Folding balcony table

Video of how I made a similar folding balcnony table recently.

So, you have a pretty much narrow balcony (actually I have a narrow balcony) and you want to create a nice cosy place to relax or dine in the summer, then you need to save space. A folding balcony table, with folding chairs, might just be the solution for you.

Here is a simple DIY folding (and floating) balcony table with detailed step by step instruction.

Let’s begin with few things we will need to proceed with this DoItYourself. First of all lumber. I used one 1×4 inch (2 x 10 cm) plank 10ft (approx. 3m) long , a square piece of 60x60cm (approximately 23.5 inches) as a table top and a spare plank from an Ikea Saltan Lade bed base (whatever…). Please note, that I will later on explain the cuts and the lengths of all pieces used.

The tools and hardware parts needed for our project are in general, a cordless drill, a handsaw or a circular saw, few sandpapers of different grids, wood glue, spirit level, a pencil, a lot of screws from 3/4″ to as long as needed (and depending on the wall you will mount the table some plugs), stain, wood putty, some L-brackets and some hinges.

Lumber

The lumber I bought was pinewood of 3/4″ (18mm) thickness, although I recommend for the table top 1″ thick.

Hinges

2 pieces 50 x 40mm | 2″ x 1 1/2″ | (the small ones for the “leg”)
3 pieces 63 x 50mm | 2 1/2″ x 2″ | (the big ones for the folding table top)

L – Brackets

4 pieces of 50 x 50 mm | 2 x 2 inch | (I used 2 40×40 and 2 50×50)

Wood Putty

Something to much your wood (I used pinewood) and to cover the screw heads

Stain

I bought a waterbased gel mahogany stain to much the chairs (A gel stain doesn’t drop!)

Enough with the blah blah, let’s begin the project of the folding balcony table

After explaining all the “ingredients” for our project let’s see was we need to build to accomplish it. So, in order to make the folding table, we have to make three basic structure, the leg, the table top and the -T- piece.

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Step 1 | the leg

So, the first thing that we have to build is the triangle shaped “leg”. For that, we need the following lumber pieces:

1 piece   10.0 x 40.0 cm
1 piece   10.0 x 50.0 cm
1 piece   10.0 x 56.5 cm

The 56.5cm piece needs to be cut in 45 degrees on both ends, to fit as shown on the photo below.

About the joints

To joint this pieces I would recommend using a kreg jig, to create pocket holes, and joint them with screws and wood glue. This solution gives a much more beautiful final product. Due to the fact that I don’t own a kreg jig I desided to make a joint bit more simple, but less good looking, as you can see on the photos that follows.

Basically, I used the scrap pieces from the 45 degrees cuts and glued / screwed the pieces with them.

The other solution I though of regarding the joints was to drill through the planks vertically with an 8mm drill, so then I can put in side the drillhole the screws with the screwhead and “tighten the joints”, but I didn’t had that long socket, plus I was affraid that the planks would split.

Step 2 | prep the table top

In this step we will prep and stain the table top. At first we need to sand properly the 60.0 x 60.0 piece with an #80 grid sand paper, secondly repeat with a #120 or #150 grid paper. Then we have to clean the table top by removing any sand dust with mineral spirits.

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At this point I decided that would be more preferable to round the edges of our table, as our balcony is really narrow, and it will be more convenient to move around (plus I strongly believe it looks much better this way).

To make the round edges I user a small kitchen dish and drow the corner as shown below, then cut it with a handsaw and sand to create a nice smoth round corner.

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With sanding and cleaning done, we are ready to apply to 1st coat of stain. After the 1st coat dries, lightly sand the table top with a fine sandpaper (#240 grid), to achieve as smoth as possible finish. Then apply the second coat, let it dry and your top is done!

Step 3 | the -T- piece

The -T- piece is probably the most important part of this folding table, as it’s used to connect the top with the leg and to wall-mount the whole thing. The lumber pieces needed for it are:

1 piece   10.0 x 43.0 cm
1 piece   10.0 x 50.0 cm
1 piece    7.0 x 57.0 cm

To make this piece take the 43.0cm and the 50.0cm lumber piece, set them flush on the bottom, and glue/screw them together.

Then glue/screw the top piece (7.0cm x 57.0cm) as shown on the picture. Note, that it is not necessary to use a 7.0cm piece of wood, you can use a 10.0cm, but then cut the 10.0 x 43.0cm piece accordingly, (make it 10.0 x 40.0 cm).

Step 4 | the leg and -T- piece assembly

At this stage, we have ready our basic structure, so it is time start assemblying them. To begin this assembly we need to find the center of the -T-piece and mark it. Then attach vertically to center of it, the leg piece and mark with a pencil the sides as shown on the photo below. This will help us to place the hinges as possible vertically level.

The second thing to do is to screw the hinges to the two pieces, please mind the length of the screws (I used 15mm length screws as my lumber was 20mm [3/4″] thick).

The result should look like this.

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The last thing to do at this step of the folding table build is to screw the L brackets to the structure that we have just made. Please note, NOT to screw the brackets to the top piece (not yet), just use the top piece to screw the brackets flush to the top.

** At this point is a good time to stain this pieces, as the next step is mounting them to the wall.

Step 5 | assembling the table top

This is the most simple part of the whole build. The pieces of lumber needed are:

1 piece   60.0 x 60.0 cm (which we prepped at Step 2)
1 piece   10.0 x 60.0 cm

Clamp the lumber pieces together and screw the hinges. I marked the position of the hinges and gently predrill, before screwing.

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Step 6 | wall mounting the folding table

So, we are almost ready with the table, the only thing left is adding some screws! The most important at this step is to level things and choosing the right screws/plugs.