DIY Tiled Outdoor Table

When we first moved into this home a few years ago, I discovered the NextDoor app. I particularly loved to go there in search of free or affordable finds. In this case, I found an outdoor wrought iron mesh table with chairs and a lounge chair with wheels for under $100. Outdoor furniture can be really pricey and I absolutely adored the chairs and lounge. We needed the table too, but it wasn’t anything extraordinary.

Initially, I spray painted the table and lounge chair white and went with a bubblegum pink for the beautifully detailed iron chairs. The mesh on the table wasn’t level, so I knew I wanted to do something to level the top and make it look more attractive. I considered just adding wood and covering it with an oilcloth table covering, but the weather can beat things up so I knew I wanted to consider a more durable options.

It was important to me that the table would fulfill its purpose and remain an affordable find. I’ve never tiled a thing in my life but was envisioning a tile top. We attended a free tiling class at a hardware store and learned some basics that gave me the confidence to tackle the table. I was keeping in mind that this wasn’t something I expected to be perfect. I saw it as an opportunity to spruce something up and learn a new skill.

The first thing we had to do was buy the wood for the top. I turned the table upside down on the wood, traced a circle, and used a jigsaw to cut the circle. A reminder here is important to always wear eye protection and use a stable surface! It’s important to be super safe, especially with your eyes and favorite body parts.

Once the wood circle was cut, the edges were a little rough. We laid the table back down on the freshly cut wood circle and used a large circular drill bit to cut hole for the center where the umbrella goes. We then used screws, nuts and bolts to attach the wood top. Since it was now attached and stable I sanded the wood along the edges so that it was sufficiently round and aligned with the table edges. I sealed the wood to protect it from the tiling and any weather that might seep through over time.

After the sanding and sealing was complete, we purchased tile, tile adhesive, metal trowel, tile spacers, hand held tile cutter, grout, foam trowel, and sponge. This is where we learned a ton! The first thing was that it can be quite the task for a first timer and it requires patience. It took us several days on and off to complete this project but in the end it was so worth it!

The tile we purchased was on sheets. We had previously done our math to determine the total square feet needed and I was still concerned we would run out of tile. I laid it out as best I could to see where each sheet would go and because of the cuts we would have to make, we needed a few more sheets.

Once we had the right number of sheets, I started applying tile adhesive from the center of the table. My goal was to use as many full sheets as I could before needing the tile cutter. This process really only involved alternating between troweling on tile adhesive, laying tile sheets, and adding spacers to keep them equidistant.

Once I got to the edges we got to work using scissors to cut the tile sheets and the hand held cutter for the tiles. Cutting the tiles was challenging and my assessment is that we chose such an intricate shaped and small tile and thus it was a tedious task. I wasn’t too worried about imperfections though because I knew that I wanted a trim around the edge that would overlap on top of the table. We made sure to get as close to the edge as possible with our cuts.

After we left the tile to set overnight, I grouted the table by applying it into the spaces between the tiles. I just used gloves and pressed the grout in the spaces with my fingers. I tried to clean the tile as I moved along and once the grout was finished I used a wood chopstick to scrape any bits and film that had dried on the tile. Using wood is important because it will help protect the tile from scratches.

I found a flexible trim for the edges that is used for boats and cars. I tried using the peel and stick tape adhesive but because the tile wasn’t precise along the edges it wouldn’t stick everywhere. That’s when I turned to Gorilla Glue and worked in sections to glue and clamp until it was complete.

Now that the trim was attached, I sealed it with caulking along the top and side of the table. I also added caulking between the wood and tile layer along the outer edge. I wanted to make sure I could prevent as many elements as I could from getting in there. The outer edges weren’t perfect and the trim was black so I taped off the tile and spray painted the trim and sides white to create a seamless transition for the eye and hide the imperfections. Overall, I was pretty pleased with how it turned out for us and most importantly I was proud of what I (I mean we) accomplished!