PPC CEMENT
You will need :
Make a modern , mobile table , that can also add light and atmosphere , with a small built-in “ fireplace ”. Perfect as a coffee or drinks table for your entertainment or outside space , this table requires a few fairly simple materials ( all available at Agrimark ) and some of your power tools .
We ’ ve adapted this tutorial from www . homemade-modern . com By Nikki van Coller
• PPC cement
• Sand for mixing
• Water
• Container and paddle for mixing concrete
• Dark grey powdered concrete “ dye ”
• Melamine of any size you like , to make the mould to the size you want
• Strong steel casters
• Ethanol fireplace burner insert
• 3 / 4 ” Plywood x 2 layers
• Silicone caulk to seal the mould
• Gorilla construction adhesive to glue the two layers of plywood together
• Jig saw
• Table saw
• Compound miter saw
• Compact drill
• Orbital sander
• Polyacrylic finish
DIRECTIONS
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Cut 5 ” wide strips of melamine with a table saw , then cut the strips to length with a compound mitre saw . You ’ ll be making two rectangular frames . The large one defines the perimeter of the table , and the smaller , inner frame is to make an insert for the burner . Measure the burner and cut the pieces accordingly . Make the mould by screwing some scrap blocks of wood to the strips of melamine to give the strips stability . Then use a hot glue gun to glue the strips to the bottom of the melamine board . Make sure you thoroughly hot glue all the edges and corners . Assemble the inner frame , by gluing the melamine pieces for the inner frame together , making sure the corners are securely sealed . Install the inner frame . Start by measuring equal distances from either side and make marks so that you can locate the inner frame . Then hot glue the inner frame to the bottom piece of melamine . Make the plywood deck . Cut two pieces of plywood that fit inside the outer melamine frame with about 2 ” of space between the edges . Then mark the location of the inner mould . To cut a rectangular hole in the plywood , drill holes in the corners and then use a jig saw to cut in-between the holes . Glue and screw the plywood , using a generous layer of construction adhesive and deck screws to connect the layers of plywood . Use silicone caulk to seal all the corners and edges of the melamine mould and cover the exposed ends of the inner mould so that the particle board doesn ’ t absorb water away from the concrete . Coat the plywood deck with two layers of polyacrylic finish to protect it from the wet concrete . To ensure that plywood deck sticks firmly to the concrete , screw in 3 ” long deck screws halfway into one side of the plywood deck . Next , mix and pour your concrete , including the dye . Then shovel it into the mould , making sure you push it down into all the corners . Once the concrete is about 1.5 ” from the top of the mould , place the plywood deck – screw side down – on the wet concrete . Shake it a bit to help settle the concrete and then fill-in concrete around the edges until the mould is full . You don ’ t want the plywood to float up , so you can hot glue a strip of wood across the top of the mould to hold it in place . Let the concrete dry for 24 hours before removing the mould . You may have to use a drill and / or screwdriver . Next , use 1.5 ” long screws and washers to fasten the casters to the plywood deck . All that ’ s left to do is flip the table over and put the burner insert inside . Of course you may want to fill the cavity with ice instead and use it as a beer cooler .
62 MARKtoe ! November 2022