How to Build a DIY Porch Swing for Your Home

A porch swing is a bench-like piece of outdoor furniture that is attached by chains or rope to the ceiling of a porch. Porch swings may also be built as stand-alone structures, like the A-frame porch swing which hangs from two upright A-frames connected by a beam. Porch swings require plenty of space and are primarily suitable for large patios.

You can make your own DIY porch swing at home to save money and engage your creativity. To protect your porch and the siding of your home, allow for about four feet of space in every direction to keep your swing from bumping its surroundings. Porch swings are excellent for families and kids over the age of 10 and 11, but small children should not be left to play on them unattended.

All porch swings are similar in function, but homeowners can choose from a wide variety of styles and designs. Below are just some of the many types of porch swings.

1. 1. Adirondack: Adirondack porch swings are a loveseat-style fusion of two Adirondack-style chairs.
2. 2. Console: Console porch swings are slightly more complex porch swings involving a center console, often with cupholders and a flat surface for food.
3. 3. Rustic: Rustic porch swings will often be made of organically cut wood (thick branches for the armrests rather than rectangular plywood cuts) and are rarely painted, making them excellent DIY projects.
   
4. 4. Chair swings: A chair swing is a seat made for only one person, hung from the porch ceiling. These are ideal for children and can be made in the style of any of the porch swings listed above.
5. 5. A-frame: A-frame swings are not attached to your porch ceiling. Instead, they can be located in other areas of your yard, like a pergola in a garden. These are a great option if your porch ceiling cannot support too much weight, and if you just want to add some extra seating to your back porch or around your fire pit.

Most of the materials you need to make a DIY porch swing can be found at any hardware store. Here is what you’ll need to make a porch swing.

1. 1. Lumber: You’ll need multiple slabs of wood cut into 2x4 pieces to make your porch swing. Redwood is a weather-friendly, durable kind of wood that can hold plenty of weight. Other popular types of wood for a project like this include poplar, cypress, fir, white oak, and maple.
2. 2. Wood glue: Wood glue helps secure your pieces of lumber together as you work on them.
3. 3. Table saw: You’ll need a table saw to cut your pieces of wood to your desired dimensions. You can also use a miter saw or jigsaw.
4. 4. Sandpaper and wood putty: Sandpaper is used to sand your project down to a smooth finish when you’re done. Wood putty allows you to fill in the screw pocket holes when your project is finished.
5. 5. Tape measure: You’ll need a tape measure to create your porch swing building plans.
6. 6. Wood stain: Wood stain will allow you to give your porch swing a rustic, appealing look that also insulates it from weather damage. Polyurethane will make it even more weather-proof.
7. 7. Hardware and power drill: You’ll need a number of long screws and a power drill to fasten the pieces of your porch swing together. You’ll also need six eye screws to attach your swing to the ceiling suspension.
8. 8. Rope or chain: You’ll need thick rope or a heavy-duty chain to suspend your swing from the ceiling. Make sure that your suspension is strong enough to support the weight of multiple people.
9. 9. Safety gloves and goggles: You should always wear safety gloves and goggles to keep yourself safe as you do your project.

Here is an easy, step-by-step tutorial on how to build your own DIY porch swing out of wood.

1. 1. Make your building plans. To make your porch swing building plans, you can find a premade plan online or make custom plans yourself. Your porch swing plans should begin with a rough sketch of the design, measurements of your space, and a cut list for your lumber. Measure the space where your porch swing will go, and tailor the dimensions of your swing to how much porch space you want it to take up.
2. 2. Build your seat frame. Begin by constructing the base of your bench. Create a two-foot by six-foot frame using 2x4s, secured by two carriage bolts drilled into each corner of the base (eight bolts total). Lay out your base on a flat surface and add your shorter 2x4 supports pieces (six in total) perpendicular to the longer pieces of your seat frame. These will be the slats supporting your porch swing seat. Glue the slats down first with wood glue, then screw them to the seat frame from underneath with pocket hole screws.
3. 3. Add your posts. Cut four posts for each corner of your bench seat. These will support your armrests and the backrest. The two posts that will be supporting your backrest should be cut twice as long as your front two support posts. Attach these posts to each corner of the base of your swing.
4. 4. Construct your backrest. Make your backrest slats by using three 1x3 pieces of wood cut out to the length of your bench. Connect these to your two back posts and secure with glue, and then again using wood screws.
5. 5. Fill in your pocket holes and stain. Fill in all visible pilot holes with wood putty and sand down every surface. Apply a coat of stain and then a coat of polyurethane. When dry, apply a second coat.
6. 6. Drill in your eye bolts. Add eye screws to the four corners of your seat’s base (or the back of the swing) and then two into your porch’s ceiling joints. These eye screws are where you will attach your support chain that suspends your swing from the ceiling. Make sure you are drilling your ceiling’s eye bolts into studs or else they may not be fully supported.
7. 7. Thread your chain. Prop your finished bench on two chairs at your desired height. Thread a chain or rope through your four eye bolts attached to the base of the swing and then finish by connecting these to the eye bolts in your porch’s ceiling.
8. 8. Finish and enjoy. Add some cushions and throw pillows to finish off your new outdoor swing. For the swing seat, use a crib mattress or an old twin mattress for a cheap and convenient seat support.

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