Concrete Side-Table With Glass Insert and Rebar Legs
A few years ago my husband and I completed a large conference table for his work, with an I-Beam base, turned out beautifully (I've included a picture of the finished product at the end of this post). At the same time we made him a mini, side table for his office. We used rebar for the legs and added a glass inset. Here's a look into the process.
First thing was forming it up. Glass will be in the middle between the two white curves while the outer edges will be concrete.
We used Buddy Rhodes Concrete Countertop Mix. I have used this mix on multiple occasions and really love the technique and results. I didn't get any "interim" pictures (my hands are covered in concrete mix and I didn't think to get somebody else to take the pics) but the first step is a thin initial layer. You gently place it by the handful, twisting as you add it and form up the edges at this time (no wire mesh yet). The handful twist leaves pockets and crevices where you'll be applying a contrasting slurry later on. Then you build up with another thicker layer, roughly half of your mold, adding in the wire mesh at this time. Then fill in the entire piece. Be careful as you're adding the mix so you don't apply too much pressure and fill in the crevices you've formed.
Here it is, filled in and all smoothed out with the mounting hardware for the legs embedded. You can see the legs in the bottom picture. Simple powder-coated rebar.
We left it to set up and cure for a couple days. Then when it's pulled from the forms, turn it over and you'll have all the crevices to fill in with a slurry. You'll do this multiple times, wet-sanding between coats. The piece gets polished (a wet-sanding with varying levels of sanding pads similar to sanding wood) and then sealed.
Here's the finished result.
Here's the larger conference table we "poured" at the same time. We used caulk to add some veining through the middle of this table as well. I wasn't sure that I'd like that but it turned out great!
I'll be sharing the process for this table on the blog real soon at http://www.thechirpingfrog.blogspot.com
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 42 comments
-
So simple but very effective! I was thinking of using resin as the 'river' in a table top, but this works well too! I imagine that the legs gave the structural lateral strength needed. If you wanted some unique fossil-like texture:
![]()
-
looks heavy
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Was sanding required after it had set and dried? Did you use concrete sealer in it. Those are amazing tables. I enjoy concrete work!