I’m pretty ignorant about building outdoor/patio furniture. I live in Illinois where the summers are hot and humid, the winters cold and snowy. Outdoor wood furniture never seemed like a great idea to me and so I’ve blissfully ignored articles and discussions about how to build such furniture.
Now, a good friend has asked me to build a small table to go on her patio by the back door so that she can set her grocery bags there while she opens the door. She has some cedar planks in her garage and wants me to use them to build the small table.
I’ve thought about it for a couple of days and decided that the table top should probably be made of a series of slats with space between the slats so that the snow can fall through and the table can stay drier. That might help resist warping. I’m thinking about putting the slats in a frame that would make up the outside edges of the table. For the legs I’ve been thinking four short legs attached to an apron just like I would for a regular table. I guess the top can be attached to the apron in the usual manner (slots and clips).
I’m planning to use Titebond II to glue it all together. She likes the look of cedar that has turned silver/gray in the weather so I’m thinking about not using any finish.
So, what suggestions do people have before I start out on this project?
I’ll try to include a sketch of what I have in mind.
TIA
–Whit
Replies
Maybe consider using Trex or the equal .
Should work fine -- as far as fine goes for outdoor cedar furniture. (It'll age/crack/splinter after awhile outdoors, but I gather from your post that this is OK with the client.) Use stainless steel fasteners if you can find 'em.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
This ought to work fine with cedar. I agree with the use of stainless fasteners, and would add the suggestion that the bottoms of the legs, which will rest on the patio, should be impregnated with epoxy to slow water wicking up the legs.
There is a very similar table by Thomas Spender in"Making Contemporary Wooden Tables" (ed. Spender, Lark Books, 2000)
I have made a table for our patio and found some cypress which has held up very well. It works easily. I used Gorilla Glue to maximize the water-proof properties. You might also consider Titebond III.
On the bottom of the legs I used adjustable furniture glides because the area is never absolutely level and also to keep the legs from sitting in too much moisture.
Your design looks nice. Your sketch shows a mitered frame around the top. Even if you reinforce your miters with beefy splines, drastic climate changes could prove problematic.
As another poster already suggested, you might want to consider Titebond III (or Resorcinol or epoxy).
Grain orientation will be important, e.g., on the top, if you orient plainsawn members bark-side-up, they'll be more likely to cup and hold snow and water; plainsawn bark-side-down, or a quartersawn orientation, might be less trouble.
I agree that stainless steel or bronze hardware are a good idea.
Good luck,
-Jazzdogg-
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
Edited 8/11/2006 10:41 pm by jazzdogg
I agree with Jazz, but I will go ahead and say it. I would not use the mitered frame, and just let the slats over-hang the sides and end. If you are hung up on the frame though, change the miter to a M&T joint.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I abandoned the miter and used M&T joints, used Titebond III (I couldn't find Resorcinol locally), used epoxy on the bottom of the feet, and used stainless steel screws. It turned out that there wasn't enough cedar, but there was some redwood (enough for the legs and apron). The top is made out of mystery wood. I convinced her I should use some finish made for a deck to help improve the life of the mystery wood.I dropped it off at her house today.--Whit
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