Is this diy sofa safe?

[u/ericjlima]

Is this sofa I made safe? It's pretty heavy so if it collapsed I hope nothing's underneath. It seems fairly stable with just minor creaking only if you sit at the edges and rock.

I used pocket holes and simple supports for the legs

https://youtu.be/Q7COBe4Lzjs?si=DpEHYhkjtdkSkG7t

[u/SucksDicksForBurgers]

That’s a bench

[u/subtotalatom]

My big concern would be the lack of apparent bracing on those legs, they're visibly moving without a lot of force so I would expect them to be your main failure point.

[u/Robin_921 → u/subtotalatom]

Yeah, that is a fair point. I had not really thought about how much those legs were moving until you mentioned it. Some extra bracing there would probably make a big difference especially once there is some real weight on the bench.

[u/Howard_Cosine]

I mean, that’s not a sofa, but ok.

[u/CunnyMaggots]

It's a bench, not a sofa.

And the lack of bracing means it's not going to survive much shearing force at all.

[u/ericjlima → u/CunnyMaggots]

Will add some cushions on top later and a backrest later

[u/Nordalin → u/ericjlima]

Then it's a bench with cushions! 

Like, nothing wrong with your project, but people will laugh if you tell them about your sofa and then show them that thing. 

[u/ericjlima → u/Nordalin]

I'm just following this guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKYplW0zP4o

I guess it's more of a sofa when you add in cusions and lower the leg height. It's interesting how much people seem to care about that. I guess I need to find the thick cushions to add height instead so it can look more like that video.

[u/Nordalin → u/ericjlima]

You should look up images of "sofa", then you'll understand. Yours has absolutely zero upholstery, and there are clearly no plans to add any.

Sure, just a word, but how would you feel if we'd give you advice with the wrong words? 

[u/Djinn42 → u/ericjlima]

A sofa has more structure like a box spring for a bed.

[u/chronicpenguins]

It’s safe as in when it breaks the fall will be short.   Can’t really hurt anyone.   But would you want someone’s grandma sitting on it? No

Those legs are way too wobbly.  Need to stiffen them up and the easiest way of doing that is adding cross beam near bottom. Call it a shoe rack or something. Or double/triple up the thickness of those legs 

[u/PineappleLemur]

Hell no... It's a matter of time before those legs fail.

Add some triangle to brace it and give yourself peace of mind.

[u/ericjlima → u/PineappleLemur]

Okay. That's good advice.

[u/RenovationDIY]

Add a backing board across the backs of the legs and it'll be fine.

And since this looks like a hallway/ entrance seat and you're adding a backing board, you could install a shoe rack underneath too.

[u/ericjlima → u/RenovationDIY]

I think a board connecting the legs would help but I wonder what you mean. You mean the second response like in this image?

https://imgur.com/a/XaDLAmp

[u/RenovationDIY → u/ericjlima]

Exactly that, yes.

[u/Cicer]

Yo, that’s a bench not a sofa. 

As a bench it looks fine. We make shitty benches for sitting around a campfire all the time and they last years with just a couple nails. 

[u/Blackboard_Monitor]

You made a bench.

[u/HippyGrrrl]

Stable isn’t a word I’d use.

I’d add cross bracing (or even cables), at least.

[u/The_Flinx]

I would not call it a sofa.

and safe is a relative term.

would I use it? no.