If your balcony lacks space for a classic-sized table, this easy DIY is for you. By making this clever model, you offer your small space all the comfort of a terrace without taking up space on the floor. Get out your tools.
What a pleasure to have a balcony to read a book or drink a coffee in the sun, whatever the surface! To enjoy it all year round without feeling cramped, certain arrangements can really make a difference, like a side table perfect for small city balconies. If you don’t have the space to install a table worthy of the name and you want to get your hands dirty, the Bosch tool brand has the perfect DIY for you! Here are the steps to build yourself a balcony table that is as decorative as it is practical.
The necessary tools:
- Cordless screwdriver
- Cordless drill/driver
- Jigsaws
- Sanders and sanding sheet for G120 sander
- Jigsaw accessories
- BIM jigsaw blade, T308 BF
The necessary equipment:
- 2 spruce boards (3,000 x 74 x 22 mm)
- 1 spruce slat (3,000 x 44 x 22 mm)
- 44 wood screws (3.5 x 40 mm)
- Aluminum pipes (7 x 7000 mm)
- Synthetic fiber rope (max. diameter 5 mm, length 3 m)
- 250 ml of transparent wood stain
- 3 clamps
Step 1: table dimensions
If this table is designed in the dimensions 90 x 66 x 66 cm, it can also be tailor-made to adapt perfectly to YOUR balcony. All you have to do is increase or decrease the dimensions of the board after measuring your space. Take a board and saw it into smaller and smaller pieces (e.g. 90cm, 80cm, 60cm, 40cm, 20cm, 10cm). By placing the boards side by side in descending order, you will obtain a triangle. Measure the corner of your balcony and mark the measurements on the boards using a testing square, forming a right-angled triangle with both sides of the same length. Next, cut the boards to the exact length you need using a jigsaw, following the marked lines.
Step 2: Create the Table Structure
The structure will consist of two slats parallel to the outer edges of the table. After rearranging the boards into a triangle, place the slats a few centimeters inward on one of the sides (note, not along the length of the table, but on one of the sides of the same length). Mark the dimensions and saw the slat with a jigsaw to fit the size. Do the same thing for the other side.
Step 3: sanding
To keep sawn edges clean and safe, sand carefully, evenly and without applying pressure. Be sure to always use the sander in the same direction.
Step 4: assembly
Arrange the sawn boards to form a triangle as you did at the beginning. Next, screw the slats to the sides of the triangle using 11 evenly spaced wood screws. In total you should use 22 screws per table surface. To avoid tearing the wood, you can pre-drill the holes for the screws and then screw them into place.
Now take care of the bottom table and repeat the previous steps to create the second level. You can then varnish everything to protect the wood from bad weather.
Step 5: Saw the Pipes
For the suspension system, saw the pipe into three 30cm lengths. The three lengths of pipe will later help separate the two levels of the table.
Step 6: Set up the suspension
Drill a hole in each corner of both tables (three holes per table). The holes must be exactly the same diameter as the rope. Next, cut the rope into three equal lengths. They should at least be long enough to pass through the pipes. Pass the rope through one of the holes in the upper table, then through one of the lengths of pipe, and finally through the corresponding hole in the lower table. Tie a knot in the rope above the top table and below the bottom table to secure the two table tops together. Finally, attach the top three ends of the rope to its balcony railing using adjusting rings.
