Building a Bench That Works Harder Than It Looks

In this sauna changing room, one of my tasks was to build a bench to cover the electrical while allowing occasional access to it. The bench could either be moveable or fixed to the wall with a removable front panel.

We opted for the latter, making sure the frame of the bench was permanently secured to the wall and solid. Extra space was cut into the front of the frame so that access to the electrical was optimized for any future repairs or replacements.

The bench needed to be three panels tall to continue the paneling layout of the wall. A low profile top would then be necessary to keep the bench near 18" in height. The top needed to be 3 panels deep. Overhangs were also a must over both the sides and the front.

How to frame the top out of 2x4s and get sturdy overhangs at the corners where a butt-joined frame would never hold up?

Build a starburst array cut to fit snugly into a temporary frame. In this configuration, each piece of the array could be tightly fastened with framing screws to the center of the sturdy bench frame. A longer lever thus achieved, each cantilevered corner is supported.

The temporary outer frame of the bench top is removed and the array is skinned with paneling.

This is the kind of problem-solving that goes into every Renolite Plus project. Got a tricky space or unusual requirement? Let's figure it out together.