Cohousing-L Mailing List: HOMEMADE TABLE TOPS & Southern Aluminum

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

Linda Gluck wrote:

> Have any folks made their own wooden table tops and attached durable
> folding legs?

The problem is finding or making a wooden table that is both light and  
sturdy. Unless you have other rooms to use for activities that are not  
meetings or meals, they are heavy to move. Wood tables do not often  
fold up, so where to you store them if you do move them? Making tables  
that fold is hard. I'm not sure where you buy the hardware.

We have tables with very nice, folding metal legs and a top that is  
laminated in the middle with wooden edges. The whole top may be wood  
with a laminated insert -- I've never looked under them. They are  
solid and will last "forever" but those who end up moving them often  
don't want them to!

The other thing to watch with folding tables is where the end support  
is placed. In order for the legs to fold up against the bottom of the  
table, they have to be placed at the edge of the end of the table --  
no one can sit there comfortably. So they can only seat people along  
the edges or perching at the corners. I think the tables would have to  
be at least 6 feet long to avoid this.

I once priced all the parts at IKEA for making tables but they were  
also expensive -- and you still have to assemble them and they don't  
fold.

Those are the reasons we started looking at Southern Aluminum. And I  
have new prices. The prices I posted yesterday were for a card table  
size that we were thinking of ordering as a sample. It turns out that  
they are the most expensive size.

These are very sturdy tables, but also light -- not so light that they  
seem flimsy but lighter than wood or heavy metal and wood. And they  
fold.

FACTORY DIRECT PRICES -- and there may be an additional discount if  
you order a lot.

The Allulite in a 36 by 60 size is $258. This only comes in 4 colors  
on the top and one color legs. The colors for the tops are fairly  
utilitarian. But as Stuart Joseph said yesterday, you could make  
inexpensive "wash and wear" table cloths to dress them up. The table  
has a lifetime guarantee.

The iDesign with several colors of legs and dozens of colors of tops  
is $434 for 36 x 60. The laminate tops are made by a company that does  
kitchen counters so they are much more aesthetically pleasing,  
particularly because you can match them with a coordinated leg and  
edging color. But they are almost twice the price for essentially the  
same basic quality. The guarantee is I think 15 years.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing,Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org