DIY Outdoor Dining Table

If you read the Deck Makeover Part I blog post, you’ll know that we updated our deck recently. After getting one side all decked out (see what I did there?) 😂 I realized I had no idea what I was going to do with the other side of the deck, which by the way, is ginormous. I didn’t want to leave all that space open, so I decided to build an outdoor table.

I was going to wait and post the tutorial on part II of the deck makeover, but after taking a poll on Instagram and seeing how many friends said yes to a how-to guide, I decided to share the tutorial for this table separately.

I used Cedar since it will be an outdoor table for our deck. Our deck isn’t covered, so I wanted to use hard wood that is insect and rot resistant. Cedar is a more expensive wood when comparing to other options, but still costs a lot less than buying an outdoor table. 🙌🏼

Now that all those words are out of the way…let’s get to it!

Materials 

5 – 1 x 8 x 8 cedar planks
4 – 2 x 4 x 8 cedar planks
2” yellow deck screws
1 1/4” Kreg screws (36 needed)
2 1/2” Kreg screws (8 needed)
Tape measure
Pencil
Kreg Jig
Clamp
Electric screwdriver
Level
Table saw
Orbital sander
120 grit sandpaper
Wood sealer (optional)

Wood Cuts 

Cut the 5 – 1 x 8 x 8 cedar planks to 7 feet

Cut 11 – 29” pieces from the 4 – 2 x 4 x 8 cedar planks.

Note, each 2×4 should produce 3 – 29” pieces. We actually only bought 3, so for the bottom I used leftover 2×4 scraps from a previous project. 

We spent a total of $115 on the wood. Thankfully, we had all the other materials on hand. To buy all the wood needed, you’ll spend about $135. I was two 29” pieces short, so ended up using pine 2×4 scraps I had from a previous project.

Enough about the wood, let’s talk tutorial.

Step 1: Cut the wood. If you don’t have a table saw and buy your wood at Lowe’s, a Lowe’s associate can cut the wood for you.

Step 2: The most time consuming part of the process…making the pocket holes. Using the Kreg Jig make 9 pocket holes down one side of  the 7′ planks. Do this to 4 of the 7’ pieces.

Step 3: Align the 5 tabletop pieces on a flat surface with the one piece with no pocket holes on the end. Then using the 1 1/4” fine Kreg screws, secure the tabletop. See picture below.

Tip: My wood pieces were fairly flat so I didn’t have to put a lot of effort into marketing site they were flush. However, if the wood you use is bowed out at all, I recommend standing on the wood as you secure the pieces together to get them as flush as possible.  

Once the tabletop is secure, the width should come to 36.25” not 40”. The cedar I used is dimensional wood, so it is actually .75 inches shorter in width than actually stated. See below.

I looked up standard table dimensions and the common width is 36” and the common height is 29”, which is why I cut the 2×4’s down to 29”. You’ll get 3 cuts per plank. 

Step 4: Take 1 of the 29” pieces and make a centered pocket hole on each of the two ends. Do this to 4 of the 29” pieces. See the picture below.

Step 5: Make a box using 2 of the 29” pieces with pocket holes and 2 of the 29” pieces without pocket holes. The two pieces with the pocket holes are the top and bottom of the base. The pocket holes should be on the inside the box. See below.

Step 6: Using the 2 1/2” Kreg screws, secure the base.

Step 7: Repeat step 5-6 to create a second box.

Step 8: Align the base pieces to secure them to the tabletop. I left 10.5” of overhang on the ends and 2” of overhang on each of the two sides.

Step 9: Secure the base to the tabletop with the 2” yellow deck screws. I spaced each screw about 2.5” apart. I just eyed it though.

Tip: The deck screws glide in super easy (into cedar at least) so don’t apply a ton of pressure. Also, the drill bit is included in the deck screws if you buy this brand. I borrowed the bit from our neighbor, before I realized that. DUH. It pays to read the box. 

Step 10: Take the remaining three 29” pieces and secure them to the tabletop as shown below. More specifically, I secured one next to each of the bases then the last one center from the base.

Step 11: Using the orbital sander with 120 grit sand paper, sand the table to a smooth finish.

Step 12: Seal the table with wood protector sealer. Cedar wood will turn light gray over time if not sealed. If you are aiming for that look, then you can skip this step. But if you want to preserve the natural look, seal it.

And that’s a wrap! 🙌🏼

I built this table in 4 hours total, start to finish. Honestly, I might say this is the easiest DIY project I’ve ever done. I didn’t get frustrated once, and that’s saying a lot. 😂

Well friends, that’s it for this post. Hope you leave here feeling inspired. Please comment below if you have any questions. You can also DM me on Instagram. My handle is @acarriedaffairdesigns

Until next time. Xo