Kids Fire Hose Bench – Firefighter Decor
As a young kid, even I wanted to become a firefighter. That was in the early 70’s when you never heard of female firefighters. I didn’t know it at the time and luckily my parents never discouraged me at that young age. As I grew my hopes and aspirations changed and then they once again came back to it in my early 20’s. As a child, I would have loved the idea of having a bench like this in my room. Back then, I don’t even think people thought of making their kid’s rooms have detailed themes. You might have curtains that matched your bedspread but, there weren’t all the cool options there are today.
The only problem can be sometimes you can’t find the exact decor piece that you want. My solution has always been to create the item. That way I get the exact size and dimensions I need. It doesn’t take many hours to create this fire hose bench but it does take a weekend to complete it as there is downtime between some of the steps before you can complete the next step in the process.
Determining the height you want to make the bench: Bench/Chair height for the average age for toddlers is between 10 – 12 inches. For Children 4 to 8, the majority of sites say that the recommended height is 12-14 inches. Normally you want to purchase furniture items that can grow with your child as they grow. Children grow quickly and their latest infatuation can change how they want their room decorated or what they are into. This bench fits well with any other furniture in the room.
The dimensions that I made my bench: I made my frame to have a 12 5/8″ height so that once the fire hose was added on the top that the height of the bench would be 13″. I felt that this height would accommodate any child for a good period of time as they aged and grew. I made the length of the bench 36″. I decided on the length by considering what aesthetically would look good with a 12″ depth as well as considering the dimensions should it be used as a bench at the end of a bed. Most children seem to have either twin or double beds in their rooms to still allow plenty of play space around their bed. A twin bed is 38″ in width and a full bed has about a 54″ width. This bench was made to be 36″ long so it could easily be utilized at the end of either size bed and look great.
What you need to make this project:
- wood to make the frame (I used 8′ of 1×4″ board for the frame)
- bench legs and cross support (I used a scrap piece of wood that the dimensions on were 1.5″ x 3″
- wood glue and wood screws (I also used my nail gun but this project can be done without one)
- good clean fire hose (when completing projects for children, new fire hose is the best option. However, it is not readily available and when you do locate some, it can be quite costly.)
- Staple gun to secure the hose to the frame
Finding fire hose that will work: You definitely want very clean fire hose. Even better would be new fire hose. Just like with PPE (Firefighter Protective Gear), you worry about the residual carcinogens that are left behind. New hose can be bought, it just makes your project more costly. You really can’t sell the bench for enough to re-coop your expenses so it has to be more a labor of love. However, a great option that usually sees no fire exposure and can be found on social media sites or auction sites, is from the hose that you find in high rises that they store and connect to a standpipe. Sometimes when a building is being remodeled or demolished, this hose is removed. It makes a perfect hose for a child’s bench.
I was lucky enough to use new fire hose. Since you are only using the outer jacket, you can still create another one from the inner jacket. The good thing about the outer jacket is that you can incorporate the hose markings to make it quite identifiable. I personally love hose markings incorporated into my designs.
Step-by-step instructions can be found on my Red Line Fire Hose Bench post. See link below. Just utilize the dimensions discussed in this post for a kid’s bench.
https://mothertruckerdesigns.com/2020/08/10/fire-hose-bench/
A fire hose bench is a great auction item for charity. It is also a great fire station group project to improve your firehouse. I hope you decide to make one. It is a fairly easy project that shows the pride of our career! Stay safe!
-The Mother Trucker-