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Plywood Pretty: DIY Outdoor Sectional Sofa Tutorial + Building Plan

Written by Cass

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Hey Remodelaholics!  To start off our Plywood Pretty week, today I want to show you how to make a DIY Modern Plywood Outdoor Sectional Sofa.  Be sure to check out all the #PlywoodPretty Challenge projects on our playlist and links below, and subscribe by email or RSS and follow along over on Facebook and Instagram with #PlywoodPretty so you won’t miss any of these new tutorials!

It's Plywood BUT Pretty! 12 New DIY Plywood Projects + Tutorials

We designed this sofa for our deck.  A couple things we considered when designing it was we wanted an L-shaped sectional sofa and a place to store our cushions during a storm to keep them dryer.

Each section of the sofa will be made out of two sheets of 3/4″ inch birch plywood.

Plywood Sofa Sectional 2

Plywood Sofa Sectional 1

 

DIY Modern Outdoor Sectional Sofa

 
Click here to get a free printable version of this building plan

Materials For One Sectional

  • (2) 4 ‘x 8’ x 3/4″ – Sheets of Birch Plywood
  • (1) 4 ‘x 8’ x 1/4″ – Sheet of Birch Plywood (optional)
  • (1) 2 x 4 x 8’ –  Redwood
  • (55+) 1 ¼” – Kreg Jig Screws
  • (12+) ¾” – wood screws (for optional bottom cover)
  • (12+) 1 ¼” – wood screws (for optional bottom cover)
  • (1+) Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Glue Max
  • (1) Elmers Pro Bond Wood Filler

Tools Used

  • Table Saw
  • Miter Saw
  • Circular Saw
  • Kreg Jig
  • Drill
  • Spring Clamps, (lots of them)
  • Tape Measure
  • Pencil
  • 80/120/220 Sandpaper and Sanding Block
  • (2+) Saw Horses
  • Putty Knife

How To Build A Modern Outdoor Sectional Sofa From 2 Sheets Of Plywood @Remodelaholic

Plans with Dimensions

Plywood Sofa Sectional 3DIY Modern Plywood Sofa Sectional

 

Plywood Sofa Sectional 4

Front View

Plywood Sofa Sectional 5

Top ViewPlywood Sofa Sectional 6

Left Side View 

Plywood Sofa Sectional 8

Layout for Pocket Holes

 

Cut List (Length x Width x Thickness)

Plywood Sofa Sectional 7

3/4″ Sheet One

  • (1) 72 ⅜” x 24” x ¾” – Back
  • (1) 24” x 23 ½” x ¾” – Right Outer Side
  • (1) 70 ⅞” x 23 ½” x ¾” – Seat Top
  • (1) 23 ½” x 8 ¾” x ¾” – Right Frame Side
  • (1) 23 ½” x 8 ¾” x ¾” – Left Frame Side

3/4″ Sheet Two

  • (1) 70 ⅞” x 23 ½” x ¾” – Seat Bottom
  • (1) 23 ½” x 13 ¾” x ¾” – Right Inner Side
  • (1) 23 ½” x 10 ¼” x ¾” – Left Outer Side
  • (1) 69 ⅜” x 8 ¾” x ¾” – Back Frame
  • (1) 70 ⅞” x 2 ½” x ¾” – Support Beam

Redwood

  • (1) 70 ⅞” x 2 ½” x 1 ½” – Support Beam
  • (1) 9 7/8” x 2 ½”  x 1 ½” – Middle Support Block

1/4″ Sheet – Optional

  • (1) 69 3/8″ x 12″ x 1/4″ – Bottom Cover

Construction Steps

To start off I used my circular saw to cut out the main pieces down, so that they’re easier to manage for the the final cuts on the table saw.

Build the base frame of the plywood sofa sectional.  First cut side frames to length and width.  Then mark out where you will cut out the notch for a support beam, with a jig saw.  The notch will be on the top center of the sides.  See diagram below.  

Plywood Sofa Sectional 1 2

Plywood Sofa Sectional 10

After the notch is cut out drill all the pocket holes.  There will be pocket holes along the top, around the support beam and down the back side.  Don’t worry all those holes will be covered up with the side pieces in the end.

 

Cut out the back frame and drill in the pocket holes along the top and along each end.  

 

Plywood Sofa Sectional 11

Build the support beam.  Rip the redwood 2×4 down and then attach another piece of plywood to it, the same size, to make extra strong.  

Plywood Sofa Sectional 17

 

Glue the plywood to the redwood and screw it together with wood screws.   Next drill in pocket holes to one side of the beam.

Plywood Sofa Sectional 18

 

Cut the middle support block to length and attach it to the middle of the beam with glue and pocket screws.

Plywood Sofa Sectional 19

Screw the sides on to the back.  Make sure the keep all the pocket holes on the outside of the frame.  

Plywood Sofa Sectional 13

Plywood Sofa Sectional 14

Now install the beam.  

Plywood Sofa Sectional 16Plywood Sofa Sectional 20

Attach the middle support to the back with wood screws through the back.  

Plywood Sofa Sectional 22

To make this easier, set this part up on a sawhorse and not the frame.  Set up the seat piece on two or three sawhorses with the good side down.  Glue and screw the 2nd piece of the seat together.  

Plywood Sofa Sectional 29

Plywood Sofa Sectional 30

Use lots of clamps on the front side to glue it nice and tight.  This will close of any gaps between the two layers.

Plywood Sofa Sectional 31

Now turn the base upside down on top of the seat, that is upside down, and glue and screw the frame to the seat through the pocket holes on the beam, sides and back.

Plywood Sofa Sectional 35

Plywood Sofa Sectional 34

 

Attach the back.  Lay the back down and line up the frame leaving ¾” on each side of the frame.  Glue it in place and hold with clamps while screwing it together through all the pocket holes on the sides.  You can also screw it together up high under the seat where the screws will be hidden.
Plywood Sofa Sectional 38

 

 

Glue on the side pieces.  Add any other screws under the frame where they can be hidden.  You can start with the left side then finish up on the right with the last two pieces.Plywood Sofa Sectional 39Plywood Sofa Sectional 41

Plywood Sofa Sectional 43

Plywood Sofa Sectional 42
Plywood Sofa Sectional 40

 

While the sides are drying, attach some additional blocking and add the ¼” cover underneath the bench with wood screws.  This will help keep out any unwanted pests, like hornets or wasps from hiding behind the beam, but this optional.

Plywood Sofa Sectional 27

Plywood Sofa Sectional 1 3

Plywood Sofa Sectional 2 2

 

Fill in any holes with Elmer’s Pro Bond Wood Filler, let that dry then sand everything smooth.  

Plywood Sofa Sectional 46

Plywood Sofa Sectional 47

Don’t forget to remove the tags before sanding and finishing!

 

Stain and finish as desired.  We will be adding many coats of outdoor varnish to make it water tight.

 

There you have it!  Your very own plywood sofa sectional.  Now you can just lay back and enjoy your handy work.  We are really loving ours!

 

Plywood Sofa Sectional 48

 

If you are wondering where the cushions are from, please check out the Outdoor Sofa Sectional Reveal here!!

 

Check out all the #PlywoodPretty challenge posts here:

outdoor sectional sofa | Remodelaholic (you are here!)
mini barn door for a crawl space | The Cofran Home
handlettered “hello” sign | Lemon Thistle
easy TV tray | Practical and Pretty
rolling storage drawers | Happy Go Lucky
mid-century modular lego table | The Created Home
entryway bench | Woodshop Diaries
farmhouse sign | Our Crafty Mom
mid-century daybed | Paper Daisy Design
produce bins | Anika’s DIY Life
plywood accent wall | Diva of DIY
kids chairs with storage | Our House Now a Home

4 PlywoodPretty Challenge

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Published: April 1, 2017Filed Under: *Our Projects, DIY, DIY Project Plans, Furniture Building Projects and Plans, How To, Seating, Tutorials Tagged: building plans, Outdoor living, outdoor spaces, patio, plywood, plywood furniture, Plywood Pretty, Plywood Sofa

About Cass

Cassity started Remodelaholic with her husband, Justin, to share their love for knocking out walls together. Since then, Remodelaholic has become a great community and resource for all those wanting to know how to make their builder-grade home BEAUTIFUL on a budget!

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Plywood 101: Best Plywood Tips for Successful DIY Projects

Comments

  1. Michelle James says

    April 3, 2017 at 9:28 am

    What an amazing project!! The step by step tutorial actually makes me think I could build this & I am a novice!! Thank you for the inspiration and for organizing this great challenge. I am blown away by the incredible projects all from plywood! #plywoodpretty

    Reply
    • Cassity says

      September 5, 2017 at 11:32 am

      You can totally do it Michelle!! Thank you for joining in on our plywood pretty week!

      Reply
  2. Kara says

    April 4, 2017 at 8:05 pm

    Oh my goodness! Your Outdoor Sectional is fabulous. Thanks for the awesome tutorial. My deck is in need of a major makeover and this is exactly what we need for it.

    Reply
    • Cassity says

      September 5, 2017 at 11:31 am

      Thank you so much we really love it! It’s amazing how pleasant it is to be able to go out in the backyard and sit really comfortably on the sofa just makes you want to go outside more often !

      Reply
  3. Larissa Swayze says

    July 3, 2017 at 8:25 am

    This is such a good idea! I’ve wanted an outdoor sectional for ages, but just haven’t been able to make it work budget-wise. I never even thought of a DIY plywood one. Super awesome post – thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Cass says

      July 5, 2017 at 11:21 am

      Thanks, Larissa!

      Reply
  4. Rob says

    September 2, 2017 at 11:03 pm

    Awesome project.
    I’m thinking of doing the same out of pine plywood. For outdoor use. Would you recommend treated, or untreated and sealed with a varnish?

    Cheers.

    Reply
    • Cassity says

      September 5, 2017 at 11:30 am

      I do think pine (or cedar – but that’s more expensive!) would be a good choice for outdoors! We ended up putting hours under a roof to keep it safe and it’s holding up fine there but it really doesn’t get wet!

      I think if I were finishing it I would do an oil that penetrates the word rather than a poly that will heat and peel in the sun ! That way when you need to put on an extra coat you won’t need to remove the previous coat of poly you can just add another coat of oil and it makes the word stronger and stronger every yea coat of poly you can just add another coat of oil and it makes the word stronger and stronger every year!

      I want to see your project when you’re done !!

      Reply
  5. Samantha says

    December 4, 2017 at 2:02 am

    Thank you for this awesome design! I always see so many outdoor sectionals I love but the cost keeps me away. I used to build a lot with my dad when I was younger and this inspires me to get back into it! Hoping to build this over the winter and have it ready come Spring time 🙂

    Reply
    • Cass says

      December 7, 2017 at 10:55 am

      We’d love to see pictures when you do, Samantha!

      Reply
  6. Krista says

    January 8, 2019 at 9:08 am

    Is the back a strong enough support since it is just ply wood? Is their an oil sealant that you would reccomend?

    Reply
    • Justin says

      September 26, 2019 at 12:25 pm

      The back is really strong and I did seal it with captains varnish to protect it. I just have not done a video about that yet.

      Reply

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We love hearing from fellow Remodelaholics, so let us know what you like about this and leave any questions below in the comments. If you have followed a tutorial or been inspired by something you have seen here, we would love to see pictures! Submit pictures here or by messaging us over on Facebook.

Hey there, I am Cassity! Nice to virtually meet you!

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