Archived from the Tools In Action forum (In The Shop). This thread is read-only.
I’m looking for about a 2′ x 3′ piece medium weight sheet material that could serve as a table top and be weather resistant. As it needs to withstand direct rain I don’t think anything made of wood would hold up, but I don’t know what else I could use that would still be cheap as say plywood.
Any suggestion for something that’s inexpensive and would be weather resistant? I usually only set lightweight tools and parts on this table so it doesn’t need to be heavy duty at all.
Thanks!
Maybe plexiglass? You could put a piece of plywood underneath for additional support, or just additional cross members.
I can attest to OSB holding up surprisingly well, and plywood should be even better. I built a work bench out of OSB and 2x4s in 2010 or so, which sat in my garage and later in a covered back porch before going into storage from 2013-2018. In 2019 or so I put it on an exposed back porch and used it for my portable gas grill. It sat outside for about three years, with grease leaking on it and under all sorts of weather conditions. The top got a bit warped but was still sturdy, though I lacked space to move it and ended up putting it in the fire pit just before moving.
Good idea. I am actually looking for the same thing. I need to build something for our outside.
One option would be to buy your material of choice then weather proof it. If it will take oil I might try throwing a coat of exterior oil on it. You could also put a coat of exterior paint if you want an actual layer of something on the table top. Oil will more or less soak in and paint will be a layer on top. Doing a coat of each might do the trick.