Dinner tables do not always fit in small apartments.
Saving space or creating extra space is important when living in a smaller home or apartment, where the rooms can feel suffocating. Fold-up tables create a space for eating meals or adding work space to a less than accommodating room. When the kitchen and living room are close together without a wall or barrier of some kind, the fold-up table not only provides the division but also removes the division when it's no longer necessary.
Instructions
1. Measure the wall space between the kitchen and living room. Determine how wide of a table you can place in this area. Purchase a table top with these dimensions.
2. Measure the height of the wall and the height of the table needed. For example; the table top may need to be 2 1/2 feet from the floor for comfortable seating. Mark this spot with a pencil. A 4-foot-long table top is most convenient --so that you can reach the top when the table is folded up.
3. Cut two 2-by-4-inch boards to the width of the table top using a table saw. Sand the cut edges of the boards and paint or stain the wood to match the home decor.
4. Locate the studs in the wall with a stud finder. Mark these spots with a pencil at the heights chosen for the table. The first mark at the height when the table is open and the second mark where the table's edge reaches when the table is closed. For example: mark the studs at 2 1/2 feet and 6 1/2 feet from the floor for a 4-foot long table top.
5. Screw the 4-inch side of one cut 2-by-4-inch board into the wall studs at the height chosen for the open table, 2 1/2 feet from the floor, using 4-inch screws. Screw the 4-inch side of the second 2-by-4-inch board into the wall at the spot where the table top touches when it's folded up, 6 1/2 feet from the floor.
6. Connect two table legs to the two corners of one end of the table top, screwing small hinges with 1/2-inch screws with a cordless drill. Place the hinges on the side of the table leg that faces the bottom of the table, not the side facing the edges or facing toward the other table leg. When the table is in the upright position, the legs will close in toward the table at the hinge.
7. Screw a piano hinge, the length of the width of the table, into the top of the table on the end without legs. Have a friend hold the table up to the wood board 2 1/2 feet from the floor for stability. Screw the piano hinge into the wood board at 2 1/2 feet from the floor, using 2-inch screws.
8. Screw the side of a barrel bolt that has the sliding bolt to the 2-by-4-inch board on the wall where the table top reaches when it is closed. Screw the holder of the lock to the center of the underside of the table on the end with legs.
Tags: feet from, feet from floor, from floor, 2-by-4-inch board, where table, 2-by-4-inch board into, 2-inch screws