Planter Seat

• 1). Measure the height of your matching wooden planters. They should be 14 to 18 inches tall and at least a foot wide, because they are the side supports for your bench. Cut the 4-by-4 post so that it is one inch shorter than your wooden planters. This is going to be your central support. The three-quarter-inch-by-4-inch board will be your cross support, so cut it the width of your planters. For example, if your planter is only 12 inches wide, your three-quarter-by-4 support board should be 12 inches long.
  
  
• 2). Attach the flat center of the three-quarter-by-4 board to the top of the 4-by-4 post using four 2-inch wood screws. The screws should form a cross over the 4-by-4 post below your support board. You should have a T-shape with the post as the base and the board as the top. Make sure that the top of the wood screws are flush or drilled a little deeper into the flat of the board to prevent gaps later in the project.
  
  
• 3). Attach your three pressure-treated, 3-foot long boards to the top of the T you just made. One way is to lay the three boards side-by-side and make a mark 1 foot, 4 inches from both ends. This gives you a 4-inch wide guide area in the center of each seat board, where your support board will be centered. Invert your T and line it up within your guides. Ensure that the two outside seat slats are flush with the front and back edges of your support board.
  
  
• 4). Use four 1 1/2-inch wood screws to fasten each of the outer seat boards into place, from the support board down into the underside of the seat boards. The heads of the screws should be flush with the underside of the support board, no deeper. If you screw them in too deep, the point on the other end will come out through the surface of the seat bench.
  
  
• 5). Invert the support T with the two seat boards you've attached. Rest the ends of the seat boards on the outer edges of the two planters. Screw the ends of the boards down into the edges of the wood planters using a pair of 2-inch screws per end, for a total of eight screws.
  
  
• 6). Center the final board between the two outer seat boards. Screw into place using the 2-inch wood screws. Two screws go on each end, and in the center you will use four screws. Be careful not to screw them in directly over the cross-oriented screws you used to attach the support board. Form an X instead, with one screw above each corner of the 4-by-4 post below. Ensure that all screws are flush with or lower than the surface of the seat boards, to prevent clothes or skin from snagging on them.