Making a Floating Banquette - Full Build Video

My house is small and doesn't have a formal dining area. However, there is space in the fairly large kitchen to put a small table and chairs making it an eat-in kitchen.
I decided to build an L shaped bench in the corner rather than chairs, giving it a more custom look. And to make it challenging (and get the look I want), it doesn't have legs or storage underneath to support it.
The banquette is built around the cushions I ordered a few years ago and solidly attached to the walls behind it. My kitchen has more of a modern look and is made from maple, so that's what I used here as well.
If you are curious about the "window" above the bench that appeared halfway through the build, I show how I made that in two exclusive videos for my supporters on Patreon and Locals:
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[@JohnHeisz]

My house is small and doesn't have a formal dining area. However, there is space in the fairly large kitchen to put a small table and chairs making it an eat-in kitchen. I decided to build an L shaped bench in the corner rather than chairs, giving it a more custom look. And to make it challenging (and get the look I want), it doesn't have legs or storage underneath to support it. The banquette is built around the cushions I ordered a few years ago and solidly attached to the walls behind it. My kitchen has more of a modern look and is made from maple, so that's what I used here as well. If you are curious about the "window" above the bench that appeared halfway through the build, I show how I made that in two exclusive videos for my supporters on Patreon and Locals: ▶ Patreon: www.patreon.com/user?u=865843&ty=h ▶Support the work I do on Locals: ibuildit.locals.com/

[@dillonelkins989]

Do you/will you have plans for this for sale?

[@manson5150]

There is no greater love than the love John has for construction adhesive.

[@jamesrogers4761]

And water based poly.

[@manson5150]

@@jamesrogers4761 Truth

[@yackbuttertea]

Same here. Titebond pl3 premium for life.

[@moden321]

_Polyurethane_ construction adhesive. There are other kinds, and I'm sure he doesn't cheat on his one true love.

[@aaronblackford981]

He got he job done

[@markhedquist9597]

Cool! The house seems to be filling up with a lot of your custom builds. I've certainly watched all the individual build videos for each one. Would be enjoyable to see a walk thru video of the whole house. I have an idea of the feel of your place, and a virtual walk thru would really show it off.

[@jamesrogers4761]

John Heisz. The only man on KZbin not using black Walnut. And for this we are grateful.

[@jmk7104]

This guy’s ingenuity is second to none

[@BrettRebman]

This is the best way to start a Sunday!

[@aaronblackford981]

Love when a shop is as awesome as yours and seeing some saw dust and not perfectly organized. Too many pro don’t let you see dust or disorganization even mid project.

[@rafvdp6391]

It's unbelievable how much top notch projects you made over time and this build is right with it imho. Love the simplicity and design. The window was the cherry on top.👌

[@howder1951]

Nice and beautiful demo of scribing/fitting. My dad used to be a carpenter and he was good at projects like this, and this brought him to mind. Enjoyed, thanks!

[@rickfletcher8389]

Neat the way that the inclined back supports provide extra strength to the cantilevered seat, so you don’t need the legs. However with all the construction adhesive, if you or anyone one wants to take the banquette out, they will probably have to demolish the whole wall!! Great build!!

[@kaycox19]

Looks, Sharp - Beautiful - Functional - - - well, well done! And thanks for sharing.

[@greglamphier4430]

Looks awesome John, thanks for sharing.. love the clean design, no legs or brackets. 👌🏼

[@randywright7933]

Another awesome project from "the man." Thanks for sharing

[@Stakman1]

Wow, this looks fantastic!

[@brianwood5220]

Looks very nice, John. Thanks for sharing.

[@marcbarash6045]

Great Video John

[@thegentlemanmaker]

Ooh that’s lovely John. The construction method is very nice.

[@sebastiancaceres1053]

I saw your "rant" just the other day and i going to say it anyway, i wish you upload more videos more often... you are my favorite woodworker . Always keep coming up with functional and smart solutions to any situation.

[@kennethnielsen3864]

Thanks for sharing.

[@baconsoda]

That's a good job. Nice one. Best Wishes, B.

[@JohnHeisz]

Thanks :)

[@philliparudolph9595]

Really nice look

[@zowyadoinbeb]

Awesome job John!

[@paulhirst3548]

Very nice John. Very practical and looks great. I really like the maple. The colours work well for that area.

[@MCsCreations]

Beautiful work, John! Really well done!!! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@MRrwmac]

John, Always good to see to you doing some woodworking for your house! Nice design and addition. I don’t think it should get the “Matthias Jump sit test” though …haha! Congratulations!

[@jram4271]

You have skills for sure......and great ideas to use your skills on.

[@KyleMerl]

Beautiful work as always John!

[@JohnHeisz]

Thank you :)

[@emilevoyer123]

THANKS FOR THE VIDEO

[@rossmckenzie2283]

John were you gluing to sheet plaster (Gyprock)? Does that actually provide any strength?

[@ramseydarling]

Really nice work! Super clean!

[@Fritschge128]

Very nice! Would have never thought to build it like that. I would probably have built the whole thing, fixing it to the wall as the final step.

[@mahammadghannoum490]

Good job 👏👍

[@jay1070]

Hey the best woodworker on YT made his way back to my recommended feed finally. Is that flexvolt Dewalt miter saw worth the $$? Great video!

[@derschlotter5605]

That looks great John. ✌🏼

[@dpmeyer4867]

Thanks

[@HoneyHollowHomestead]

I am planning on doing something similar for my kitchen sink. I will be using 2x material with pocket screws. The sink will be in the corner so I am thinking I will add additional support, painted dark to make it less visible. The one side will fit in a 6' wide space so it will be supported on both ends. It will be "L" shaped with the short leg possibly having support to the floor where it ends. I think it will look cool.

[@UnarmedZombie]

I've been wanting to do the exact same thing in my kitchen. We have baseboard heating, so it would have to be a floating bench like this. Only thing I might change is to make a small lip around the bench to help keep the cushions from sliding off.

[@freshcoatpaintingmore9951]

Great job, love it!

[@alfonsoafricano8415]

Great job... ¿ can you add an additional low profile drawer on top of an existing dresser ?

[@Cinnamonbuns13]

What design/planning software are you using?

[@francisconascimento2034]

Beautiful work, fantastic very good Brasil.

[@jaymiepavolonis6748]

So you don't need any brackets underneath for support? How many pounds would it hold?

[@manolololy]

Bonito trabajo compañero

[@sarena4454]

Looks amazing! And sturdy. How much weight can it carry?

[@shmiggz]

Nice job John! I was wondering if you kept th domino

[@cgstadler]

John- I notice the top framing is proud of (from?) the backrest. That looks great, but is it comfortable when you sit back?

[@plainnpretty]

Sculpture ? What’s it made of ? Your bench turned out great. Thanks John

[@Секретыстоляра]

Классная идея! Мне понравилось! 👍👍👍

[@ppdan]

I know this will hold but when constructing things like that I am always very pessimistic and bolt it to the wall so that your car can sit on it. I guess doing lots of sound/light install in clubs in the past has made me extremely over cautious.

[@DefinitelyNotMyRealName]

Shit 15 minutes?!?! I can do that this weekend!

[@TheForgottenXXVII]

Looks clean and very well done! Can you offer any advice about where to source cushions? Or did you do those yourself too? Thanks!

[@KrahsThe]

How much weight can this hold?

[@crazyaz9468]

Good vid but what purpose does the construction adhesive have on a painted wall? If the screws failed, it'd just peel the paint/drywall paper off.

[@JohnHeisz]

First you have to know exactly what the screws are actually doing. Most guys think they are holding up the part on the wall through shear, which is only partly true. The real holding power of a screw is through stiction where the screw is holding the part tight to the wall surface. So, to add to that stiction you would use something that increases it, like glue.

[@worldschaos2181]

That is one great looking Bench. Is this going to be part of an eating area?

[@AquaPeet]

Very nice, congrats! Now go sit in the corner!

[@HGD70]

Your meticulosity is on point. Very nice work, as usual.

[@luisotero2632]

John, you didn't do the Matthias test where he runs up to the project and jumps on it.

[@marcodefelice3444]

I want see a picture with you seated there

[@daifeichu]

If you belong to his Locals you can see him and another rather large gentleman both sitting on it.

[@colinnicol9447]

I’m sure I saw a joint without construction adhesive 😂

[@jimbucket2996]

Look at him using biscuits and dominos!

[@nedimbuyukafsar6434]

👍👍👍

[@deek3048]

The glue added to the painted sheetrock adds NO strength to the bench and is only as strong as the paper that holds the sheetrock together...

[@ryanohayre2809]

Can you do like Matthias and jump on it at the end? I’m curious

[@daifeichu]

Matthias is just a tiny wood elf. John is, with no disrespect, much much bigger.

[@davidbailey6350]

👌

[@grumblycurmudgeon]

Boy. Just phoned this one in, huh?

[@rafezetter8003]

Why not put at least 2 thin diagonals going to the wall underneath for each bench, roughly equal distance from the ends? It wouldn't have affected the aesthetic and meant kids in the future could stand or jump on it (as they definitely would) without an accident. I always try to build my projects with "future dumbasses" in mind - even people who may use the things I make after I'm gone.

[@KipdoesStuff]

Simple answer that you won't like, it would be ugly then.

[@rafezetter8003]

@@KipdoesStuff Two THIN struts wouldn't make it "ugly" and generally these types of banquette seating normally have a table in front of them which will hide the majority of the visuals. if the struts are put AWAY from the visible edges (as I stated) they will hardly be visible at all. Aesthetics are fine, but ONLY as long as they don't compromise the structure and you can guarantee even if anybody making this design doesn't have young children, somebody in the future who owns the house probably will and kids stand on bench seats all the time without thought to the structural integrity.

[@JohnHeisz]

Give it some thought, first, and then give a rundown on how you see this failing if a future dumbass has his way with it. For example, do you see the whole thing collapsing, as in falling off the wall completely if a future dumbass jumped on it? Or would just part of it break off? Or would it pull the entire wall it's attached to down? Serious question.

[@rafezetter8003]

@@JohnHeiszI know you've got supports, but they are all attached near the back, so I would think the seat part could well break away about at the point the back supports are attached, away from where said stresses will all be - even plywood and maple has it's structural limits. I know this design and the supports are all working on the theory that the weight of the body is close to the wall when a person is sitting back, but you cannot guarantee everyone will do that, depending on the table that goes in front, and children will definitely not do that, plus if that table is at all used at some point in the future as a play space, children will stand there and all the cantilevered loading will be at the front. Baquettes in corner spaces like this lend themselves perfectly to the task, and this has been built into place, so it could well be there for many decades, long after you've sold the property. All I'm thinking of are two or even one diagonal going from near the front to the corner where the floor meets the wall for each bench. A single strip of maple plywood, even faced on one edge would significantly increase the loadbearing capacity to a point YOU could probably stand on the edge without issue, though jumping up and down would be ill advised. If the spacing is amenable, screw the wall face into the stud and cap the screw head, or add the facing strip afterwards for the cleanest visuals.

[@JohnHeisz]

I recorded a video this morning talking about the way the bench is built and how strong it is and will post that later today on my other channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6SbmHqQgctlf8U It was prompted by your comment and others on this video, and other videos in general, where the strength of a project is questioned. @@rafezetter8003

[@ziayousufzai425]

Thanks i did something non speaker work 😂

[@MrFoxRobert]

👋👍

[@thesweetone]

I dont trust my walls enough to make that for my house.

[@OriginalMomo]

I don’t trust plywood enough to try this lol. I’d have to use all hardwoods. Nope.

[@JohnHeisz]

That process is called over-building, not over-engineering. You over-build because you don't understand the engineering, with engineering being the way to make it strong without being too bulky or taking forever to finish and costing more than it needs to.

[@vmoutsop]

I always hate when I hear the outro music start.

[@AllMyHobbies]

come on John no shot of you sitting on it showing how much sag it has?

[@thomasmarliere2505]

Well build but that wil never hold the weight of four people lifting their feet at the same time.

[@voalexandrevo]

That's why he didn't test it on video 😂

[@KipdoesStuff]

Make your own and prove it, oh wait, I forgot, you don't have 1% of the skill John does.

[@lukegleadall7647]

I thought the same, I didn't think it would be strong enough

[@aaronwood6910]

@@KipdoesStuffhe’s right.

[@aaronwood6910]

I hate to be that guy but this is not going to be very strong at all. I don’t know how long this will last but it will fail.

[@JohnHeisz]

Give it some thought, first, and then give a rundown on how you see this failing. For example, do you see the whole thing collapsing, as in falling off the wall completely? Or would just part of it break off? Or would it pull the entire wall it's attached to down? Serious question.

[@aaronwood6910]

I would add that the drywall between the bench and the frame is a cause for concern. The drywall should have been removed and framing attached using an in wall floating countertop bracket so as not to rely on construction adhesive and screws in plywood in a shear strength application.

[@JohnHeisz]

You might want to watch this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6SbmHqQgctlf8U@@aaronwood6910

[@aaronwood6910]

@@JohnHeisz that’s great. But like I originally said, in my opinion this is not something that will hold up to the test of time. I would never build this for a client because I would eventually be called back to repair it. In your own home, you can get away with that.

[@JohnHeisz]

That would be your inability to make it strong enough, probably because you don't fully understand how to. All I can do is present the info, but I can't make you understand it, or have the confidence that it will not fail that understanding provides. Truth is, you have no idea how this will hold up over time. Claiming otherwise is just blind arrogance.@@aaronwood6910