A car tire is difficult to recycle. But for upcycling furniture like our stool, an old tire is quite suitable. With Sisal rope you can conjure up a stool like from the orient in just a few hours. Our step-by-step guide shows you how to upcycle a car tire into a stool.
With this simple, small upcycled stool, ottoman or table from an old car tire, you can get your holiday mood home. Because: It looks just like traditional rope stools from Asia.
But that’s not all: our stool is wonderfully changeable! You can just turn it over, then put a blanket and a sheepskin in it and the cuddly place for the pet is ready. Depending on the tyre size, a very cozy place for the beloved dog or cat. The good thing about the rope stool: The material costs are absolutely manageable at about $50 and the piece is built very quickly. The time to upcycle a car tire into a stool is less than three hours.
A helper can’t hurt for the slightly tricky application of the rope with the help of the glue gun. To ensure that the sisal rope can withstand the rigours of everyday life, paint it with a clear protective coating. Of course, our chic upcycling stool doesn’t have to stay that way: in Asia, they are painted in the most colorful colors – so you could perfect the holiday atmosphere in your living room.
Of course, you can also sew (let) a cover for the stool, cut some foam (about 5 to 10 centimeters thick) in the diameter of the stool, then cover the stool with it. The fixed seat cushion is ready. Just as conceivable would be a (Plexi) glass plate, which you attach with stick screws and hat nuts to the MDF plate under the sisal rope – provided, of course, you want to use the furniture as a table.
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What you need
- Material: Sisal rope (100 meters), 20 glue sticks, glaze (clear), MDF plate (22 millimeters, 70 x 70 centimeters), car tires, nails, cord, screws
- Tools: Hot glue gun, brush, hammer, cordless screwdriver, meter rod, miter drawer, pencil, miter saw, jigsaw, aids: rags
Steps to upcycle a car tire into a stool
If you don’t have an old car tire in the garage, you can get it from $5-10 on the internet or just ask a car dealer you know.
1. Assemble all your materials.
2. First, clean the old car tire and free it from dirt and dust – simply with water and some detergent.
3. Then measure the diameter of the tire to cut the MDF plate.
4. Use a wooden bar, each diagonally from corner to corner, to mark the center of the plate.
The body of the stool
The circular round in the diameter of the car tire sawn out of the MDF plate, acts as a seat or table surface.
1. Clear material requirements: MDF plate, hammer, saw, miter saw, wooden strip and pencil.
2. In the next step, saw the ledge with the miter load on the length of the tire radius.
3. At the ends of the ledge, drill a small hole so that the wood does not split when you hit the nail.
4. Hit a nail into the end. Drive the second nail through the bar and the marked center. This will be your radius to mark the circle.
5. With the circle you can easily cut the required circular round and mark the cut path for the jigsaw.
6. Now drill a hole that touches the cut line and that is large enough to insert the saw blade.
7. Use a jigsaw with a curve saw blade to saw. Starting from the hole, you saw along the line.
8. You now place the resulting plate precisely on the tire. For the later screwing, drill holes.
9. The holes are countersunk so that the screw heads lie on the plan and do not interfere with bonding.
10. Then screw the plate onto the tire. Do not use too long screws so that they do not protrude inside.
Glue ropes
Now it’s time to add the sisal rope. Using the hot glue gun and the rope, place a screw, starting in the middle of the MDF plate. It’s best for you to be two, it can get a little frieze.
1. To apply the sisal, first apply a blob of glue to the marked center with the hot glue gun.
2. Press the sisal until the glue is hardened. Now you can start laying the rope around the center.
3. Glue your circles until you reach the edge. Then guide the rope along the edge of the plate.
4. If you have about half of the tire clad in rope, it is easier to turn the tire to the other side to continue.
5. Finally, coat the finished stool with a permanent protective glaze, so you protect it from any stains.
6. Done! No one who sits on the stool suspects that the basis for this is an old car tire: the sisal rope hides it wonderfully and makes the stool comfortable.
Find more upcycling ideas and guides in our Sustainability section.
Gerhardt Richter is a writer and a trainer at trade technical colleges, specializing in carpentry, plumbing, mechanics and construction.
