So I recently used frozen custard to bribe my six year old to eat a few lima beans. Which she tried, then decided that they "tasted like death", and then proceeded to gag and cry like I was forcing her to suck down a bottle of poison. This was the same kid, however, that handed me a tube of icy hot, and said, "Mom, we need to get rid of this new toothpaste." Now I'm not saying that that near death experience (because the big sisters told her she was going to die from it) affected her ability to properly taste, but all I'm saying is it could have played a role in the goings on that day. Either way Mommy and Daddy deserved the frozen custard after the end of what will heretofore be called "The Ordeal".
So just to catch up we bought a table from a flood house, and put a plywood top on it. In a nutshell. I like to think that my design sense is traditional with a twist. Sometimes its shabby chic, sometimes its industrial farmhouse, but its almost always a traditional piece with a very nontraditional finish applied to it.
So I looked at this table with its very classic and traditional lines, and thought what would be super durable for my family but give this thing a cool twist? Then I had an epiphany...concrete. There are several blogs on Pinterest that have shared using a skim coat method to transform their dated kitchen laminate counters to give them a new contemporary look. To me concrete gives a very modern finish, and it got me thinking how cool could something as contemporary as concrete look on such a classic piece.
So again if you check out my last post on this. You will know that the table top was complete trash, and we needed to start with a clean slate. I loved the overall shape of the old top so after tracing that onto a thick piece of plywood we cut it out using our jig saw.
So as many of you are aware Southern Louisiana was devastated by extensive flooding recently. Señor Hotness had gone down with the Mormon Helping Hands initiative to help with the recovery effort happening down there. I was home with the kids while he was helping gut homes of wet flood damage. Señor Hotness tries to protect me from biting off more than I can chew so he had gotten me a 24"x 24" piece of plywood for me to practice on before doing to whole tabletop, but I'm more of a sink or swim type of girl so of course I waited until the moment he left and started on the real deal. To be honest it had been raining off and on for several weeks, and we were projected to have a few days of dry weather. I didn't want to waste time on a practice piece, and miss the break in the weather.
So my Saturday started at 7:00, and began with intense sanding to smooth out all the rough edges created by the saw. I sanded it like this until the sharp edges were gone, and then I flipped it and did the underside. The underside wasn't getting the concrete treatment, but I didn't want any curious fingers that might want to feel the edges to come away with splinters.
I'm good with an electric sander, but occasionally I would slip and catch the finish part of the table.
Which I fixed with my stain that I had matched when working on the bottom.
Sanding, of course, creates and insane amount of wood dust so I used a hand brush to clean the surface of any particles. A shop vac would work best, but I don't have one.
While I was working so diligently on our new dining table my chocolate stash was being thoroughly compromised. This little brown eyed girl was so darn cute with her chocolate mouth it was hard to be to terribly upset about it.
Most people either used Henry Featherlite, or Ardex brands, but I didn't have access to either product and didn't want to order anything. So after discussing our options we chose to go with the TEC product from Lowes. It is a skimcoat and patch system used to even out floors when getting ready to tile. Best yet was it wasn't expensive. I only had to use two bags, and probably wouldn't have had to use two if it wasn't for the waste I had from trial and error.
So in all my research much emphasis was put on the consistency of your mixture. They almost all said a pancake batter would be the best texture comparison. Well I make a mean pancake so I was familiar with what the consistency should be. I didn't, however, take all of the variables into account. All of those awesome tutorials were done indoors, in what I imagine are fairly climate controlled areas. I was doing mine outside, and it was HOT. So my pancake batter mixture started to set up almost immediately instead of the 10-15 minutes that was talked about. In the end this first swipe was mostly trashed, and I had to start again.
That's right it was a heat advisory day. I'm sure some of you are thinking 94 degrees isn't all that awful, but heat index made it seem like it was 106. Then we also had 50% humidity. Which was a lower humidity than we had had in weeks, but all the same it made for a hot, muggy, miserable time.
It looked so much better after a second coat. I learned that because of the heat that I needed to make my mixture much wetter to account of the super quick dry time that the weather was giving me.
WARNING: when working with concrete materials make sure to wear goggles, a respirator mask, and gloves. It is very caustic and irritating for the skin. So wash it off as soon as possible. I would also suggest you cover your hair.
When I was spreading it out on the top I didn't even attempt to keep it from falling over the edges. All the excess that I had from the roll-off I used my gloved hand to spread around the edges. Don't worry about getting it perfect smooth. Any roughness will easily knock down with some minor sanding.
You have to move fast, and get it smoothed as it dries so super fast. This is what my feet would look like pretty much after every new layer of the concrete. I rinsed it off quickly, and always followed with copious amounts of lotion. This stuff dries your skin out quick! I also promptly got a new pedicure after I finished this table top. So no need to worry that I'm going out in public sporting toes like this.
This was the final layer of concrete.
Now that its completely dried its ready for its final sanding. For this layer I used my orbital electric sander with a 220 grit sand paper, and kept the sander speed on a low so it wouldn't just blast through all of my layers. You are just looking to knock down the rough areas, and make a general overall smooth area.
This was taken right after I had put on the last layer. I thought the bubbles were going to be a problem, but...
I actually really love how they looked after being sanded down. All those fine bubbles add interest to it. I'm sort of in love with fine bubbles. Bubbles are my life. I will say you don't want to have too many of these, or larger ones but these are just cool.
This is what my arm looked like after sanding. As you can sort of tell from the picture I was wearing plastic gloves, but the dust was super fine and clung to everything. I will tell you after this I hopped in the shower, and had a minor freakout when I started to soap my hair. It felt like I had wire bristles for hair. It was completely fine after some intensive conditioning, but I would recommend anyone else wanting to do this to wear something to cover their hair too.
The sanding process gave me a concrete dust sleeve.
Here we have our sealer going on. I used a Quikcrete sealer in a high gloss with a wet like finish. Make sure you are getting a sealer that is for use indoors, and is safe for use on eating surfaces. For example mine is resistant to a myriad of different stains including food. Which, I'm sure you will understand, excited me since this was going to be my dining table.
I had a little help with the sealing so I could get some pictures taken. We applied two coats, waiting the two hours between coats per the manufacturers instructions. The surface just drank up the first layer of sealer, but the next layer left a smooth protective finish. It recommended a high density foam roller, but in my experience foam just causes more bubbles when applying a sealer. We used a 6 inch roller graded for use on fine/smooth surfaces such a cabinets. We applied all the sealer in one uniform direction, and then without adding more sealer to the roller we rolled over it again in the opposite direction. That eliminated roller streaks, and helped knock out any bubbling we had in the sealer. Bubbly sealer isn't good as the dried bubbles will burst if scrubbed vigorously, and that will lead to staining on your surface. Which you don't want for your dining surface.
Every last one of those imperfections are still very visible on the surface, but I think that is what makes it kind of cool. Its this very formal table, with very formal lines. I think beyond having a very informal material like concrete on the top, and additionally all of those areas of imperfection highlighted makes this a perfect piece.
Isn't he cute being all handy, and fastening the table top on?
Here it is all sealed. I was somewhat worried that my beloved bubbles would attract food, but the sealer did its job well and these stay completely and utterly clean.
BAM! Isn't it gorgeous! I love the wood finish on the bottom paired with the concrete top. I additionally love that concrete doesn't discolor with hot dishes, and is impervious to water and food stains so long as it has been properly sealed. Just what I need with my dirty children.
This thing is massive and completely fills our dining area, but it is just right for our larger family.
Did I mention how sturdy this thing is? The concrete didn't add a ton to the over all weight, thankfully, but it should give us the durability of a slab of concrete.
It also looks spectacular in the room. Don't all those imperfections make for a really interesting look for the top. I'm sort of in love with it.
We've already put this thing through the ringer. The day this was finished, and ready for the house we had some of our good friends come visit from Texas with their own 5 daughters. So this became the kids table for the weekend. It held up to 10 lively friends who are never not excited to be in one anothers company. Its is still beyond beautiful.
Lets run down the full cost of this portion of the project.
TEC Skimcoat and Underlayment--2 Bags @ $9.98 each: $19.96
Previous Table Costs: $188
Grand Total So Far: $207.96
So for less than $20 we have this spectacular concrete table top that will take a beating from my active family. (and apparently my friend's family too :) This table has had just about everything spilled on it, and a few dried on food stains. They have all washed right off with no damage to the top. I really couldn't be more pleased. If I haven't said so enough I'm IN LOVE with this table. I love how the formal and informal come together to give a spectacular piece of furniture, and it completely supports my own personal sense of style. So don't be afraid to take something completely traditional, and then give it a completely non-traditional finish. It could just turn out to be the best thing ever.
Stay tuned to see how I rework the chairs, and complete this awesome table set.
