Let’s Fix the 40-year old Play Table Dad Built!

That’s right, we still have a little play table that my dad built 40 years ago. He built it when my oldest was two. We used it indoors for years but when the kids were grown, I started using it outside on the front patio. To help protect the wood, I painted it white. My grandkids have used it as a little picnic table. After my grandkids grew too large to sit at it, I moved it to the backyard as a decorative piece. Needless to say, Mother Nature has taken a toll on our little table. Not willing to trash it, I decided to try to repair it.

The table dad built

Step 1 – remove loose paint

Since the paint on the top of the table was completely gone, I was surprised that there was still paint on the legs. Granted, it was barely holding on but that made it super easy to remove. Peeling paint can be SO satisfying, wouldn’t you agree? I pulled off what I could, then used a putty knife to remove any remaining loose paint.

Step 2 – steady the legs

The next step was to fix the wobbly legs. One of the supports dad installed between the bottom of the tabletop and the frame that held the legs in place was rotting. I removed the damaged support and installed another piece of wood using screws – dad had used nails. I then added a piece of wood to support the leg frames on each side of the table. Dad designed the table so that it can be folded. When I attached the new supports next to the outside of each leg frame, I had to make sure it didn’t cover that mechanism. I also set a piece of wood between the leg frames to have something to attach the side supports to.

Step 3 – fix the rotting feet

All of the feet were damaged; one of them really badly. To cover the damage and make them stronger, I used construction glue to attach pieces of baseboard trim that I had in my wood stash. I clamped the trim to the feet and allowed the glue to dry overnight. I then secured them further using my nail gun.

Step 4 – fix the corners that the dog chewed

Many, many years ago when we were babysitting my son’s black lab, he chewed all 4 corners of the table! I didn’t do anything at the time to fix them so over the years, the wood has just weathered and fallen apart. Now that I was repairing the table, I wanted to fix the corners. I was hoping I could trim them with a jig saw but the frame holding the legs was too close to the edge of the damage. I had to look for another way to ‘fix’ the tabletop. I decided to cover the damage. Using my miter saw, I cut 4 triangle shaped pieces of wallboard. I attached them to each corner with construction glue and clamped them overnight.

Step 5 – level the tabletop

The planks that created the top of the table were warped. Also not surprising. On top of that, the wood had thinned to the point where the nails dad used on the support under the table were coming through. To remedy both issues, using wood glue then my nail gun, I attached pieces of trim. I set weight on the trim during the drying process.

Step 6 – sand, prime, paint

With the damage fixed and/or covered, it was time to finish this little restoration! Using a sanding block, I sanded all the surfaces then removed any sawdust with a soft cloth. I applied a coat of primer using a paintbrush and after allowing the primer to dry, 2 coats of water-based exterior white paint. In the first picture you can see how the legs unhook so the table can be folded flat. This was a great feature when I wanted to store it away.

As I was repairing this little table, I wondered why I let it get so bad before something about it? Like so many things that I just let slide, I regretted doing so. Going forward, I plan to add a fresh coat of paint every couple of years. Hopefully, that will keep Dad’s little table from rotting away.

Dad’s table: Original, painted, restored

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