DIY 10-Foot Harvest Table for under $80

I’ve posted a few events and projects lately that are all centered around a long, narrow, outdoor harvest table.  If you happened to be following along on instagram about three weeks ago, you would have seen that I made the table and not only did I make it, but the whole project was under $100 and took less than two hours.  It was a pretty fun weekend project. The best part was that I did it all myself!

Here it is as I styled it for my Home Depot style challenge that went live last week (full article here)!  I have loved the outcome so much that I just keep using it over and over.

It’s made of weather-friendly treated pine and my little secret for this (and loads of other projects) is that I have all of my pieces cut at The Home Depot. Since the kind folks in their lumber department do all the cuts, I just have to assemble.  Easy, right? Read on for the full photos of each step in the process and the complete shopping list!

DIY 10 ft Harvest Table Materials:

• 9 – planks of 6 ft long pine fence pickets ($1.75 each)
• 3 – pieces of 2 x 4 treated pine ($3.87 each)
• 4 – table legs ($10 each)
• 4 – table leg brackets ($2.50 each)
• 16 –  ¾ inch wood screws ($1.45 for a box of 45)

First things first, get your wood cut at the store.  Ask the wood cutting man to cut one of your fence pickets into 18″ pieces (you’ll get four 18″ segments).  Have one foot (12″) cut off the ‘dog eared’ end of the other eight pieces of fencing. Have two 18″ pieces cut off one of your 2 x 4 planks of pine. That is all the cutting!

You will keep:

• 8 pieces of fencing in 5′ segments (toss the 12″ dog-eared pieces)
• 3 pieces of 18″ fencing (toss the 18″ dog-eared piece)
• 2 planks of 2 x 4 x8 (no cuts were made)
• 2 pieces of 18″ pine (toss the 5′ scrap)

Now, let’s get down to business!

Take your four pieces of 2 x 4 pine and create a rectangle as shown above.  Make sure the 18″ pieces are inside the two 8 foot pieces. Use a nail gun OR screws/drill to secure the rectangle together.

Take one of your 18″ fencing pieces and lay it inside of the 2 x 4 rectangle. Secure the 18″ piece all of the way at the bottom of the rectangle as shown above. Secure in place with a nail gun or with screws and a drill.  Repeat this on the other end of the rectangle. These are your main supports.

Take your last 18″ fencing piece and secure it in the center of the rectangle, still flush to the bottom of the rectangle like you did with the two end pieces.  This is your center support.

Lay out 4 fencing boards side by side, then the other 4 fencing boards with the ends to the first four boards.  This will give you the 10′ length of the table.  An actual 10′ plank costs around $30, so we’ve just made a seam in the center instead of a continuous plank and saved $$. Set the rectangle with three supports on top of the 8 fencing boards. Make sure that your center support is directly on top of the fencing center seam

Drill your ¾ screws through the end support and into the fencing.  Use one screw per plank.

Move to your center support and put eight screws through the support and into the fencing planks, make sure that your base is secured to all 8 pieces of wood that come together at that center seam. Move to the other end and secure that support to the top beams as well.

Go back and attach the table leg top plates into the corners of the table base support then screw your legs into the top plates.

And now you’re done!  The legs aren’t really strong since they’re just attached with the screws, but they’re able to unscrew so that you can store the table top and legs in the garage white it isn’t in use. If you’d like stronger legs, just drive a few screws through the sides of the support and into the table legs.

It’s a little bit of work, but it cost $80!  It was so worth it! If you need an outdoor table, this makes a beautiful and weather friendly project for barely the cost of an outdoor chair!  I paired my table with these Ikea chairs which I love!

Is this a project you think you could complete?  You could always use nicer (indoor) wood for a dining table too!

I hope you like it!  I have another (GORG) post coming up tomorrow that uses the table for a beautiful fall brunch! See you tomorrow!