Tanaira vs Concrete

That's right folks, you read that right. I am about to take a stab at making something out of concrete. This was an element on the my Experimenting with New Materials Challenge. Now, how did I get this idea you wonder? Well, one day while perusing YouTube and being sucked in by countless videos, I came across a guy making furniture. However, he wasn't using wood. He was using concrete. I had never even pondered such a thing. I was originally impressed, but only marginally interested. The thought of making something out of concrete just seemed impractical, and frankly quite nuts. However, the more videos that I watched, the more attainable the whole idea became. So I decided why not. I can do this. 

Now before I embarked on a big project, I decided to try a smaller one just to test the waters. I headed to Home Depot and grabbed a bag of Quikrete Concrete. They sell this stuff in various sizes, but I got the 60lb bag. Much to my surprise (Not sure why though), a 60lb bag of concrete is quite heavy. It took all of my little person muscle to lift it up from the shelf and into the cart. Then I had to get it out of the cart and into the car. The whole ordeal was quite exhausting. 

To make something out of concrete you first need a mold. From my research it seemed as though you could use anything as a mold, as long as it repelled water. Typically people use silicone. However, since this was a test project I didn't want to invest too much time or money into anything. I happened to have an old lamp shade hanging around. I also found some metal letters at Michaels. I mixed up the concrete per the directions on the bag, and poured it into the lamp shade. Then I pressed the letters into the top of the mixture. To complete the process, I tapped the top and sides of the shade with my mallet to remove air bubbles. 

I let it dry for around 24 hours. The directions instructed you to wait at least 48, but I got anxious, and it looked dry. So, I popped it out. It was a little crumbly, but that was okay. This was just a test.

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of the final result, but just picture a half-round concrete door stop with my initials in it. 

Once the test was complete I could move on to the real project. Back to Home Depot I went for supplies. I got a 2'x4' piece of white melamine that I cut into 2 1/2" strips, a large sheet of white board, 6 pieces of rebar for structure, a shovel, and a large bin. I also added in a piece of scrap wood I had in my workshop

Once I got home I realized I had been bamboozled. Here's the thing about concrete. Concrete itself is very cheap. The entire bag was only about $4. That was part of the appeal of doing this project. However, the supplies is where you spend the money. I spent $4 on the concrete, and an extra $40 on the mold and structural elements. 

So, to begin this project I brought everything upstairs to the kitchen. I figured by the weight of just the bag of concrete that this table was going to be a little heavy. Moving it upstairs from the garage to the patio as a finished piece was not an option. So, I built it as close to where it was going to end up as I could. Why not just build it outside you ask? Well I read that concrete must dry slowly and evenly. If your environment is too hot (like it is outside during summertime in Atlanta) it will dry too fast, and not cure properly. I read many things on how to keep that from happening, but I did not feel like embarking on the additional effort or research. I could already tell this was not a project I would be doing again anytime soon. I was feeling like the novelty of building a concrete table was far more exciting than actually doing it. I laid down a giant plastic tarp to cover the area, and put down my white board next to the patio door. 

I used hot glue to secure the melamine strips to the white board in the shape I wanted. This was just to create a mold for the table. The melamine was not permanent, so hot glue was sufficient. 

Next I needed to seal the inside. I used my caulking gun to distribute sealant in all of my gaps. This way concrete does not run outside the mold. 

Now it was time to start. I dumped all of the dry concrete into the bucket and added water until I got the consistency I wanted. Then I shoveled it into the mold. 

When it was about half way full I tapped the sides and top with my mallet to get out some of the air bubbles.

As I was shoveling I quickly realized that I did not have enough to fill the mold. I clearly did not read the directions properly. I should have gotten 2 bags of concrete. I contemplated just leaving it as a thinner table, but then I would have had a hard time leveling it and adding the bottom. So I made a split decision. I threw on some sneakers, put on a bra, and ran to Home Depot to get another bag of concrete. I was there and back home in 20mins. Before I continued I submerged some mesh for extra strength. Then I mixed up the second batch, and shoveled it in until I filled the mold. 

 I poured until I was almost level, and then added in the extra piece of wood. The purpose of the wood was so that I had something to screw the legs into. You probably can drill and screw into concrete, but I am not about that life. I added some scrap pieces and weights to the top to keep the piece of wood from floating up. 

Last step was to get out the air pockets. I used my orbital sander without a pad to vibrate out the bubbles from the side. 

Then I waited. I learned from my test project to wait the entire 48 hours.

I'll admit I was quite curious after 24. So I did remove the weights, and attempted to lift and test the table weight. Now mind you when I told people that I was doing this project, I had been warned, told, and scolded by several parties to not lift this thing by myself. I sort of listened. I just wanted to test it. After having to add the second bag I became concerned about the weight, and whether the patio could hold it. Well I pushed and tugged at it a little, and it got real. This thing was heavy. I don't know what I was thinking. You know what No, I know exactly what I was thinking. Once again team doing too much won the battle, and I thought it would be cool to have a concrete table on the patio, and making it would be an awesome accomplishment. Well what's done is done. I was going to have to deal with a heavy table. I let it dry the remaining 24 hours.

With the table top complete, I needed to add legs. Back to Home Depot for the remaining materials. Again I was bamboozled by the supplies. The cost of legs added up fast. To start I had to cut another piece of scrap wood. The original piece that I cut and submerged into the concrete was not wide enough. The thought was to use a larger piece to attach the legs to. Then screw that piece into the piece embedded in the concrete. I flipped the wood upside down and added flanges. 

For the legs I am going to use 1" metal plumbing pipes and castors. As I contemplated the weight factor, not only was I concerned about moving it outside, but also how to move it around thus afterward. I didn't want to have drag it around the patio each time. It hit me to use castors. That way all I'd have to do is nudge and roll. I started with 12" black pipes. The pipes are hollow, so to add in castors I would have to add something inside that could be screwed into. I bought a 1" dowel, wrapped it with duct tape, and gorilla glued it inside the pipe.

I screwed the legs into the flanges, then spray painted the whole base blue.

Once the paint was dry, I screwed the base into the concrete. Then I added the castors one by one. This was not easy. The castor screws were quite thick. I had to drill a 3/8" pilot hole, and then turn each castor by hand. 

I finished the 4th wheel, and took a short rest. I had to mentally prepare myself for what I was about to try. I did not have an assistant, so I was going to attempt getting it right side up myself before calling in for reinforcements. First I lifted it up on its side, 5 minute break, and then lifted it again right side up. It took awhile but my squats and weight training helped. I also figured that if I could lift it up by myself, then the patio should be able to hold it. I stood back and marveled at all my hard work. 

Now I'm not going to lie, this was table was heavy as I don't know what. I really should have had help. The next morning I unlocked the wheels and rolled it outside. Once outside I did a little bit of clean up. I hosed off the excess residue, and scrubbed away the left over pieces of caulking.  

So what do you think? I actually like it now. Especially now that it's done. I'll be honest though this was one of the most exhausting projects of my life. I don't think I will ever do this again. This was way more work than I ever cared to be doing. I contemplated every part of it. Had it not been so heavy I think I would have just said forget about it, and tossed it out. I also hurt my body in the process. Apparently mixing concrete by hand, shoveling, and leveling did a number on my back and rib cage. The guy on YouTube made it look so easy. I had to take a day of recovery, and go get a massage. All and all I like the finished result. Hard work, but it is nice to have an outdoor table that the carpenter bees can't feast on. The only problem I see now is what happens if I ever move? Who's going to move that? Will the moving guys charge me extra? I don't know. That will have to be another adventure for another day.

Until then...It's on to the next project!