Protecting pub type table legs from rot

[Harry Bloomfield]

Some 25 years ago I scratch built a pub style table with the attached bench seats, since when it lived outdoors in the weather. Eventually it rotted at the four feet, which are in constant contact with the concrete of the patio, sat in water. I built a replacement which I finished yesterday and I'm just trying to think of some means to ensure the ends of the legs are not sat directly on the concrete patio slabs.

My best idea at the moment is to drill a hole into each leg and fit a steel bolt, so each leg is raised off the ground by the heads of the bolts. The holes simply being a tight push fit for the thread of the bolt. Has anyone got any alternative suggestions please?

We don't use the table so much for sitting at, but it makes for an absolutely great bit of outdoor working space.

[Ian Jackson]

When the bottom of the legs are quite dry, and it's not going to rain, I occasionally stand each leg of my garden seats in plastic pots. I then fill the pots with some anti-rot preservative (the expensive, £20+ per 5 litres, clear stuff), and top up as required. Several hours later, when it's obvious that no more is going to soak into the legs, I remove the pots, and reclaim any unused preservative.

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Harry Bloomfield writes

Screwfix do hex headed stainless *screws* and you could stand the legs in Cuprinol timber preserver while they are still dry.

regards

>

[Roger Mills]

Make some feet out of tanalised timber, and screw them to the bottoms of the legs. If *they* eventually rot, they can be replaced.

[damduck-egg]

Plastic milk cartons are a nice disposable item to do that with, easy to cut even with a pair of scissors. You end up with a free funnel with a handle each time from the other half which is often useful for a one off such as pouring some paint or oil ,a scoop for a small bit of plaster out of a sack etc.

Depending on the aesthetics you can just leave one on each leg with a resin infill. Our pondside table legs were a snug fit and as it sits amongst reasonably long grass the 4" or so of plastic bottle once it was covered at the same time as applying Sadolin to the wood are hardly visible. On a stone Patio it would look a bit untidy.

G.Harman

[Adam Funk]

In the basement, where the damp comes up rather than down & appearances aren't important, I put washed tuna tins under the legs of a set of wooden shelves and poured some wood preserver in them. After the legs soaked it up, I couldn't think of any reason to bother removing the tins.

[Frank Erskine]

The trouble is that any moisture in the timber will tend to run down the legs and be trapped by the tins, keeping the legs damp.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Frank Erskine brought next idea :

Exactly and rain water too, which is why I'm trying to fit something which will just simply the feet off the ground.

[Nthkentman]

Nah... Wot U need is EBay 190574827672

Proper finish it orf nice that wood... ;-)

[Frank Erskine]

Simple rubber feet attached by woodscrew.

[Roberts]

I stood mine on house bricks, flat side up Does n't look pretty but it works Robbie

[stuart noble]

The legs in question are already resting on concrete slabs, so bricks don't change anything. What the OP is after is a way to reduce the area in contact with the concrete. The bolt head sounds like the best solution.

[Andy Dingley]

Most of the rot is due to trapped water, and the risk is always that your spacer will trap water just as effectively. So I start by using the driest timber I can find or produce, vacuuming it (if it's small enough to fit in the vac bucket) and getting as much polyester rot repair resin as I can into the timber.

For fixed posts, the traditional Japanese carpentry solution is a bronze disk with a slight convexity to it, and a small locating pin, set on a stone plinth. I've used this for timber-framed structures, up to the size of garages (Archi-k*****ad didn't permit it for the swimming pool house).

For picnic tables, I usually just insert a couple of nails into the ends. Use the decorative ones intended for studding oak front doors, as they have nice big heads. Mine are smithed in wrought iron, so they're longer-lasting than mild steel.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Harry Bloomfield presented the following explanation :

Which is the idea I have finally settled upon and thanks for the replies....

I used some very large galv bolts I happened to already have, measuring

2" x 5/8" OD across the threaded part, rounding the heads in the lathe so they wouldn't dig in when trying to move the bench. I then bored the feet to accept the bolts with a tight fit. The timber of the feet now sit 1/2" clear of the concrete and the wet surface.

[Gib Bogle]

Sounds like a good plan to me, simple and effective.

[Ian Jackson]

Won't a steel bolt scratch the concrete?

Maybe a better idea would be to bolt on some non-rotting feet (lumps of plastic?), with the heads of the bolts slightly countersunk. Alternatively, use replaceable wooden feet (well rot-proofed), with a plastic 'damp-course' between them and the bottom of the legs.

[Terry]

replying to Harry Bloomfield, Terry wrote: y thought is to use old bike tyres with thick tread cut sized pieces from it and glue and screw to bottom **

[leenowell]

I used adjustable feet. Screwed in an insert nut and then the feet into the nut. This way you can level it too if the ground is uneven

[leenowell]

I used adjustable feet. Made a hole in the bottom of the leg, inserted an "insert nut" then screwed in the leg. This way the table can be levelled on uneven ground.

[Harry Bloomfield]

I usually avoid responding to HOH posts, but six years on - my bench legs are absolutely fine with the bolt heads keeping them clear of the concrete slabs it sits upon. It doesn't need any adjustment, because its own weight forces it to give enough to sit with all four legs down.