THE CAVENDER DIARY

With so much time on my hands lately,

Honestly, SO…… MUCH…… TIME……

I’ve been tackling projects that have been in our queue for years.

This cocktail table on the deck used to be in our living room.

Hardcore Cavender Diary readers will remember when I covered it in pallet wood.

It was honestly a “blog thing” a few years back to cover shit in pallet wood.

Anyhoo, the Texas elements have not been good to her…

Yes, it’s green.

….and things are sprouting.

Since we plan to one day use this to place food/drinks on,

I should probably do something.

I grabbed a few tools to pry up the layer of rotted pallet wood…

… and didn’t need them at all.

Most of the wood just kinda fell off.

The original wood top underneath wasn’t much better…

I had planned to tile over it…. but that was a No Go.

It was a little too …… mushy.

So I grabbed my mask, some gloves, and a 6-foot tape measure (ughhh) and headed to the Home Depot for a few pieces of pressure treated lumber.

An hour+ later I had a whole new, much more weather-resistant, wood top.

I just flopped the table frame upside down and attached the new wood top with a few drywall screws.

Easy peasy, and lightyears ahead of what I started with.

But I still wanted more.

Here’s where being a hoarder has it’s advantages…

Not only was there a plethora of 1-inch square turquoise tile left over from the master bathroom remodel,

there was also a piece of cement board just the right size for a new top.

I just screwed it down to the new pressure-treated lumber top.

For a little added water proofing – this thing is probably going to sit outside for a few more years – a spread on a layer of Redguard waterproofing membrane.

I’m pretty sure that table-top-tiling-Gods were watching over me that day, because the table top was the exact size of 260 tiles.

NO TILE CUTTING NECESSARY,

I applied them with a layer of thin set, also found in the hoard.

You should know the drill by now; thin layer of thin set, trowled on at a 45 degree angle…. yada, yada, yada.

For grout, wouldn’t ya’ll know we had some in the garage hoard.

In alabaster.

Our Bathrooms both have white grout. So we’re not sure where this one came from. Possibly the seashell flower pot I made a few years ago.

Doesn’t matter anyway, because not-quite-so white is a much better outside option than bright white.

I smeared the grout on, diagonal motion.

You know, like so…

…wiping off the excess with a wet sponge as I go.

Not bad,

After a day to cure, I covered the edge with some wood trim. (Also found in the garage hoard.)

And stained it with American Walnut stain.

Because it’s going to get rained on for the next decade or so, I sealed the grout, and tile,  with a good amount of sealer.

Couldn’t be happier with the way this turned out…

And she looks even better on the deck,

Way, More, Much better.

And pretty much free.

On to the next project.