Let’s Replace the Tabletop!

When I refinished a wooden pub table for our deck last year, I wondered if the veneer-covered particleboard top would hold up in the weather. Turns out my fears have been realized and it did NOT hold up to the weather! However, the legs and frame of the table are doing great! So, I have decided to replace the top.

The pub table project

As I mentioned above, I refinished a pub table last year to use on our upper deck. Hubby had brought home a couple of tall wooden chairs that were sitting by the side of the road. They were both broken but I took up the challenge to repair and refurbish them. They came out beautifully! Once I knew I’d be able to fix them up, I went in search of a tall table. I lucked out and found one at the Goodwill for only $25! If you’d like to read about the chair project, it can be found here; the table project is here.

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Weathered tabletop

Although I didn’t think the tabletop would do well in the weather, I forged ahead with the project. After all, it was only $25 and some of my time. Besides, I love a good project! As you can see in the pictures, the corners were really damaged. To help protect the wood, I used Helmsman Spar Urethane and applied 3 coats. Once the wood had been sealed, I used metal corners to cover that damage. But, rainwater was still able to get into the damaged wood creating additional damage. Below are pictures of each of the 4 corners before I attached the metal pieces. You can probably see that the wood veneer was over particleboard.

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Choosing the wood

Prepping the wood

To start the project, I sanded the top and bottom of the piece of wood and along all four sides. I started with a sanding block that was 80 grit and then used a 220 grit one. When the plywood was cut, the saw made small chips along the edge. Using wood putty and a putty knife, I filled in the chips on both ends of the board then sanded off the extra when the putty was dry.

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Attaching side trim

The next step was to attach the trim to the sides. Using my miter saw, I cut the 4 pieces of trim with straight cuts. I considered mitering them but felt like having the straight cuts would provide better strength at the corners. It’s good that I bought more trim than I needed because I cut the first piece too short. To attach the pieces, I applied Elmer’s glue then used painter’s tape to hold them in place while I used my nail gun to secure them further.

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When the glue was dry, (I allowed it to dry overnight even though that wasn’t necessary), I removed the tape and filled in the holes made by the nails with wood putty. I also applied wood putty in the small gaps between the trim and the plywood.

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Sanding the table top

After allowing the wood putty to dry – about 1/2 hr – I sanded trim and both sides of the top with sanding blocks. For parts where I needed more umph, I used my Makita orbital sander.

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Sealing the wood

I decided to start on the back side of the new tabletop and applied 2 coats of sealer, allowing each coat to dry for 4 hours. When each coat was dry, using a sanding block, I gave the piece a quick sanding & wiped it down with a tack cloth. The next day, I started the sealing process on the top of the piece. I chose to apply 3 coats on the top and followed the same process, allowing 4 hours between coats for dry time, using a 220 grit sanding block to sand between coats & wiping down with a tack cloth before the next coat.

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Removing the old

By the time I got around to having the time to work on this tabletop, the old particleboard top was severely damaged! The veneer had started to peel and the rainwater had swollen the particleboard.

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I removed the 6 screws and low & behold, the tabletop didn’t just lift off. It had crossed my mind that they may have glued it to the frame and they did. I then noticed that there were ALSO 3 screws on each of the four sides of the frame. So….I started removing screws. Two of the 12 holes were packed with debris; I think maybe some bugs created nests in there, so I had to dig that out before I could find the screw heads. Once all the screws were out, starting at the most damaged corner, I pulled off what I could then used a hammer and crowbar to pry off the rest of the top. When the entire top was off, I chipped away any remains of the particleboard and glue using a hammer and putty knife.

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Attaching the new

Although I bought the birch plywood to use for the tabletop, while I was working on the piece, I wondered if the underside would look better with the legs. Once the sealer was dry, I did check it out to see which side matched better. While they both looked good, I really loved the flow of the grain on the birch side so I decided to keep it as the top of the table.

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Once I made my final choice for which side would be ‘up’, it was time to attach it to the legs. I laid the tabletop, birch side down, on my worktable then set the frame & legs on top of it. Using a yardstick, I centered the frame on the tabletop. I decided to pre-drill holes for the screws to prevent any splitting of the wood. Then inserted the screws using a screwdriver. I chose not to use any construction glue. I also decided not to use the 12 screws in the frame. The table does not get heavy use and it’s easy to carry by the frame when we move it from the deck to the shed to be stored over the winter.

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Adding bling

I had already decided to add the same metal corner pieces that I had used on the original top. When I bought them, they came in a quantity of 16, so I have plenty! I was going to add them just because I just loved the look. Turns out, I needed to add them. When I was cutting the trim, I didn’t account for the additional width I would need to butt the corners to each other so I ran short of the trim on one end. Using the corner pieces covers that mistake along with some of the places where I needed to use more putty. **If you plan to use these metal corners, be sure to have a pair of needle-nosed pliers on hand. The nails are very small so holding them with your fingers while using a hammer is not possible**

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Finished project

Making this new tabletop didn’t take all that much time other than the built-in time for drying glue & sealer. Removing the old top was more work than I had anticipated, but I was able to remove it! Since I had done all the work on the new tabletop first, that’s a really good thing! It looks beautiful and my hope is that it’ll last for many summers on our deck! The total cost of the table is now roughly $70

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Supplies Used

• 2′ x 4′ Birch covered plywood
• Two pieces of 6′ wood trim – 3/4″ wide
• Miter saw
• Nail gun & air compressor
• Elmer’s wood glue
• Painter’s tape
• Wood putty
• Putty knife
• Crowbar
• Hammer
• Orbital sander
• Minwax Helmsan Spar Urethane
• Paintbrush
• Gloves
• Tack cloth

Instructions

• Cut plywood to needed dimensions (or have it cut at Home Depot)
• Sand rough edges
• Cut trim for the 4 sides
  • If using square cuts, cut the first 2 sides them set them in place. Then cut the remaining two sides the length of the side plus the additional length made by the trim
• Using wood glue, attach the 4 sides
  • Hold in place with painter’s tape
• Secure trim using a nail gun or finishing nails
• Using a putty knife, fill in spaces between the board & trim with wood putty
• Sand both sides and along the edges of the tabletop
  • With a soft cloth or tack cloth, remove sawdust
• Apply two to three coats of spar urethane
• If using metal corners, attach once the sealer is dry
• Attach tabletop to legs

For your convenience

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