XL Cedar Table with Concrete Top

jasonmcmillan

Wanted to say thanks to all the inspiration on these forums and show off my Egg's new seat.  I'm not near creative enough to have done this without having all you guys ideas to steal from.  Hope you all like it, and it inspires someone else to build a table for their Egg.  











Special thanks to these two in particular, I pretty much copied and pasted your builds.
- @GT_Egg http://https//eggheadforum.com/discussion/1199681/cedar-and-concrete-table-almost-done/p1
- @NC_Egghead http://https//eggheadforum.com/discussion/1197699/xl-table-a-labor-of-love/p1

Photo Egg

I'm REALLY disappointed in your design and build quality...I expected much better!
I'm going to help you out by hauling away that scrap pile of material at no charge and give you a chance to redeem yourself on your second table...
Please go back and re-read this when you are very drunk and give me a call to set up a time for pick up.

Amazing looking table!

hogfan412

Very nice quality.   You know what you are doing and it shows.

Lowcountrygamecock

Where did you get the cedar?  I'm about to build one after Christmas and would love to use Cedar but I can't seem to find it locally.  

SaltySam

Solid!

johnmitchell

That is one sweet set up. Great build and that brisky isn't too shabby either. Welcome to the forum.

jasonmcmillan

Thanks for the kind words.  @hogfan412 I have no idea what I’m doing but between here and YouTube I managed.  @Lowcountrygamecock got the cedar from McCoy’s here in Texas.  They tend to have better quality than the other big box stores.  It’s all 1x4. 

bucky925

You've got SKILLS!  Very Nice!

dbCooper

Some real talent there, very nice!

AnothaStolenGenrator

Lowcountrygamecock said:

Where did you get the cedar?  I'm about to build one after Christmas and would love to use Cedar but I can't seem to find it locally.  

GoooDawgs

Love the concrete top!  One of the best tables I've seen.  You should be very proud! 

nolaegghead

Very impressive!

Tspud1

That's a work of art, impressive.

GT_Egg

Nice work. Looks really good!

speed51133

are you concerned with the cedar expanding and contracting with humidity and the rigidity of the concrete??

Did you cast it in place? I want to do the same, but cast in place to avoid carrying it and cracking it. Is it solid or did you use a foam plug?? what is on the underside of it? does it rest directly on the cedar 4x4's??

speed51133

Lowcountrygamecock said:

Where did you get the cedar?  I'm about to build one after Christmas and would love to use Cedar but I can't seem to find it locally.  

where are you located?? I have a cedar table I am going to be scrapping when I make my stone one this spring (was supposed to be a 2019 fall project but reasons...)

Tspud1

speed51133 said:

are you concerned with the cedar expanding and contracting with humidity and the rigidity of the concrete??

Did you cast it in place? I want to do the same, but cast in place to avoid carrying it and cracking it. Is it solid or did you use a foam plug?? what is on the underside of it? does it rest directly on the cedar 4x4's??

I thought most concrete tops were cast upside down to get a smooth surface. I thought about having some done but I like you have some questions first. What about stain in concrete when pouring or is that something done later to surface. I did some stainless work for a guys outdoor kitchen that has concrete tops.

speed51133

Yes, cast upside down for smooth top, BUT, with some trowel work and diamond pad polishing I am not concerned with it. I can also press down a foam or melamine board onto it to get it flat enough.

With respect to the staining, you can stain it on the surface or stain the wet concrete before it is poured. I prefer staining the whole batch so it is colored throughout. The thing is it is hard to get that marbling effect if you are not staining the surface. 

jasonmcmillan

speed51133 said:

are you concerned with the cedar expanding and contracting with humidity and the rigidity of the concrete??

Did you cast it in place? I want to do the same, but cast in place to avoid carrying it and cracking it. Is it solid or did you use a foam plug?? what is on the underside of it? does it rest directly on the cedar 4x4's??

I'm not concerned about the wood expansion causing the concrete to crack.  It is just caulked down to the wood.  I imagine the caulking will give before the concrete cracks.  I did use lap joints on all the paneling to avoid gaps formed during changes in weather.

I used the reverse cast in white melamine to make the countertop.  There are some awesome youtube videos on this guys channel with all sorts of ways to pull this off.  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9aRTgvFLqnK1S0RsWZzlMw

The concrete was super heavy and took some friends and neighbors to get to the back yard.  You just have to factor in an extra case of beer and some brisket for the friends when calculating the cost of the table.  

Used a foam plug for the Egg section of the concrete.  Reinforced the narrow section of the concrete with some rebar.  It turned out pretty solid.  

Here is a picture below just the structure side of the table before bringing the countertop in.  All legs are two 1x4's laminated together.  The runners are 1x4s using a mortise and tenon joints.  I was concerned with all the weight so I bought some 2x4s and and installed some additional support for the big countertop.  Used some lap joints on the runs across the depth of the table.  Did a jump test on it before bringing the countertop.  

With all that said, I'm no expert at any of this.  Just watched some youtube videos and winged it.  This thing may fall apart by next summer, but I had fun building it. I'm willing to give it another go if it does.  

RajunCajun

Man that is very nice indeed.

NC_Egghead

Awesome build! It looks like you will enjoy your set up for many years to come. 

jasonmcmillan

NC_Egghead said:

Awesome build! It looks like you will enjoy your set up for many years to come. 

Thanks.  Wouldn’t have been able to build it without yours to model it after.  

caliking

Damn nice build. That’s a great eggdom you have. 

Botch

Stunning job, Jason!  

Photo Egg

speed51133 said:

Yes, cast upside down for smooth top, BUT, with some trowel work and diamond pad polishing I am not concerned with it. I can also press down a foam or melamine board onto it to get it flat enough.

With respect to the staining, you can stain it on the surface or stain the wet concrete before it is poured. I prefer staining the whole batch so it is colored throughout. The thing is it is hard to get that marbling effect if you are not staining the surface. 

Could you not add the stain to wet concrete and then stain the top as well for effect?

speed51133

Haha. I guess so... Good point

2beast

Beautiful job!

loco_engr

nice build!, like the extra counter space

Matt86m

Strong work!

Makes me want to get my backyard started

speed51133

how level was your slab? Did you cut the 4x4's differently to accommodate for it? I am having some issues with mine. I need to account for about a 1.5in slope over 9 feet. I was going to use composite shims, but I don't like that idea anymore. I am thinking of forming a mortar wedge on the slab to level it out.

alaskanassasin

Just throwing this out there but if you make a 9' long wedge of mortar may deteriorate, crack, fail, with freezing and thawing.