DIY Church Pew

Want to learn how to make a beautiful church pew for under $65 in one day?

I was searching for a pew last year when I quickly found out that many of the ones I was interested in were quite expensive (as in $200 or more) and not mention not quite the size I was looking for.  I decided maybe I could build one myself and I began to look for inspiration on the internet.  I found several options I liked including a few on Pinterest. I picked out the features I liked in several different pews, combined them, and then built my pew from scratch. I now have a beautiful customized church pew for my home! I can’t wait to tell you how to make one for yourself!  If you are a visual person and want to see a video about the process or maybe just take a quick peek before following along be sure to check out my YouTube video below.

Now that you have decided to build your own pew, follow along with this guide and you will be sitting pretty in no time!

Step 1 : Collect the following tools to make the pew:

I made my pew 59 inches wide but you can easily add/remove inches to the measurements listed below to customize it to your liking.

Step 2: Take one each of your large and small 2×10’s.  Place them side by side and figure out how you want the gap between the “legs” to be/how you want it to look. I took a few pieces of paper and drew various designs I thought I might want prior to deciding on the final one (and eventually cutting it out). FYI: I pre drill for all my holes so non of the wood boards will split.

Step 3: Take the kreg jig and pre drill holes on both 2×10 boards to you can screw them together. I alternated the holes per board.

Step:4 Screw them together using 3 inch wood screws 

Step 5 Use the jigsaw to cut your design in the wood.

Then, take that cutout pew end and place it pocket holes face down on the other, uncut wood so all the holes will be under the pew, I made the mistake not doing that.

Step 6: I used 3-1×6 boards for the backing and added a 1×2 for a finish piece on top. Then I took that measurement to determine the 2×2 height to screw the back boards to.

Step 7: Attach the 2×2 at an angle so when you sit it feels comfortable.

Step 8 :  Then screw your back and seat boards one at a time to the 2x2s with wood screws.

Step 9: Repeat the same process to attach the back boards: just stack them one on another and then screw them to the backboard.

Step 10: I decided to add an edge piece with a scalloped edge to the front of the pew.  

I cut a paper template to trace a pattern onto a 1×3.  I cut out the design using my jigsaw. Then I added glue to the seat board trim and used my 18 gauge nail gun with 1 inch nails to attach the edge piece to the seat boards.

I think the scalloped edge gave the pew a bit of the vintage charm I was looking for.   I am pleased with how my pew turned out and I hope you are inspired to create your own custom DIY pew bench now! 

You can watch the whole tutorial here on my YouTube Channel  

This is how I styled it for summer!