The bench saga continues...
I talked with my dad about the concrete benches. I don't remember if we talked about this in class, but the bench that I found with the wooden legs that we liked so much has a support frame--there aren't just wooden legs stuck inside a concrete slab. It's also a lot smaller than the benches we want to make. In this picture, the legs and skirt are probably attached to each other with lag bolts. The support frame on the bottom is not a solid piece that goes under the concrete. There are notches cut in the legs and the support frame goes around the outside of the slab. Wood is a compression material and this setup helps support the weight of the concrete.
Also, they're going to be really heavy. I hope we'll have a way to move them without losing any limbs! (Dad made a joke about this on his bench plans....)
So, I asked an expert for his suggestions on how we can make a bench that looks like the one above. Here are the sketches Dad drew that show how we can make a similar bench. He suggests that we use pressure-treated wood, which is pine, and also that we use carriage bolts to attach the legs to the support frame:
Also, I checked with my grandmother about the brown eyed susans, and apparently they do not transplant well. If we want them for our container garden, we do in fact need to purchase some because they will have already been living in a pot. (I hope I didn't mess everyone up by not including them on the plants-to-buy list.)
Please let me know if you have any questions about anything! Again, the above sketches are just suggestions, but they may prove helpful.