For the past few years we have had a few high winds on those summer nights, which is great, but not so great when you own a glass patio table. After having three glass patio tables roll over and scatter to pieces, we decided to bring out the old wooden table passed down from my parents.
Years ago everything was built to last. My father and uncle had acquired many skills over the years when they came to Canada and one of many trades were carpentry and tiling. They had built a wooden table and it was covered in a sheet of arberiate….which nothing could destroy. So instead of rushing out to buy a fourth patio table, we decided to use the 8 foot long table in our outdoor dining room. At first we didn’t care that it didn’t look great, it served a purpose, we were able to seat 10 people comfortably and the wind was definitely not blowing this baby over.
Since it was so heavy we kept it on the deck over the winter months and after two years of course the arberiate started to lift. This led me to my next project!!! Redesigning this dining table to give it a contemporary feel using some great flagstone tile we had just sitting in our garage from a renovation left over from the main floor.
Having tiled a few things in the past, I headed to the hardware store to get some details about what concrete and grouting to use since the table once finished would definitely not be moved indoors for the winter. I was given a concrete adhesive for the tiles and a grout for outdoor use. It worked out perfectly with the tiles and there were no cuts that needed to be made to the tiles.
Needless to say this table with a rustic flare has become a show piece in our outdoor dining room. Not only will it withstand the weather in the winter and high summer winds, it will also give us that great space for entertaining our family and friends on those perfect summer nights. Check out the photos. Comments most welcome!
