Upcycle Flooring to Make a Coffee Table!

We’re going to paint, so give the wood a light scuff with sandpaper. Don’t forget to remove any hardware that can get in the way of sanding, like those plastic caps over the screws that are holding the base together!

Since you never know how paint is going to react, we always test both paint and primer on an area that won’t be seen.

Hubs lets it dry at least a day and then gives it the fingernail test to ensure it will stick. In this case, we’re going to skip primer and spray two coats of white PPG Break-Through in a colour called Icicle. It passes the scratch test with flying colours, so no need to prime.

We sand our samples before painting too.

Make sure every spec of dust is removed.

We always lift the legs off the table so we can spray right to the very bottom.

Elevating the piece on a table will help save your back! Start with the piece upside down to spray underneath, then flip it right side up to finish (see the video below the next 3 pics).

Making the Top

If you read our previous post, you’ll know that we lost our engineered wood flooring to water damage and replaced it with an  innovative new luxury vinyl. But we did have some left over wood planks from the hardwood installation that we’re going to upcycle!

I’m building the top with the same glue we used to install it originally.

Just squeeze it into the groove of each plank making sure you have full coverage as shown.

Hubs clamps a board onto the end of the table so he can hammer the flooring planks against it with a mallet. Watch our video below to see how that’s done. Blue tape is the tape we recommend during the glue-up. That’s because it has enough stretch that it acts as a clamp as the glue dries.

Watch the video to see how to build a top for a coffee table base using leftover engineered hardwood flooring. And subscribe to our YouTube channel while you’re at it!

Since the flooring has a tongue protruding on one side, we cut it off to start with a smooth edge before cutting the rest down to size.

We’re using a circular saw to cut, and want the edge as smooth as possible, so we’re switching to an ultra fine blade (as shown in the video).

Measure the width of the plate on the saw to determine where to clamp a straight edge so you’re only taking off the tongue – if you want to keep the boards their full width.

We cut the board down to 44″ wide x 26″ deep. That leaves a 1-1/2″ overhang around all the edges.

The glue does a great job of attaching the flooring together, but as a table top, you’ll need to add more support. So Hubs adds two rails using 1 x 3’s and countersinks holes into the wood before attaching them to the top with screws.

As you can see below, the rails are spaced to fit in between the side stretchers. This will keep the top from shifting side to side. 

But to keep it from shifting along the length too, we add four corner blocks. To do that, flip the base upside down and place it onto the top. Then it’s easy to position the blocks in each corner. We move the blocks forward about `1/8″ to leave a bit of clearance. 

The blocks are also drilled and countersunk first before screwing them into the rails.

The top is done! If you like, you can paint or seal all the raw wood with a clear coat to finish the underside. However, since Hubs wants to reimagine this again in Spring, we’re not going to bother.

The last step is to cover the raw edges of the top. The circular saw doesn’t make the most perfect cuts. We thought about taping the edge with veneer, but could see that we would have gaps. So I reached for something with flexibility instead.

To solve the dilemma, I use this laser tape.

I position it against the bottom of the wood veneer. As you can see, there’s still a 1/8″ reveal of lighter wood below the tape. I don’t mind that; it provides some definition.

Here's a reminder of the before; our topless table base.

The finish on engineered wood flooring these days is so durable. It will easily stand up to everyday use and water spills from plants.

Just for fun, I spelled out Merrry X-mas with these dollar store letters.

The poinsettia adds a nice pop of colour. Now we have a lovely coffee table to enjoy for the holidays!

Crochet for a Cure

If you haven’t heard, we’ve just launched a pattern shop, where we’re donating 100% of our proceeds to Alzheimer’s. You’ll find patterns, like our signature Kayla Pillow, Air Planter Pods and Tooth Fairy Pillow (shown above), available to purchase as a donation to our Alzheimer’s fundraiser.

Come  visit us to purchase a pattern; with 100% going to charity, it's a win-win!