Alcove expasion Part 2: Benchwork

My last post to this blog showed the removal of existing benchwork from the alcove area in preparation for installation of the new expanded layout. In this post I'll share the construction of the benchwork. Some of you may wonder why with such narrow benchwork that I just didn't attach a "shelf" style construction to the walls. The answer is two fold: 1.) The left wall is 1/2" drywall attached to 1 X 4's that are attached to the concrete wall with "shot" in concrete nails and I don't trust their holding power for anything other than drywall; and 2.) I don't like to attach benchwork directly to walls just in case I have to move from this house. The blue tape on the floor is denotes the aisle, which is 36" wide

All of the benchwork is L girder style with 1 x 3's glued and screwed on top of 1 x 4's. I would have preferred to use 3/4" plywood ripped for the pieces; however, I don't have the equipment to do the ripping. The section below is 6 ft long by 2 ft wide by 42" high at the highest point. The legs are 2 x 2's with 1 x 2's as braces attached to 5/8" plywood plates. All of the benchwork legs have 1/4" carriage bolts in "T" nuts at the bottom to allow for adjustment.

The section on the left side is the same basic construction and it 10 ft long by 17" wide by 42" high. I did use 2 x 3's for the legs here since they had a bunch of them in the "scrap" bin at the big box store for a cheap price. Since I was using 8 ft long lumber, you will note the splice where I added a 2 ft length. The splice is made up of a "sandwich" of 1 x 4's glued & screwed to the two pieces. Since the legs (which are 2 x 3's) are only 12" apart, I just used horizontal 1 x 4's at the bottom instead of diagonial braces.

The section on the right is 11-1/2 ft long. I had to splice a 3-1/2 ft long section on to the 8 ft L girders. Once I had the two long sections (left and right) of benchwork completed I wasn't happy with the lack of ridigity at mid point, so I added a 2 x 4 cross brace and a 2 x 4 leg.

The next steps will include leveling all of the benchwork and then attaching everything to the floor with angle brackets and anchors. Once everything is secure, I'll start adding the joists. Stay turned for more.