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Showing off my new Concrete BGE Table

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Comments

  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 23,132
    Hell, I'm not even FDA approved for incidental contact.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    edited April 2012


    OK, a question for either, or both, of you. What kind of concrete did you use? Inquiring minds NEED to know! :D

    Cheers!

    Pat



    I used Quikrete Countertop Mix.

    Top forms:
    image
    Taking apart the forms after concrete set:
    image
    Flipped and in place:
    image

    Packerland, Wisconsin

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  • tazcrash
    tazcrash Posts: 1,852
    @ChokeOnSmoke: 
    What size did you cast them to? I was gonna guess 2' x2', until I saw the pavers, now it looks more like 3'X3'?
    I remember you using the pavers like lego, and thought it might be a good project with my son.

    Bx - > NJ ->TX!!! 
    All to get cheaper brisket! 
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  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    edited April 2012
    @ChokeOnSmoke: 
    What size did you cast them to? I was gonna guess 2' x2', until I saw the pavers, now it looks more like 3'X3'?
    I remember you using the pavers like lego, and thought it might be a good project with my son.

    The pavers are 14" x 7" x 3.5".  So the dimensions of the structure is 84" x 42".  The concrete was poured with a 2" overhang so the two piece top together measure 88" x 46".  It's a beast!  I estimated that the piece on the right side weighs about 300 lbs.  The one on the left (because of the egg cutout) is about 225 lbs at 2" thick.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

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  • tazcrash
    tazcrash Posts: 1,852
    Wow, that is a beast. 
    I was thinking of a "quick and easy" design using 2'X2'X2" pavers on top of a wood frame, but once I do that mobility is shot, and I might as well use interlocking bricks, and then, why not counter-top mix. 
    Boy does this cascade!

    Bx - > NJ ->TX!!! 
    All to get cheaper brisket! 
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  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    edited April 2012
    Wow, that is a beast. 
    I was thinking of a "quick and easy" design using 2'X2'X2" pavers on top of a wood frame, but once I do that mobility is shot, and I might as well use interlocking bricks, and then, why not counter-top mix. 
    Boy does this cascade!

    Exactly what happened to me.  I finally decided there was no good reason to move my XL around.  Then I figured while I was going to spend the time on a project like this, I might as well do it the way I really want it and go BIG.  I wanted room to put things down next to the egg while cooking and also wanted storage for plate setters, grid scrapers, ceramic lid, etc, etc, etc...
    This was my first project like this of any kind.  I knew nothing about laying pavers, make concrete forms, concrete countertops or anything about this stuff.  I just did a lot of reading on the internet, watched a bunch of videos on youtube and "went for it".  My neighbor is a really handy guy and helped out too!
    Packerland, Wisconsin

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  • premke
    premke Posts: 12
    ChokeOnSmoke,  can we get a pic of the final table with the egg in it?...I like what you did.
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  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    edited April 2012
    ChokeOnSmoke,  can we get a pic of the final table with the egg in it?...I like what you did.
    Here's the final product.  I poured a concrete shelf and surface to put the egg as well:
    image
    Here's a step-by-step on how I did it:
    http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1120136/bbq-island/p1

    Packerland, Wisconsin

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  • premke
    premke Posts: 12

    very nice!!...and portable too..well sort of...

    what did you use for the form, melamine board?...did it give you a good smooth surface or did you polish?

     

     

     

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  • Bjorg
    Bjorg Posts: 241
    Useful Link to complement the Quikrete countertop mix: 


    Quebec - Canada
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  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942

    very nice!!...and portable too..well sort of...

    what did you use for the form, melamine board?...did it give you a good smooth surface or did you polish?

     

     

     

    Yup, I used melamine and it came out REALLY smooth.  I hand sanded the edges a little bit and didn't polish at all.  I did the top first and I didn't vibrate the form very much right after I poured the concrete.  This left quite a few "pinholes" and not as smooth as it could have been.  A few day later I did the "shelves".  I took the blade out of a jigsaw and vibrabrated it for about 5-10 minutes around the edges.  I also took a hammer and tapped lightly around the edges.  This left the top surface VERY smooth and almost polished looking.  Again, I'm a total novice at this and used some crude tools but it turned out really good, especially the shelves.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

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  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    Useful Link to complement the Quikrete countertop mix: 
    http://www.concreteexchange.com/project-calculator.html


    Nice project sheet.  Didn't see that when I did mine last year but read and watched a lot of CHENG's videos.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

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  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    edited April 2012

    ...and portable too..well sort of...

     

    Yeah, I've taken the XL out and put it back a few times.  It's obviously heavy, but pulling it out the front is a heck of a lot easier than it would have been trying to pull it out the top! (if I have made the form with a circle right in the middle).  Exactly the reason I did it that way.

    Packerland, Wisconsin

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  • premke
    premke Posts: 12
    didn't realize that was an XL...wow, thats a big table....good job on it....I vibrated mine the same way with a sawzall (w/o blade) and a hammer... 
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  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942

    ...and BTW, the red color was a liquid color additive mixed into the dry concrete bag mix while adding water so it will never wear out....

    Curious what brand you used and how you mixed it in.  I use Quikrete brand and mixed it into the water (not sure that it really matters though?).  I don't feel like it really did anything as far as color goes.  Probably harder to tell with mine though because I wanted it a dark grey.  Doesn't look like it turned out much darker than regular grey concrete.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

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  • premke
    premke Posts: 12

    not sure of the brand...funny thing was is that it was a liquid mix and I bought it in mississippi while I had some time between meetings...I tried to find it in florida (where I live) and they don't sell it here!!!  they only sell the dry coloring

    i added it to the concrete as i was adding the water..all in all I only used about 8oz of the liquid and it most definitely took the color...

    I did the same ratio of coloring to lbs of concrete for the bartop and the two slab colors are almost the same

     

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  • QDude
    QDude Posts: 1,059
    Can you tell me what the height is from the bottom of the egg to the ground?  I am guessing it is around 24".  Does that height work for you?

    Northern Colorado Egghead since 2012.

    XL BGE and a KBQ.

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  • premke
    premke Posts: 12

    Can you tell me what the height is from the bottom of the egg to the ground?  I am guessing it is around 24".  Does that height work for you?

     

    Not sure with out measuring what the exact height is, BUT is is WAY less than 24"...probably more like 8-12"....I measured a comfortable countertop height and then subtracted the measurements using the measurements from the BGE table design on the BGE website


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