Spring is one of my favorite times of year so, I had to take a break from furnishing our new home and move outside to our patio!

how-to-build-an-outdoor-table

I’ve been dying to build an outdoor table for this space and with a few 2×4’s and 2×6’s, I created this super stout and GORGEOUS outdoor table for – wait for it – only $65!

Of course, we have the printable plans for you to build your own!  You can click the image below or HERE to print them! You can find plans to the matching set of benches HERE.

Click-For-Free-Plans

A huge thank you to our friend Jay from Jays Custom Creations for converting our table design into PDF plans for you!

And, as always, I am also sharing the step-by-step pictures for you to follow along!

leg-pieces

I started by cutting the legs at 10 degree angles.

safety-gear

We always make sure to protect our eyes and ears when we are building!  These 3M safety glasses and headphones are some of our faves from the 3M Safety Products line!

kreg-jig

I used my Kreg Jig® K5 to drill pocket holes in both ends of each leg.  You can see that I have it set at 1 1/2″ pocket holes.

assemble-legs

I used 2 1/2″ exterior pocket hole screws and wood glue to assemble the legs.

legs-assembled

Almost done with the legs 🙂

add-2x4-to-leg

I attached the 2×4 to between the legs first.  If you attach the 2×6 first you will have a hard time adding the 2×4 – trust me 😉

add-2x6-to-leg

and now the 2×6!

add-stretcher-piece

I attached the legs to the planked top and attached the stretcher with wood glue and pocket hole screws.

add-top-stretcher

Then the support under the table top.

add-x

Now for the fun 🙂  I started attaching the double “x’s”.  This is a great place to measure and cut as you build!

add-small-x-pieces

Now the small pieces.

add-trim-pieces

Now, because I was designing the table as I was building, I added the trim as the final step.  Don’t do this!  Follow the plans and do it first but I did want to show this step so that you can see how I measure for the trim as I go.  I cut the long pieces first, attached them and then measured for the short pieces.

ready-for-finish

Ahhhhhh!  Love it!  This table has TONS of pocket holes so I did have to fill them.

wood-filler

I used 3M Wood Filler to fill them all

sanding

and after it dried, I used 80-grit sandpaper from the 3M Advanced Abrasives line to smooth the wood filler out flush with the wood.

Rustoleum-Carrington-Stain1

For the finish, I used one-coat of Rust-Oleum® Carrington Stain then used a sander to distress all over the table to get the worn look!

RustOleum-Spar-Varnish-1

To help this table last, I put 3 coats of Spar Varnish on top of it 🙂

diy-outdoor-table
double-x-table
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how-to-build-an-outdoor-table

That was it!  With some 2x boards, an afternoon of work and about $65, my family has this awesome outdoor table to enjoy and entertain at!!!  Now I can splurge on some decorations 🙂  It’s time for me to get busy on some matching benches 🙂

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Ashley

I am proud to be a 3M- sponsored blogger, and, as part of my responsibilities, I get the opportunity to evaluate new products from 3M DIY. Opinions are my own and additional product used in the project were selected by me.

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38 Comments

  1. I truly love all of y’alls plans!! I would like to know if it would be possible to build this as a counter height dining table? If so, what changes would need to be made? Thanks so much!

  2. Can I make an 8ft table top and use the same base? I want it a bit longer for more leg room on the ends.

  3. What are the final dimensions finished? I’m making a scale model of my space and I’m trying to determine if it will fit comfortably.

  4. How much does the table weigh? I am thinking of building it for my 2nd story deck, but am worried about the logistics of carrying it up and down the stairs to storage every winter. Thoughts?

    1. I’m sure you’ve probably built (or not built) your table by now, but just wanted to chime in. I built a larger table (12 ft.) using these plans, and I just didn’t connect the table top to the base, allowing me to separate the two. Because of the weight of the top, I’m not worried about it flipping off, I just placed some braces inside/underneath the top, so that when it’s sitting correctly on the base, it won’t slide. This way, moving the table is much easier.

  5. How do you join the corners of the trim together? The wood seems too thin to use pocket holes.

    The instructions say “Pre-drill and countersink two 2-1/2 inch wood screws into each miter to connect them” I don’t know what countersinking is. Does anyone have a picture I can see?

  6. Hi! I’ve looked at a lot of your outdoor project plans. Just a quick question, do you use treated wood? Or do you find regular wood works just fine?

    Thanks!

  7. Thank you for sharing this table plan! I finally was able to convince my husband to make it, who was not confident at all to create that kind of piece . We used cedar and modified it to insert our umbrella. Se still need to stain/protect it, but we are very please with the result! Keep up the good work! Éric and Chantal from St-Hubert, Québec, Canada

  8. Would you make any changes to this for an indoor table? I love the base and would like it for my dining room. Thanks!

      1. How do you put the finish coat on so it goes smooth of the boards.. I made one and had to sand off the finish because it wasn’t put on correctly.. do you have any tips?

  9. Look what we made with the DIY plans!! It is awesome!! Yes it was tricky at times, costs a bit more and is very heavy, but it is so big and comfy to sit 10 people at!! We live it!

  10. Built this table over the weekend – love it! Thanks for sharing the plans. Do you have any plans available for matching benches?

      1. Hello! Is the link here for the matching benches? I don’t see it and I told my hubby this is what I want for mother’s day, lol
        Happy Mother’s Day BTW!
        Thank you, Tracy

    1. Mary Jo, with the plans that were sent, how do you know which piece of wood is for what part of the table? The only thing i am sure about is the top part

    1. Hi Jack! I hate to say it but yes…. Sometimes we are lucky and get lots of straight boards but most of the time it involves sifting through many. It’s worth it to us to spend time finding straight boards to save the money though 🙂

      1. Thanks for the response. What about 4x4s? I have searched and searched and in Charleston, SC the only thing available is treated. Where do you get your untreated 4x4s?

    2. A jointer & planer will straighten boards but removes material to do it. They are good investment tools if you are serious about woodworking that I highly recommend.

      I don’t own a planer but I do a jointer and use it for planning wood 6″ wide or less.

      I still look for the straightest boards when I picking them out but sometimes they move when you get them in your own environment and have to be fixed.

      Good luck with your endeavors!

  11. First off — I just want to say a big “thank you” for sharing the plans for this build. Sadly, as I was building it today, I hoped for a bit more clarification on a few things. I have just completed the table but I thought it might be helpful for others in the future.

    1 – I wished there was something mentioning that the center supports for the legs (2×6 and 2×4) should be at a right angle with the actual (making them flat instead of angled like the boards they connect to). When I built the legs, I made the center supports flush with the legs and didn’t realize til later (while attaching the long support at the end of the project) that they weren’t supposed to be that way. It caused a bit of a “problem” because while attaching the stretcher 2×4 at the end that stretches the length of the table, it wouldn’t connect flush. I had to actually miter the edges to make them sit flush.

    Sorry, I hope this is making sense. It is late and my preggo brain can’t seem to construct a proper sentence.

    2 – The distance between the boards on top doesn’t work out to be 2″. Those building this table will probably have to play with the distances between the boards.

    3 – I have a Kreg Jig and use it frequently but those 45 degree mitered angles were a bit awkward to use in the Kreg Jig. I did eventually wing it and get a couple holes in there but a few images or a video might be really helpful. I was surprised at how difficult it was to try to find someone online that had a video or images of how to do this properly.

    4 – Since the gaps between my boards were 1 1/2 – 2″ in the center of the table (I made them closer together on the pieces connecting to the frame), the support pieces that connects to the table top and the legs, was a beast to screw in. The gap ran right down the middle meaning there wasn’t much room on either side of the board to attach the screws without running the risk of splitting the wood. Also, I had to put the screws in at an angle to make them work. I noticed in the actual tutorial, you used a 2×6 for this piece but the plans call for a 2×4. I think the 2×6 would actually work better. I would have swapped it out but I had already cut all of the lumber and didn’t happen to have an additional piece of 2×6 long enough.

    5 – You did mention this in your actual tutorial but I think it is worth mentioning on the plans too — I HIGHLY recommend who ever builds this in the future to NOT cut the X pieces or the stretcher until everything else is assembled. The plan called for the stretcher to be 57 3/4″. I don’t know how it worked out to be so but my stretched ended up being 62″ long. And the X pieces were definitely trial-and-error. I think I ended up cutting mine about an inch longer than the actual plan called for.

    6 – For the actual table top, I found myself wishing that the plan had called for pocket holes on the ENDS of the 2×6 pieces that connect to the long side of the “frame” as well as along the length. When I connected the middle 4 boards with pocket hole screws, it joint was nice and tight. The two boards along the frame had small gaps in the ends where the end met the table. The gaps aren’t large but I think if I were to do it again, I would add pocket holes to the ends of those outside boards as well as along the length.

    7 – The last thing, I promise. On the plan, there is not mention of how far from the sides any thing should be connected. For example — when attaching the legs to the table, I wished that I had a “distance from the edge” measurement. The same goes with the connector boards. It would have saved a lot of time to know how far from the sides of the table for the 2×4 and how far from the outside of the legs for the final stretcher.

    I hope this isn’t taken as me putting “down” the plan and tutorial. I had a lot of fun building the table. I just wanted to let others know little pitfalls that they may encounter along the way. 🙂

    One more thing — for anyone reading this: This table is heavy. HEAVY. I am 30 weeks pregnant and I am not sure I will be able to help my husband life it off the garage floor and stand it upright. haha. I am sure it is at least a couple hundred pounds.

    I have attached a couple pictures of the process just for fun. The first is a picture of pregnant ole me looking like a crazy lady with my youngest daughter “helping” me. The second is of the table upside down on the garage floor. I JUST added the Xs and will attempt to help my husband flip it over tomorrow morning. The bottom connector piece looks crooked in this picture because of the shadows on the table…it is not actually crooked.

    1. I’m sorry you had such a difficult time with this. The plans should use a 2×6 for the top stretcher so we will get that fixed ASAP. As for the other issues, the majority of them could have been solved by measuring and cutting as you built and there are pictures and plan pictures that reference the angle cuts as well as the side stretchers being parallel with the ground. If you have questions while you are building shoot us an email, comment here or find us on our social channels. We always do our best to answer those types of questions. We aren’t perfect and sometimes leave details out but we do our best to help. Thanks!

  12. Beautiful!! Gee, I posted a potential project pic.. but can’t see it. oh well.. Great job!!

  13. I want to make some matching side tables….any possibility that you can provide a plan for this?
    Thanks

  14. I love your website and all the projects you share here. I’m just starting to build some of your projects and I’d like to know if you usually sand your boards before staining them, either prior to building or afterward? Thanks!!