The metal bars are for the frame of the garden sofa. The idea is that they be used as support beams throughout, and that they help you create a frame to use as a base for the wooden boards which will make up the seating and back section of your garden sofa. It is important that you buy metal bars with holes running through them, because this makes it easier to join the metal bars together. You can also buy these at your local hardware store or diy center, but I'm hoping you have some lying around already! If not, don't worry - doing things like this are great ways to re-purpose old bits of steel / cast iron / etc.:

Remember to measure how long you will need each piece of beam before buying them (or cutting them down if they're too long). The idea is that they should be enough to support someone's weight while sitting on your newly made garden sofa. You'll also need screws or bolts to attach them together, so if you haven't got any, get some before continuing!

• Plywood sheets (however many you want for however long you want each section of the garden sofa lasting). I used five plywood boards to make my garden sofa. This is because I wanted two long arm rests that run alongside it, and these are just right for where I wanted the arm rests to be. There's no rule as to how big / small your garden sofa should be - this will depend entirely on what your needs are! - Woodscrews (or woodbolts)
  
  
• A drill with a screwdriver bit + a hammer
  
  
• A saw (a circular saw works best, but hand saws are fine)
  
  
• Wooden planks (however many you want for however long each section of the garden sofa should last). I used 18 wooden boards to make my garden sofa. These are actually cut up pieces of a pallet's slats. What I did was place all my pallets on top of one another and then placed two metal bars either side of them to act as makeshift supports. Then I removed one board from each set of slats that made up each layer in the pile, by carefully sawing through the exact same spot with a circular saw.
  
  
• Sandpaper - Primer/paint + paintbrush / spray paint
  
  Tools required for this project:
  
  
• A drill with a screwdriver bit (or alternatively, you can use a hammer) + some screws/bolts
  
  Start by deciding how big / long you want your garden sofa to be. These are the measurements I used for my version:
  
  Length of metal bars used per layer : 40 cm (15 inches) Height required for each section (sofa's thickness): 15cm (5 inches). 3 metal bars per section. Length of wooden boards used per layer : 60 cm (23 inches). Number of layers required: 5 . There is no need to worry about these measurements having an effect on how it looks - because after assembling all the wooden boards onto the metal frame, it will just look like one single piece from that angle.
  
  
• The first step is to sand down all your pallet boards until they are smooth to the touch (this gets rid of splinters and such). You can skip this part if you want, but it's worth doing as it improves the end result quite a lot.
  
  
• Assemble metal bars between wooden boards as per below:
  
  Metal bar on top of wooden board : Metal bar on bottom of wooden board : 2 wooden boards
  
  Just line up and insert each metal bar into each layer / section of wood (you don't need glue or anything like that), and make sure they're nice and level! It can help to dry fit everything together first - mark where you'll be drilling holes with a pencil, etc., before drilling them (don't forget to use a bit of woodscrew or metal bolt once finished too).
  
  
• Once you've done all the above, make sure each beam is nice and secure by adding lots of screws / bolts. You don't need to do this with every single wooden board if you don't want to, but I did it with all mine (otherwise they might fall apart when someone sits on it!).
  
  
• For the arms rests: drill holes into one side of where you wish your arm rests to be, and then attach metal bars like so:
  
  Metal bar for arm rest: Attach onto garden sofa's frame where desired (I recommend doing this at an earlier stage while testing out how long the whole thing should be, because you might find that it's either too long or too short).
  
  
• Once finished (and painted/primed if you wish), prop your garden sofa up against a wall (or on top of some bricks or something) so that the frame is facing upwards. You can then use this form to decorate according to your own personal tastes!
  
  ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT TYPE OF FURNITURE? WHY NOT TRY MAKING THIS PIECE?