Patio Table Resurfacing .... Help with Ideas needed

[footprintsinconc]

hello everyone! i am back from "suspended animation" for the time being the job search and bike has kept me really busy.....

i have a patio table that the glass broke in on its own. i went to get a quote to get glass and they want $350 for tempered glass!!! i cant afford that right now, but need a functioning table. so i have been trying to think of alternatives for topping it.

got any ideas that would not be very expensive. LOML loves the chairs, they are green aluminum, so we just need the table fixed. any suggestions and ideas is what i am looking for at the momment.

thanks in advance!

here is what the frame looks like:

[Mr__Bill]

How about a plywood base and ceramic tile on top.

Bill
always looking to make more work for others....

[footprintsinconc]

i though of that, but that would mean that I will have to seal the plywood from underneath to make it water resistant, now what kind of material would that be? and how would i do the edges?

[Mr__Bill]

You could seal it with that two part fiberglass resin, sort of like a boat and then the top too making it smooth with the tile embedded in the resin and glued to the top.

Bill

[gnal41]

Not sure about this, would it be possible to sandwich a 1/4 inch sheet of masonite between two sheets of cement board with a top layer of tile - Not to costly!

bill

[Mr__Bill]

Not sure about this, would it be possible to sandwich a 1/4 inch sheet of masonite between two sheets of cement board with a top layer of tile - Not to costly!

bill

Cement board like Hardie Backer will adsorb water and get rather flexible and then crumble. I have seen it used on the ground for a nice smooth surface for a brick walk way, come the next year it's almost gone giving no support at all.

I wonder if MDO would work and just seal the edges with something.

the other Bill

[gjat]

Dude,
You live in Pheonix. How wet can it get?
I'd use pressure treated plywood. Paint it and put a ceramic tile or floor tile top on. I'd attach it to the frame work where ever I could, using both screws and outdoor liquid nails. Seal the grout and use a white silicone around the outer edge and frame. The thing would last for years here in Florida. Probably forever in Pheonix.

[Pappy]

Frame it with Cedar 2x6, rabetted to sit inside the frame level with the top. Add a 2x6 cross member across the table creating 2 sections. Complete the top with pieces running at opposing 45 degree angles.

[chopnhack]

A sheet of plexiglass? Last I saw a 1/4", 4x8 sheet runs around $110

[footprintsinconc]

You could seal it with that two part fiberglass resin, sort of like a boat and then the top too making it smooth with the tile embedded in the resin and glued to the top.

Bill

that is interesting idea with the glue on top of the tile.....will have to check the pricing on this fiberglass resin...

Cement board like Hardie Backer will adsorb water and get rather flexible and then crumble. I have seen it used on the ground for a nice smooth surface for a brick walk way, come the next year it's almost gone giving no support at all.

I wonder if MDO would work and just seal the edges with something.

the other Bill

i will google MDO, you are not saying MDF, right?

Dude,
You live in Pheonix. How wet can it get?
I'd use pressure treated plywood. Paint it and put a ceramic tile or floor tile top on. I'd attach it to the frame work where ever I could, using both screws and outdoor liquid nails. Seal the grout and use a white silicone around the outer edge and frame. The thing would last for years here in Florida. Probably forever in Pheonix.

not so much rain at all, we get tons of dust from all the open land around us and the dust storms....so i always washed/hosed my table like once a week, so that would be a lot of water....

Frame it with Cedar 2x6, rabetted to sit inside the frame level with the top. Add a 2x6 cross member across the table creating 2 sections. Complete the top with pieces running at opposing 45 degree angles.

i almost did go out and buy some wood, but the wife wants something flat and doesn't want it to crack when it weathers....i am not sure how it would weather in the sun here and how bad the cracking would be...

A sheet of plexiglass? Last I saw a 1/4", 4x8 sheet runs around $110

that is a good idea, didnt think of it, but wouldnt it scratch to death with all the dust we have and look terrible? do they make scratch resistant plexiglass or maybe a treatment that i can apply on it....

[jdon]

Waterproof, non-dust magnet, scratch resistant- hate to say it, but glass sounds like your best option!

[LCHIEN]

A sheet of plexiglass? Last I saw a 1/4", 4x8 sheet runs around $110

Pros:
it'll look at first glance to be like glass.


Cons:
1/4" might be a bit thin and floppy for a table top this large.
It will scratch like the dickens and look bad after a while - due to low abrasion resistance.
And it will have to be cut to special size and fire-polished on the edges to give it a clean look... could add considerably to the material cost.

[pelligrini]

The Plexiglas will scratch easily, but the worst part would be its lack of rigidity. I used a 1/4" thick piece that was 6" x 36" in place of a broken glass aquarium top. The 30w fluorescent light would cause it to bow. I have to flip it over every week. I'd hate to think what a large plex table top would do with just a few minutes in the sun.