a canopy
- Types of benches-transformers with a canopy
- What you need to assemble a transformer shop with a canopy
- Drawings and dimensions of a transformer bench with a canopy
- How to make a transforming bench with a canopy with your own hands
- Making a transformer bench with a canopy
- Conclusion
A folding garden bench, which easily turns into a set of a table and two benches, will come in handy in a summer cottage or garden plot. A transforming bench with a canopy is convenient, practical, and, with proper design, can become a “star” of landscape design. There are relatively simple models made of wooden boards and timber. A more complicated option involves the use of a metal frame and polycarbonate for a canopy.
Pros and cons of a transformer shop with a canopy
A garden bench is an indispensable attribute of most personal plots. It is nice to relax on it after working in the garden or chores around the house. But for favorite gatherings in the open air with kebabs, one bench is not enough, you also need a table. And here the problems begin: even in large areas there is not always room for a permanently installed table. This is a rather bulky piece of furniture, it interferes with the passage, occupies a usable area that can be planted with flowers or vegetables.
When folded, a set of furniture from a table and two benches turns into a compact garden bench
One of the options for resolving the issue is a transformer shop. This is a folding bench, which, when unfolded, turns into a whole set of furniture: a table plus two benches. And if you arrange a canopy on top of the collapsible structure, then neither rain nor sun will interfere with a pleasant stay.
The advantages of a transformer bench include:
- Profitability. There is no need to allocate a separate place for the table.
- Mobility. The bench can be installed anywhere, instantly turning any corner of the site into a place for a pleasant stay.
- Compactness. When folded, the transforming bench will not take up much space, it can even be removed to a barn or other utility room (if the canopy is removable).
- Protection. The canopy will cover vacationers from precipitation or strong sun, protect dishes placed on the table from moisture or spoilage.
The disadvantages of a folding bench are closely related to its advantages:
- Instability. The canopy has a large windage. In regions with strong winds, the entire structure may tip over. Soft soil in the place where the bench is installed can lead to the same consequences. This implies the need to install a transformer bench permanently, which deprives it of mobility.
- Lack of comfort. In order for the transforming bench to be really comfortable, all its details must be carefully processed and fitted to each other. The slightest discrepancy in size, angles, lack of fasteners will cause problems during assembly and disassembly, inconvenience of the seat, deviation from the horizontal of the table surface. To create a truly comfortable shop, you need certain knowledge and skills.
Over time, the movable joints of the transformer bench can become loose, which makes its use unsafe and inconvenient. In addition, benches and a table rigidly mounted between themselves will not allow you to easily sit down and get up. To get a seat at the table, each time you have to climb over the bench, which is not particularly convenient for the elderly or not very healthy people.
Approximate dimensions of the folding bench
Types of benches-transformers with a canopy
The most popular type of transforming benches is a folding structure, which, when unfolded, turns into a set of two benches and a table. Stationary canopies, as a rule, are installed precisely above the transformer bench.
Other types of transformers look very original, but they lose to the previous version in functionality: when unfolded, some form only a set of seats or a seat and a small table. Types of transformers of an unusual design:
- Transformer constructor. Wooden elements are attached to the frame of metal pipes, which can be freely rotated. When folded, the furniture is an ordinary garden bench, when unfolded – a set of two wide seats, a wide chair and a small table or a set of narrow chairs and a table between them.
- Transformer “flower”. The design principle resembles the previous version – the wooden elements rotate freely on the axis. When folded, it is a long bench without a back; when unfolded, it is a comfortable bench with a back that can be fixed at any angle.
As a rule, unusual transformers are not equipped with built-in canopies, but they can be installed anywhere, including under a stationary canopy. The advantage of original designs is their decorativeness and mobility. Such furniture is installed not only in the open air. The absence of a bulky canopy allows you to turn these benches into furniture for a country or country house.
What you need to assemble a transformer shop with a canopy
The assembly of the purchased product is carried out in accordance with the instructions. You only need tools (screwdriver, screwdriver). It is much more difficult to make a collapsible transformer shop on your own. To make a transforming garden bench with a canopy with your own hands, you will need:
- drawings with exact dimensions;
- tools, fasteners;
- boards, beams or pipes.
Woodworking Tools
Measurements are made using a tape measure, square, plumb or level. To work on metal, you need a welding machine, a hacksaw, a pipe bending machine.
For the manufacture of countertops and seats, a pine board with a thickness of 20 mm is chosen.
It is better to choose metal pipes for the frame of a transformer bench with a square section with a protective galvanized coating. Pine board 20 mm thick is suitable for the tabletop and seats. If the frame is also supposed to be made of wood, then you need a bar made of hardwood (oak, beech, larch).
Square tube increases the stability of the structure due to the presence of stiffeners
Drawings and dimensions of a transformer bench with a canopy
Optimal dimensions-benches transformer:
- table height 75-80 cm;
- table width 60-65 cm;
- seat 30 cm;
- length 160-180 cm.
Wooden slats for the seat are attached to the metal frame
The wrong side of the back of the bench in the unfolded state forms the outer surface of the table top
For wooden structures, auxiliary materials will be required: wood glue, self-tapping screws, wooden dowels
The frame is made of wooden bars
How to make a transforming bench with a canopy with your own hands
In addition to consumables (board, pipe, fasteners, emery), for the manufacture of a transformer bench with a frame of curved metal pipes, you will need a welding machine, a pipe bender. And for a canopy made of polycarbonate – special equipment for cutting, bending. Seat upholstery can be made from boards, plywood, textolite.
In addition to furniture bolts, washers, nuts must be used during assembly.
There is no single assembly scheme. Each master makes his own changes to the initial drawing: he adds additional stiffeners, changes the angle of the backrest, the width of the table, seats, the shape and angle of the canopy. It is more practical to first study the finished transformer shop with friends, neighbors or find it on sale.
The most successful model of a transformer bench with a canopy
An all-wood bench looks a bit bulky, requiring solid wood for the frame. The shop entirely made of metal is very heavy, it is difficult to move and disassemble it. In addition, without metalworking skills and tools, it is impossible to create a reliable, attractive design. The best option for a transforming bench is a combination of metal for the frame, wood for seats and a table, and polycarbonate for a canopy.
The width of the seats can be changed, but this will entail changes in the overall dimensions of the bench in the assembled state
Bench-transformer with a canopy made of metal
A transforming bench with a length of 160-170 cm, a seating width of about 50 cm. When unfolded, six people can freely fit in. A canopy made of wooden planks can be made independently, and it is better to purchase an arched polycarbonate structure ready-made (it is too complicated to manufacture). The racks of the canopy are welded to the legs of the “main”, fixed bench, which, when folded, will be closer to the back.
Necessary materials:
- square pipe with a side of 25 mm;
- furniture bolts, washers;
- wooden beam or board;
- welding machine;
- grinder, drill;
- hacksaw, saw, screwdriver, level, plumb.
It is more convenient to purchase a profile pipe already cut into pieces of 2 m (4 pcs.) And 1,5 m (2 pcs.). Before starting work, the pipes should be cleaned of rust (if any), in the finished product it will be more difficult to prepare them for painting.
The optimal profile for the frame is a square with a side of 25 mm
The pipes are cut into blanks in accordance with the drawing, then connected with tack welds. At the attachment points, holes are drilled for furniture bolts, the entire structure is mounted. Install pre-prepared wooden parts, check the bench for stability and convenience. If everything suits, the structure is again dismantled, welded with permanent seams, cleaned, polished, painted with enamel or paint for metal. Metal plates can be welded under the legs of the bench for greater stability. The wood is sanded and coated twice with exterior paint.
The board for the table must be perfectly flat, of the same thickness, so that the structure folds and disassembles freely.
Bench-transformer with a canopy made of wood
The connection of wooden parts is carried out using self-tapping screws and a metal corner. It is advisable to drill holes for self-tapping screws in advance so that the work looks neater. The biggest load during assembly and disassembly falls on the moving parts.
Furniture bolts allow moving parts to rotate freely
All wooden parts of a folding transformer bench must be sanded with sandpaper or a grinder
The wooden structure must be coated with varnish or paint to protect the wood from precipitation and drying out.
Making a transformer bench with a canopy
The easiest way to decorate a transforming bench is to choose a bright paint or combine several contrasting colors in one product. The natural structure of the wood itself can serve as a decoration. To do this, it is enough to cover the wooden parts of the bench with varnish.
The canopy can be made of wooden planks, dense fabric, polycarbonate panels. When choosing colored polycarbonate, preference should be given to shades that do not distort natural colors. Under a canopy of bright red or orange, all objects and faces will take on a frightening reddish hue.
A set of two folding benches forms a table with two benches
The warm shade of natural wood creates a contrast with bright greenery.
A translucent polycarbonate canopy turns a transforming bench into a design element
Conclusion
A transforming bench with a canopy is not only a convenient piece of furniture. With proper design, a folding set of two benches and a table can become the center of garden design. Whether to create a transformer with your own hands or purchase a finished product is up to the home master to decide. If there is self-confidence and proper equipment, then a bench with a canopy will serve as a source of pride for the owner for a long time.
