Custom industrial outdoor table

[ogosh]

I was designing a outdoor table as a present but couldn’t locate the Merbau fence panel we’d wanted to use as the table top.

So whilst searching for other suitable Merbau boards to use we came across H4 sienna pine sleepers 200 x 50 x 1800 the perfect size for our table top. It’s rich red colour and rough rustic look was the clincher.

We selected the 4 straightest boards we could and set them aside for a week to dry out and acclimatise in situ.

Added in two palings to act as bracing for what would a very heavy tabletop.Chose our legs

Picked up our fasteners and we were ready to go.

 

To start off the build we laid out our boards picking the faces and orientations we liked the best, numbered and marked them all, and got set for plenty of sanding. You can really see the difference in the finish between the rough sawn sleepers and how nice they come up once sanded to 80 and then 120 grit.

With plenty of measuring, pre-drilling, spacing and clamping we finally had our top complete.

Some more measuring pre-drilling, some very heavy lifting and plenty of hammering we had our legs on as well.

Some cinching up of washers n nuts from

underneath and a final sand of the top sides and rounding over edges….. It was done.

Time to complete was around 4-5 hours for two taking it easy with plenty of breaks.

Costings are always of interest, and were  as follows:

4 x sleepers @ $15.31ea = $61.24

2 x legs @ $49.00 ea = $98.00

8g 50mm outdoor timber screws = $5.40

8 x 1/4” x 2 1/2” bolts, washers and nuts @ $0.56 each = $4.48

1/3 sheet sander, sanding block and sand paper were on hand.

TOTAL = $169.12 ($161.93 PowerPass)

Hope you like our new table!

Fire away with any questions or comments!

[EricL]

Hello @sonyaw

What are some of the tell-tale signs of treated timber? It will have an olive green tinge to its surface, it has a very strong chemical smell of oil or gas. The number one indicator is that if the timber has been left outside in the elements, its appearance has hardly changed and has not been attacked by insects or mould and fungus. Some parts of it might have turned slightly grey but for all intents and purposes is undamaged. Whereas an untreated piece of timber will start to shrink and deteriorate within a year.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[ogosh]

Hi @sonyaw 

Thanks for your kind and encouraging remarks.

In reply to as to wether you need spacers in between all sleepers…. I guess it depends where the tables going to go. If it’s indoors or we’ll undercover and won’t get wet butting them together may work but you may have to square them up for an even join/butting up.  If it’s out in the one where it will get sun & rain etc, a small gap like a park bench or picnic table would shed water better.

For the bracing underneath we used Pauling’s but they were a bit weak, so perhaps 90 x 19 pine might provide better support and resistance to twisting etc.

Lastly I’m no safety expert but if you finish coat or paint the sleepers that may provide sufficient protection

[sonyaw]

Hi Eric

I have looked into these but as I don’t know a lot about treated timber I still wasn’t sure, they were stamped with NelsonPine LVL13 from what I saw they are structural beams ?

I do have some other sleepers from bunnings purchased for a garden bed would they be better to use? They are the 200x50x3m treated pine sleeper H4?

thanks

sonya

[EricL]

Hello @sonyaw

NelsonPine LVL13 is a sandwich veneer assembled timber, although structurally very strong, I'm afraid it is not meant for outdoor use. It is difficult to tell how it will react if left outside in the weather. As for the other sleepers, unless you can remember if they were tagged as Pine Sienna Micropro, I would not risk using them for your outdoor table.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[PeterEllis49]

Hi ogosh

I am going to use your table design as the basis of a table for my daughter's outdoor area.  It looks great. I built a similar table from pine sleepers with a heavy pine underframe over 30 years ago and it is still in use.  This time I will be following your lead and using Rapidmesh Rio steel legs.  I am also going to use Rio legs for bench seats.

I have two questions:

1 Bracing:  My design so far is use heavy screws through additional holes drilled through the top member of the Rio legs.  However I have built a desk using Rio legs, but the screws into the 25mm thick desk top were not sufficient to prevent some lengthwise movement of the desk.  (This will be overcome with the addition of a panel fitted to the front of the desk.)

You mentioned bracing but it does not appear from your photos that this provides "triangular" bracing down to the bottom member of the legs.  I was wanting if possible to avoid the complication of bracing.  The Rapidmesh site shows tables without bracing.  From your experience do you consider that two heavy screws through the top member of the Rio legs into each sleeper would be sufficient to ensure a rigid table?

2  Finishing:   My daughter's table will be exposed to the weather.  Not sure if your table is similarly exposed?  If so, how has the timber performed? eg any cracking?  My old table is painted and even then I have had to fill some cracks over the years.  I feel I will need some sort of finish and are considering an oil finish to provide protection but retain the natural timber look.  Any advice?

[EricL]

Hi @PeterEllis49

It's great to hear that you've decided to build an outdoor table for your daughter. Let me tag @ogosh to make them aware of your questions. I suppose if you were to drill more mounting holes in the steel legs in different positions you would get a better grip on the timber above. Just keep in mind that any timber placed at the bottom of the table might possibly be seen. 

In regards to the finish, just be aware that since you're planning on sanding the table down, it will absorb any stain or varnish more readily. Was there a colour or look you were aiming for? I suggest visiting your local store with your daughter and having a look at the stain and varnish sample finishes in the paint department. Once you see the samples you'll have a much better idea of what they will look like on your table.

Please make sure to wear safety equipment such as gloves, safety goggles and a heavy-duty dust mask when working with the Sienna MicroPro slabs. 

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[ogosh]

Hi @PeterEllis49 

The bracing I used was under the sleepers to tie them together in sort-of panel to be installed as one the steel legs. There’s no "triangular" or actual

bracing against racking or other movement which this design being so top heavy does suffer from. Extra holes in the tops of the steel legs and more bolts (2 per sleeper was your suggestion) would most likely help n with rigidity.

My table is stored under a patio/pergola and has dried well albeit sone minor cracking and some twisting (lack of good bracing) has occurred. I’d definitely consider sealing n finishing it well we chose but are yet to use Cabbots Matt finish clear