Make Your Very Own Mosaic Table

A few months back I came home to a broken patio table, (see photo). Not being able to afford a new set, or table, or being able to find a piece of glass to fit, I decided to make my own mosaic table top.

This project can be done by pretty much anyone. I had never done a mosaic before, and as you can see from the photos, it didn't turn out too bad! It wasn't a real hard project...infact I found it to be fun!

The supplies that I needed for this project were a sheet of plywood, tile adhesive, grout, grout sealant, tile sponges, two large buckets, tools to spread the adhesive and grout, and of course my tiles, and or glass pieces, flat marbles, etc... Also, if you need to break up the glass, plastic bags, hammer, and safety goggles will also be needed.

The first step is to get your piece of plywood ready. Make sure you get a big enough piece, and make sure it's not too thick, nor too thin. If it's too thin your table won't be strong enough, and if it's too thick, it will be sitting up sort of high on your table frame, and might look odd. I purchased a full sheet of plywood, 1/4 inch thick, from my local hardware store. I didn't need a full sheet for the size of my table, ( a half of sheet is what I ended up using), but thought that since this was my first time doing a project like this, a little extra might not be a bad thing to have, in case I messed up somewhere! When you get your plywood home you will need to draw out the shape of your table onto the plywood. To do this I took my table frame, flipped it upside down, and traced around the outside rim of the table top, (or rather where the table top is going to sit when it's done). The next step is to cut the shape out. I used a jigsaw. After my shape was cut out, I sanded down all the ruff spots around the entire edge of the piece. I was very careful to sand down any ruff spots that I could see. Next I applied two coats of water seal to the entire thing...front, back, and sides. I let that dry according to the manufacturers' directions.

Now while my table is drying, I rounded up the tiles and broken pieces of this and that, that I was going to apply to my table top. I used old broken dishes, vases, cups, flower pots, and left over tiles from various projects. Then I purchased a few decorative tiles to add a decorative touch to the table, as well as a nice flat spot to set drinks! I say this because depending on what is used to create your table, it may not be 100% flat, and that's OK too! You can also break up any thing glass that you no longer need, or you can go look for pieces in certain colors at garage sales, flea markets, and thrift stores. Flat glass craft marbles work great too! To break up my pieces, I put then into grocery bags, I triple bagged the pieces and tied the top. Then I just broke them up by gently hitting the bag with a hammer. After all my pieces were broken up, I laid them all out on my piece of plywood. I moved them around until they were laying out in a nice pattern that I liked. I mixed tiles and broken glass, adding bigger tiles strategically to where the chairs would be sitting, for people to put there cups on.

The next step is to apply your tiles and glass pieces to the table. You will need a tile adhesive that can be found at your local hardware store. Now what I did was apply the adhesive to a small section of the table at a time. For the section I was working on, I would just set the tiles that were in that area aside, apply the adhesive, and then lay the tiles and glass pieces back on the adhesive. I started in the middle of the table first, so that my table wouldn't look off center when I was done. I did a few rows in the middle and worked my way out to the end.

After all my tiles and glass pieces were set in the adhesive, I waited the appropriate amount of time before I started to apply the grout. The package the adhesive is in will have guidelines on how long to wait. Then when it was time, I mixed up my grout, according to the package directions, and started spreading it. Now before you start, you will need to do a little test to make sure the grout is not going to stain your tile or glass. To do this I just took a couple leftover pieces and applied some grout to them. I waited a little while, and then wiped the grout away. It did not stain my tiles, which was a big relief since I as using a really dark grout! Now you can begin to apply the grout to the table. I applied the grout in sections. You can start anywhere, but I choose the middle again, just so I wouldn't be leaning over any grout that was already applied had I chosen to start at an end. Apply your grout, then with a wet sponge that has been rung out completely, wipe your grout. You are going to do this repeatedly, rinsing and ringing out your sponge after it becomes dirty, until it wipes clean, and there are no holes or bubbles in your grout. The grout package will also have directions on how to do this.

After you have your table completely grouted and it has dried completely, you want to apply a grout sealer. This is important to keep your grout lines looking their best. It keeps moisture from seeping in, mold from forming, and anything else from staining the grout. You may have to apply more then one coat, but in my case I didn't. You can easily tell if you are going to need more by either applying a small drop of water, of grout sealant to your grout. If the drop soaks in, you need to apply another coat. If they drop bubbles, then the job is complete, and no more sealant will be needed.

After your sealant dries, your new mosaic masterpiece is complete! The only thing left to do is apply the table top to the table frame. I used Liquid Nails, (a weatherproof, extra strength type), to apply the table top. I applied a generous amount of the adhesive to the table rim, and then very quickly set the table top on it, being sure to make any adjustment immediately before the adhesive sets. Then I put three grips that you can tighten, to hold the table top to the adhesive and rim. I left these on for a few days.

I hope this piece was helpful, and encourages some people to do their own mosaic, weather it be a table top, or something much smaller! Remember, when it comes to mosaic, the possibilities are endless, and every project will be a one of a kind!