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[jgrayson]

Hello,

Over the years I have enjoyed reading and seeing picture of upgrades some of you have made to your houses and yards.  Now it's my turn...

I had been watching our wooden patio table slowly weather away, and I knew it would need to be replaced.  I had already done some repairs to shore it up to get a couple more years out of it, but the time had come for the old table to be retired.

I wanted a large table that would be durable.  The old wooden table only lasted 7 or 8 years, and only that much time because of the repairs I made.  I didn't build it so I'm not sure, but I don't believe it was made from wood that was really meant to be stored outside 12 months of the year.  It sat 8 people comfortably, so I wanted to replace it with one that would seat a similar number of adults.  Cost was a concern for us, so the plan was to build the table ourselves to save some money.

My solution was to build a table base out of treated lumber for exterior use.  I build it very strong with 4 X 4 supports and several joists running the length to support a very heavy table top.  The table top is poured concrete.  The table top dimensions are 7 1/2 feet long and 3 feet wide.  This turned into a family project which added to the fun.

First, I built the table base.  My two sons (Will is 10 and Alex is stained the table base.

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Next, I moved the table base into position on the patio.  I layered the table top with exterior plywood and cement board and then used concrete countertop forms to create a perimeter around the table top, and then poured the concrete directly onto the table top.  I used 8 bags of concrete at 80 pounds each.  Pouring the concrete top in place meant that I would not have to move it later.

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After allowing the concrete to cure for a few days the counter top forms can be snapped off revealing the edge.  Then I let it cure for a few weeks before I stained and sealed the concrete.

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Finally, I needed to build some benches for the sides, and we use some iron chairs for the two ends.  Alex was a great help assembling the bench parts.

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This was a fun project.  It took a bit longer to complete then we anticipated, but the finished product exceeds our needs and the benches are actually long enough for 4 somewhat skinny adults to sit on.  It was also nice to have the kids get excited to take active roles in the project.

[Kristin Meredith]

What a lovely result!! And how nice that your kids could be involved, they will remember that experience forever.

[ylr]

Really nice job on the table and the benches! Hope you don't have to move it!

[hughver]

Looks great, I hope that you used the proper fasters for the treated lumber, anything other than stainless, copper or G-185 galvanized could corrode and fail in a few years due to the chemicals use in the treating process.

[yorkdude]

Well how neat is that? The results are fantastic and sounds like the process was just as fantastic.

[Canadian John]

 I believe your builds would be classified as Heavy Duty Super Heavy Duty. A job well done!

[pmillen]

A very nice job.

I think you should use a wood burning pen to sign and date it...your family will be using it for several generations.