Mosaic Table Top Freeform

My wife bought a table base and I agreed to paint it and make a suitable top. I told her it might take me a long time, it did. I had to be in an inspired state. The 1″ plywood and ceramic tile was from Habitat Restore and very cheap. The other materials were from Home Depot and very expensive. I’ve got about $200 in the top plus my long drawn out labor but it seats twelve and it looks cool.
A better explanation: My wife bought the metal base for about $200 delivered. A local guy buys them in Mexico. I cleaned it, primed it and painted it with spray cans out in my back yard. The top was something my wife asked me to do before she bought the base and I said: Sure, sure, and let it go at that. I did warn her that it would take me a long time because I need to find my muse to do just about anything that is artistic. I can do the normal day to day stuff just fine, but artistry takes me time. Cut to the chase, one morning I went to the Habitat for Humanity Store and bought a whole lot of mismatched bathroom tiles in a plethora of colors and shapes for 5 cents each. I also bought a piece of 1″ thick subflooring laminated exterior plywood that I didn’t even know existed. It was 3′ 9″ by 8 feet so I got them to sell it to me for ten dollars, even though they were asking fifteen. I then went to Home Depot and bought 2 tubes of Liquid Nails, a whole case of exterior latex adhesive caulk and a 4′ x’ 8′ sheet of 1/4″ Smooth Hardiboard siding. I used a utility knife and a builders square to score and snap the excess Hardiboard so it fit the plywood. I then used two tubes of liquid nails to attach the Hardiboard sheathing to the plyood giving me an impervious cover to which to attach my mosaic pieces. I did it a little at a time using various different methods. I bought a little $88 tile table saw, that I have now used for two projects, and a selection of tile clippers, snippers and edge files and I built it as my muse moved me. I had some prefab type tiles and stones that my wife bought, in hopes of giving my muse a kick in the ass, so I used them too. When I had everything nearly filled in I bought the highest quality exterior grout I could find and made a total mess by not protecting the flagstone enough on my patio. I knew I was screwing up but I kept marching forward anyway. Once the grout was dry I sealed it with the best grout sealer I could buy and made a bigger mess on the Flagstone. Fast forward to now, three years later, and the table still looks fantastic and multiple water blastings have erased almost all traces of the mess I could have so easily avoided. I didn’t want to set tile on the table with thinset adhesive because I knew my efforts were going to be sporadic at best. It worked out pretty good though and it seats twelve easy. Now you know the rest of the story. Thanks for asking.

Duration : 0:1:53

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