Concrete Table Top – The Home Depot Gift Challenge & Giveaway
It’s monthly challenge time again and boy was this month a challenge! (A few of our past projects were 2 x 4 Wall Art, an Industrial Book Rack, a Wood Box Caddy, and a Pegboard Luminary.) When I first heard that we would be doing projects using concrete for June, I thought “This is going to be easy.” Silly me, I have never even worked with this substance before. I could not have been more wrong about it! My attempt at concreting a table top turned out to be more of a failure rather than a success story.
Before any DIY happenings, this is the original table in all of its pre-concrete glory.
Starting off with full confidence, I mixed up a batch of Quikrete and applied it to the surface.
It went on pretty even. I let it dry a full 24 hours.
Next, I sanded it down to smooth out any bumps.
It was looking pretty good until I used the shop vac to suck up the dust. This revealed a few holes in my concrete surface and I noticed the edges were starting to crack too.
I thought, “No big deal. I’ll just patch it with more concrete.” If only is was that easy, the outcome of this project would have been much different.
After the patching, I sanded it down again and I had even more holes and cracking.
Well, clearly this wasn’t working! I had to come up with a new plan. So I took some of the concrete mix and stirred it together with some white latex paint. I wasn’t entirely sure what I would be accomplishing with this new concoction. But at this point, what did I have to lose? Also, at some point during this whole process, I had decided to paint the rest of the table white in an attempt to make it more appealing to the eye.
This new substance was pretty pliable. I covered my hand with a plastic bag to help me level it out on the surface.
Finally, when there was just no more time to dedicate to this project, this is what I was left with after it dried. A lumpy, uneven, partially painted table that was extremely top heavy. A Project Fail if I’ve ever seen one!
During this entire process, I have really learned so much about working with concrete. And this may sound a touch on the crazy side, but I really do think I could have made this project work. I am hopeful that someday I may find more time to give to this poor little table.
Along with this month’s challenge, we are giving away a $100 gift card to The Home Depot! To enter for a chance to win, follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter ballot below. Good Luck!
Now it is time to head on over and check out all of these fun concrete projects! I am betting they had better success this month than I did.
18 Comments
Carmody of Paper & Fox
I had a difficult with working with concrete too! I see your vision with the table, sorry it did not work out.
Emily
This one was really a challenge!
Roxanne
This month was by far the most challenging so far! Glad you shared even though it wasn’t your expected outcome!
Emily
Roxanne, the cement is pretty tricky to work with.
Jen @ Fresh Crush
Well, we’re just two peas in a pod this month. At least it was fun to work with! I hope you give your table another shot. I’ll def be trying my planter again… just not today. ;)
Emily
I loved your teaser pic for the collage, Jen! The cement was fun to work with and I definitely learned a lot.
Amanda @ Dwelling in Happiness
Ah! Oh man, I hear ya, I was SO worried mine would totally flop too. It’s so hard working with concrete, you don’t know how it’s going to turn out until it’s dry!! I liked your idea of putting paint in there cement, I think you’re on the something! I didn’t even realize how difficult concrete would be to work with!
Emily
Thanks Amanda! Yeah, I am going to try the paint in the the cement again. I really think if I just take my time with it, it could really turn out amazing.
Shelly
Oh no – that’s the worst when a project doesn’t work out..It’ s always a good thing to learn something new though. I’m sure you will be successful next time you try! You’re brave even for attempting it! I kept mine as simple as possible and still had problems. I guess concrete is just hard to work with.
Emily
Thanks Shelly!
Deb
So challenging, right? my planter (stuck to the basics) was my second attempt and I had to read a few Pinterest tutorials before getting it right. BTW so cover a surface in concrete you can try Ardex Feather Finish it’s concrete but just a surface cover. I used this on my counter tops and I am going to be doing it again since they decided to chip 2 years later…but def the coolelst stuff.
Emily
Absolutely Deb! I plan on trying the Ardex Feather Finish for concrete counter tops. I just have to be brave enough to be without a kitchen for a few days.
Shannon Churchill
Concrete can definitely be challenging! We had to do several run throughs before getting it right with our kitchen countertops.:) So sorry it didn’t work out, but thank you for sharing your process. Every DIYer has been there.:) I’m sure next time you will knock it out of the park!!
Emily
Thanks Shannon!
Emily @ Table & Hearth
I was thisclose to doing a tabletop too! This stuff was soooo tricky to work with, take comfort in knowing you were not alone this month. I find it hilarious that we all had major issues this month :) Keepin’ it real!
Emily
Thanks Emily! I did not feel alone in the problem department this month. Haha!
Amy@HomeRemedies
This month’s project was a challenge for me, too! I had to scrap my original idea in the 11th hour, once I realized it was not going to work. I hope you get around to doing a re-do, this is such a great idea!
Emily
Thanks Amy! I am really hoping I get a chance to work on that table again.