Beginner DIY - making a tiled coffee table

[katep1]

Hello! I am working off the Bunnings DIY project 'How to create a tiled table' and I was just hoping to ask a couple of questions.

• If I want to increase the size of the table (so it's more of a wide, low coffee table), should I add some kind of bracing, to help the wood cope with the weight of the tiles?
• Should the plywood primer be something that helps stop any moisture from the tile adhesive sinking into the wood (and causing warping/rotting)?
• And finally, if I wanted to add low legs (maybe something like this) do I need to consider a thicker wood to begin with? (At the moment the plywood is 12mm deep).

Hopefully that makes sense, any advice is appreciated, I'm a DIY beginner!

Thanks, 
Kate

[JacobZ]

Hi Kate (@katep1),

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thank you for your question.

If you are looking to increase the size of the table, I'd suggest incorporating a basic frame made from 70 x 35mm Framing MGP10 Untreated Pine. This will add significant strength to the table by taking the responsibility of lead-bearing away from the plywood. If you can give me some dimensions for the table, I'd be happy to knock up a basic design for you to work off of. Keep in mind that the tiled table in How To Create A Tiled Table was created based on the size of the mosaic tile sheets, so any changes in size will require some tile cutting.

The primer will help protect the timber from any moisture, but the amount of moisture transfer from the tile adhesive will be minimal and will certainly not be enough to cause warping or rotting.

With a basic frame, the Adoored 100mm Pine Square Furniture Leg can be attached to the framing timber with a 3/8" T Nuts.

Once you've provided some dimensions, I will be happy to work with you to create your tiled coffee table.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[katep1]

Thanks so much Jacob! Really appreciate it.

Well, I was going to use these mosaic sheets, which are 306 x 306mm, and so am thinking the table top could be 918 x 612mm (so, 3 x mosaic sheets by 2 x mosaic sheets). I started to wonder about the weight though, so I was thinking I could aim for this instead. The same framework (I assume) but keep the sides open?

Each tile is 47 x 47mm, so if you allow 3mm for grout, the table top could be 50mm or 100mm deep? (So one tile or two tiles deep?) I don't mind more grout showing at the joins like in that blue/white table linked above. And then I could possibly do the same width for the two sides? The height of the table would just be based on the mosaic sheets again, so maybe 459mm (1.5 x sheets). 

I have attached a sketch of what I'm thinking (which hopefully makes sense), but I'm unsure how to go about the frame. EG would I choose pine that was at least 50mm deep, so it's already the depth of the table top/width of the legs that I'm after?

Thanks so much for your help!

Kate

[katep1]

** Sorry!! I just realised that if the tiles are 47 x 47mm and grout needs 3mm, it's going to need 53 x 53mm to have enough space for tile + grout all the way around (this would affect table top depth etc).

[JacobZ]

Hi @katep1,

I love your comprehensive sketch, it makes it very clear what you are trying to achieve, thank you for that. Your frame is almost exactly what was thinking. 

70x35mm pine is my suggestion for the frame as it is very available, relatively cheap and fairly lightweight while still being very strong.

As you are using a comprehensive frame, you can use thinner plywood as it will used more as a backing for the tile than a component that creates the structure. This 2400 x 1200mm 7mm Plywood F8 Pine Structural CD Grade will work well with the size of the framing materials and the tiles. Using this with 35mm thick timber, you can have a sheet of 7mm ply on each side of the timber to have a width of 49mm, which is near perfect for the size of the tiles.

I am working on a render using the components I've mentioned above. You'll have to let me play around a bit to figure out what works best, but it is unlikely we'll be able to avoid cutting any tiles as there are so many corners and edges to consider in the design. I will try to make it so any cuts are on the inside of the coffee table, so they are hidden from sight. 

Once I have checked things, I will get back to you with what I have come up with.

Jacob

[katep1]

Alright, I've tried one more time haha, is this working? Or have I entered another universe by this point...

In the end I decided the framing only needs to accommodate the size of the tile itself (no grout), therefore it just needs to be 47mm thick. Is that right? I've tried to achieve this by using 35mm thick timber for the framing, and then adding the 12mm thick plywood on top. The only issue with this may be the interior side panels (because adding another 12mm thick plywood panel on to the inside of the framing would mean 12mm ply + 35mm timber frame + 12mm ply for the exterior side panel). To combat this I've just put the plywood panel between the timber framing on the inside (instead of over the top), but I realise this might be a bit finicky to do. 

I've gone on and on so I will stop here!! 😅 Any guidance would be appreciated, thank you! 

Kate

 

[katep1]

Thank you @JacobZ!! Apologies, I posted that last sketch without realising that you'd replied! Thanks for your help, I'm looking forward to your render

Kate