DIY

​ Concrete Dining Table Plans

Thanks for downloading the DIY PETE DIY Concrete Dining Table Plans. This is an excellent
DIY concrete project for beginners and the more experienced alike! This clean, modern,
minimalist design approach will look great in your dining room. The project doesn’t take
that long to make and is attainable by anyone if you follow step-by-step below. ​
B​
est of luck
on yours!

The complete Youtube video and project tutorial photos to go along with these plans can be
found at​​
http://www.diypete.com/ConcreteDiningTable​ -​
I invite you to make changes to
the plans as you find necessary to best fit your needs. Good luck with the project and have
fun building it! Please post project photos on the Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/DIYPROJECTSWITHPETE​ ​or elsewhere tagged with #​ DIYPETE​- Cheers
– DIY PETE

Tools Needed
Miter Saw​​
– I’d recommend a 12 inch sliding, miter saw
Table Saw​OR ​ Circular Saw 
Drill
And/OR ​Impact Driver
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Orbital Sander​
– Ryobi makes a nice one.
Respirator mask
Concrete Trowel
Tape Measure, Straight Edge, Pencil
Eye, Ear, and Hand protection

Supplies Needed
Quikrete Countertop Mix or Quikrete 5000 (less expensive option)
Cheng Concrete Sealer
100% Silicone
4-​L​
Brackets/Joists
Gorilla Wood Glue
Minwax Polyurethane
Minwax Espresso Stain
Melamine sheet
Lumber for the base - see wood / cut list below Sandpaper

Wood
*Note - The actual dimensions of dimensional lumber such as a 4x4 equals 3 1⁄2”x3 1⁄2” -
this is relevant to the wood listed below.

Melamine Form​ - Takes the majority of 1 - 4’x8’ sheet of melamine

Wood Base​- Can be completely made with 5 - 4x4x8’ boards

Cut List
Melamine Form​
:
- ​
Form Base​ - Q​TY: 1​-​
41”x72”x 3⁄4” melamine piece
- ​
Form Sides ​ - QTY: 2 - 41”x2 1⁄4”x 3⁄4”
-​Form Sides​ ​
- QTY: 2 - 73 1⁄2”x2 1⁄4”x 3⁄4”
Wood Base​ :
- ​
Legs ​
- QTY: 4 - 4x4x28 1⁄2” boards
- ​
Side Supports ​ - QTY: 4 - 4x4x28” boards
- ​
Top Supports​ ​- QTY: 3 - 4x4x45” boards
-​
Lower Support ​ - QTY: 1 - 4x4x45” board
-​
Angled Supports​ - QTY: 2 - 4x4x31” ends cut at 45 degree angle
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Approximate Total Cost: $195
The Concrete Dining Table can be made for under $195 dollars in materials cost. This is the
cost for the concrete, wood, wood finish, concrete finish, and other basic supplies. *Note:
This doesn’t include smaller things you may already have around the shop, including:
screws, glue, sandpaper, etc.

Cut the Melamine

We'll start this project by marking and making cuts for the melamine form. Refer to the cut
list above for the dimensions. You’ll end up using most of a full 4’x8’ sheet of melamine. I’d
recommend cutting with a circular saw or table saw. Once all of your cuts are made, we’ll
assemble it.

Assemble Melamine Form

You should set that large, bottom piece of the melamine form on a flat, level work surface.
With melamine forms, you’ll want to be sure to keep it very clean and make sure there are
no imperfections or chipping in any of the boards. Whatever faces the inside of the form
will translate onto the concrete top after it's poured.

We’ll assemble the sides with 1 1⁄2 wood screws. Be sure to pre drill all holes before adding
the screws and make sure everything is square, level, and flush when you’re screwing it
together. Don’t add wood glue to the sides of the melamine form, because we’ll need to
easily deconstruct it later.

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Finish the Form, Mix Concrete, Cut
Reinforcement
Once your melamine form is all screwed together, we’ll want to seal the edges of the inside
of the form. The best, easiest way to do so is by adding a clean bead of 100% silicone to the
edges. Follow through with a beveled edge tool and make sure there is not an excess of
silicone on the mold. Then combine your water and concrete mixes in a large tub and stir it
up! Refer to the video for more helpful tips on mixing concrete.

We’ll then need to cut a piece of steel reinforcement that’ll add into the form and help
strengthen the concrete top even more. The easiest way to cut these is simply with
wire/bolt cutters. Make the reinforcement 1”-2” less than the size of the full form and
concrete top.

Pour Concrete into Form

Mix up the concrete and get it to a consistency that is peanut-butter-like. Next, we’ll add it
to the form. Wear gloves for this process, spread the concrete evenly in the form and fill it a
little more than half full. Once you’ve reached a little more than 1⁄2 full and have spread all
of the concrete out evenly, we’ll add the sheet of steel reinforcement to the form. Lay it into
place and keep adding more concrete to fill up the mold.

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Trowel, Level, and Let Cure
Once you’ve filled the form with your concrete mixture, we’ll want to level and smooth it all
out. Using a scrap 2x4 piece of wood will work fine for the leveling and screeding of the
concrete. Scrape the board from one side of the form to the other in a back-and-forth
motion, scraping excess concrete out of the form and working it into low spots. Then we
can vibrate the concrete either with a mallet, reciprocating saw (without the blade in), or
orbital sander. Spend some time vibrating the concrete. Then trowel it and cover the whole
concrete top with a plastic cover to help it cure evenly. Let the concrete cure and dry for the
manufacturers recommended time. (I recommend at least 48 hours)

Build the Base Legs

Once you’ve poured your concrete and it is taking the necessary time it needs to cure, we’ll
move onto building the wood base. The wood base is a modern, simple design and should
not take that long to build. Refer to the cut list above for help in deciphering which base
pieces go where. Your base basically consists of two 4x4 constructed boxes on each end and
three 4x4 support stretchers running between the top of the boxes. When putting the joints
together with the torx screws, be sure to pre-drill to avoid any splitting of the wood. Also,
generously add wood glue to the joint to ensure security and strength. An impact driver
works well for screwing the torx screws in and countersinking them in the wood.

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Attach the Support Stretchers
Once you've built the two leg structures that look like 4x4 boxes, we’ll need to attach our
top support stretchers that will support your concrete dining table. I’d recommend the four
L brackets in this step for added support. Find the midpoint of your base (look to plan
photos below this text) and we’ll add one 4x4 stretcher directly in the middle. Glue,
predrill, and screw this into place - no brackets for this center support, we’ll add them on
the other supports though. The other two top, support stretchers are positioned 5” in from
either side of the edge of the base. Position them, glue, predrill, and screw these supports
into place and then add the L brackets on the inside of the joint for added strength.

For extra strength and support, we’ll then add a lower support stretcher to ensure the base
is even stronger. Install this that same way as the top support stretchers. Then grab your
angled supports and screw them into place. Before cutting the 45 degree angles on these
boards, they measure 31” long. Glue and screw these into place.

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Finish the Base
See!? The base for this concrete dining table was specifically designed to aesthetically look
clean, modern. It is a minimalistic, easy, and great DIY build for woodworkers of all levels.
Thanks for taking the time to follow my design! Now we’ll sand it all down and prep it for
stain and finishing. Starting with a 220 grit sandpaper and your orbital sander, sand the
entire base, working to a higher grit if desired. Before staining, I brushed on Minwax wood
conditioner to help the stain go on more even. The stain we’re using is Minwax’s Espresso
stain, apply it generously and evenly now throughout the entire base structure. Let the
stain dry and set for the manufacturers recommended time, then you can add a clear coat -
I used Minwax’s Polyurethane and think it does an excellent job!

Take the Concrete out of Mold

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We make it a point to do the concrete portion of this project first, because the curing and
setting of the concrete takes some time. Refer to the manufacturer's recommended
timeframe and remove the concrete top from the mold when it’s ready. Be sure to ask a few
friends for a hand in this, as the top is very heavy and the moving of it shouldn’t be
attempted by just one person. Carefully deconstruct the melamine mold and take it off of
the concrete. After the sides are off, flip it all over and take the main top piece off. The
concrete will still be curing and needs more time after the mold is taken off. Let it do it’s
thing.

Finish the Concrete

Now we’ll sand, spot fill, and seal the concrete dining table’s top. Take the time that this
step requires, paying special attention to sanding and filling in any voids. Sand the entire
top down with 120 or 220 grit sandpaper, again flipping the top over (with help) and being
sure to sand down everything. Spend time easing the edges of the concrete top, the corners,
the underside edges and any spots where hands, arms, and anyone might touch.
The Portland cement slurry mixture that I use to fill voids in concrete tops is an easy
mixture to make, it’s simply water and Portland cement. Make this mixture and fill in any
spots that you may see. Let this dry and cure before sanding it down again. Then we’ll add
our sealer! I used a 100% food safe, high quality sealer made by Cheng Concrete Products
for this. Grab your desired sealer, dilute it down with water and apply nice, smooth, even
coats making the water to sealer mixture stronger (less diluted) as you go. You can apply as
many coats as you’d like, I did about four coats with the final coat being nearly 100%
sealer. Let this cure and dry for the manufacturers recommended time.

Assemble, Install, and Enjoy!

Refer to the video for more information about installing your concrete top to the base. Be
sure to have a couple of friends help you move this around, it’s going to be heavy! Best of
luck on yours. Photos below of my finished product. Cheers!

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Enjoy!
Thanks so much for checking out the Concrete Dining Table Plans and I’d love to hear how
your project goes! Please post photos on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/diyprojectswithpete​ and subscribe to my Youtube channel at
www.youtube.com/diyprojectswithpete​ .

Cheers from Montana,

* Please refer to the post at ​

http://www.diypete.com/ConcreteDiningTable​
and check
out the video tutorial for more information, instructions, and tips.

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