I’m a newbie on this list, but thought I’d give this a shot. I’m interested in building a dining room table for some friends, and they would like to have solid wood around the outside, with a center section of ceramic tile.
I’m guessing it would be best to use some kind of flexible, sanded silicon grout to try to account for the wood movement under and around the tile section, but other than that, I’m not too sure about how to do this. Should I use plywood, or some other manufactured substrate for the “underlayment” beneath the tile? How could I best keep the wood expansion and contraction in the outer section from creating a crack around the tile section?
Any help or ideas, or leads to articles. would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Replies
You definitely want a manufactured material for the center of the table where the tile will be. Either plywood or backerboard can be used, it's just like tiling a floor. The outer part of the table should be assembled like a frame while the plywood is a panel.
This panel (tile, grout, wood, etc.) could be heavy, and you might consider a center rail underneath to help support the weight of the top. Having it run from one side apron to the other will also stiffen the table.
I've made end tables with tile or stone tops and I think they look great. I haven't noticed any movement along the length of the table tops that cause the grout to separate from the rails, but you might check the expected expansion along the length of your table (for most woods I suspect it is neglible).
Finally, you should probably use unsanded grout to avoid scratching up the table.
Thanks for the ideas! I'd guess it would be fairly heavy, especially if there's backerboard. The unsanded grout is also a good idea; seems like there are some better options now for silicone-based grout.
I've done this a number of times, as well as done a few tiling jobs....
the key to remember is that grout is between tiles only. You caulk between dissimilar materials (tile/tub transitions etc.
I've always used a DAP siliconized latex formula (ALEX plus is the brand) to caulk this kind of joint. Comes in a whole bunch of colours, cleans up with water.
Finish the piece. Install the tiles. Grout the centre joints (unsanded- yes. Only use sanded grout for real floors) Run a bead around the edge after the grout's been cleaned off.
Good luck.
The older I get, the better I was....
I build a coffee table years ago (~15), with a tile top. Used 3/4" ply as the base material, with 5/4 pine edges. The table is in our family room, has taken lot of abuse (two boys, now in their 20's) and I have used it as a step, for cleaning the ceiling fan. It was originally stained a light color, we then painted it, and have sinced stripped off the paint, and restained. Just yesterday, SWMBO indicated that it ought to look different again. At least it is durable.
Good luck
if the search is working there was some good pics of just such a project about 2-3 months ago. i will try to look it up as well. oops! i reread your post and was thinking of something else than what you were refering to.
found it. 26784.1
Edited 1/22/2006 11:26 am ET by qtsam2
Edited 1/22/2006 11:28 am ET by qtsam2
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled