Down and Dirty Quick Fix

16 years ago

I get a little let down when I finish a project, so had to have a quick fix - AFTER guests left who dropped in to see my bathroom. Was ready to sit on the patio and looked at that nekkid concrete block, brought it in slapped a dust cloth across it and poured out some hammered shards and stuck them on quickly. Gotta go to Lowes for a couple more blocks tomorrow. This is a REAL chunky, primitive quick fix - not to be a fine piece, but just a post on which to put a flower pot near the fountain.

{{!gwi}}

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Comments (23)

shellybelly26
16 years ago
i like the swirly tiles they add alot of interest LOL @ hubby and kid rolling a container of glass across the living room
bianchi2
16 years ago
What a great idea! Love it!
Bianchi
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I love old tables and have been fooling around with them for a long time. If you have a gate leg table with fancy turned legs then I'd hope the legs are in pretty good shape and all you need to do is wipe them down with soap and water and if they look good leave them alone. If you are lucky the legs have a laquer finish and you can use a non-shedding piece of cloth and wipe the legs down with alcohol - this will dissolve the laquer and let it re-build into a shiny cover again. Legs aren't subject to too much wear and if they need to be finished you can buy a new can of shellac, mix 2/3 cup of shellac and 1/3 cup of alcohol in a clean glass jar and use another non-shedding piece of cloth and wipe the legs down with this mix. You could also use a brush and keep the non-shedding cloth in your other hand in case you get a drip or run. Practice on the legs you think will show the least first! The top is a different matter because it gets so much more wear than the legs usually do. The top could also be solid wood, or a synthetic veneer or a fancy wood veneer and either of the last two of those pose problems. Some people think veneer is a bad word but if you wanted to use a wide piece of wood for a table or the side of some piece of furniture you would have to do something about the shrinking and swelling of wood fibers over time in dry and damp weather conditions - the wood would warp or crack. The solution is a couple of hundred years old - use veneer. The furniture maker glued long narrow boards together and then glued a very thin layer of wood on top - veneer. Today the veneer can either be wood or a synthetic if you have wood veneer you have a chance of sanding through it right down to the glued together narrow boards, if synthetic you could sand into something really funny looking and sticky or something that just peels off. I liked the answers you have already rec'd in this thread, I think once cleaned and put together again you should have a nice taple and your only big problem will be the top. If the top is a synthetic veneer I'd clean it up and buy a wood colored vinyl table cloth and hold it in place on the table with an elastic edge and cover it with a nice table cloth. Leave the vinyl cloth on it forever. If the top is solid wood I'd sand it down and stain it and finish it with Minwax stuff - read directions for wipe-on poly or email me about getting a stain and finish back on the top. If the top is a wood veneer I'd try to get away with what posters said above but if that didn't work I'd sand it lightly and see if I could get down to the veneer without getting to the underlying glued wood and then treat it like solid wood. Be most careful about sanding the edged they seem to sand away first. Do the edges last and with sandpaper on a block of pine. If you can't make the solid wood or the veneer look good, think about painting it black and then putting poly on top of that. No matter what you do, if the legs are presentable then you still have a great table even if you have to cover the wood with vinyl and keep a nice table cloth on top! Jois
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Thank you guys, for the nice comments. ItÂs always such fun to share things here. Klinger Â thanksÂitÂs always nice to share with people who realize and appreciate how much time we put into our projects! Bugster, DebbiÂ..I didnÂt mortar the blocks together. I thought they would be more versatile if I left them separate, and easier to move around. So, DebbiÂthey really arenÂt that bad to move aroundÂwhich we always need to take under consideration, because of bringing stuff in for hurricanes, right? And youÂre right Â they are great for pedestals Â and you can make them any height you wantÂand keep them easy to move by just stacking them. Debbi - I left all the openings as they were (didnÂt seal them up). The openings in the small ones were just perfect to set the BB on. I painted any surfaces that werenÂt mosaicÂd with black exterior paint AFTER I was completely finished. I thought the black made it look more finishedÂand the grout was black. BianchiÂI wasnÂt sure if cinder blocks and concrete blocks were exactly the same thing or notÂ.so I googled itÂ.and found that cinder blocks differ from concrete blocks in their aggregate content. Cinder blocks contain coal cinders. Interesting, huh. I got all my blocks from curb shopping (all at one time) Â so keep on the lookout for them! SquirellyÂ.I love what you said Â "I think that will be my next project, will probably change my mind tomorrow, but today, gotta get some blocks." I think that is so true of so many of us here Â we see something we like, and weÂve just GOT to do it! ItÂs so great to have this forum, with so many talented people and wonderful projects to get inspiration from. I know your work inspires meÂ.your recent stepping stones were incredible! AnnieÂ.hope you have a wonderful time in Vegas. That bird came from a JoAnns clearance sale Â end of last summer. Nice and plain, so it was fairly easy to mosaic. SlowÂthanks for the complimentÂ.I love yours, tooÂ.especially loved how you used those footersÂmade those flower petals really stand out.
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shrty411
16 years ago
You need a fix AFTER grouting the bathroom!?

Looks good, love the "primitive" look.

Maria
jlynn_2007
16 years ago
are you kidding me?! you just kinda threw this together??? I'm still trying to finish gluing the pieces on to my frame I don't think I'll ever finish it, and you needed to do something after your bathroom counter?!
Slow you are amazing send some of those artistic vibes south!!!
Shades_of_idaho
16 years ago
I like that very much Slow!! Wish I could do quick fixes as well. Hoping to quick fix the bottom shelf of my long table so I can grout it before I put the grouting materials all away. No I do not know what color yet. LOL I might have to buy some blocks just to have fun with.

Chris
Calamity_J
16 years ago
Oh Slow, I get the same way!!! Guess I'll grab that glass boob and get started!!!
chickeemama
16 years ago
Yeah, I know what ya mean...sometimes ya just gotta glue!!!! I love doing those small styrofoam balls that I am doing to fill up the jar. Looks good for a quickie!!!!
texaswild
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks - it was to keep me from pacing the floor w/the project-end-blues. I finally settled down and worked on a purse I've been putzing with for awhile. So much to do and sooooo .....
bugster
16 years ago
Very cool. Is that the cinder block you had taken a pic of before?
d3bbi
16 years ago
Slow, you are so creative! I love your pottery! Funny, thing about finishing a project. We can't wait to get it done because we get tired of it then we grieve it's end. I did the same thing the other day. Will take photo later today.
crackpotannie
16 years ago
Slow I need of s shot of what you take!LOL I have been in a slump and not even touched my headboards in weeks .What's up with me????I love the way you just get in and do it and everything turns out perfect!
Calamity_J
16 years ago
Cheekee: Is there an update coming with your adorable project?!!!
Crackpot: You have inspired me big time, and I am collecting MORE plates(lol, if you saw my stash I have already, shaking head) cuz I'm ready to do a project, don't know what the base will be yet, waiting for something to talk to me!!!
barbfrizzell1955
16 years ago
Slow I love that idea and since I have a couple of those blocks already I think I'm going to try it myself. Went to Home Depot and bought a bag of fortified thinset mortar. This will be my first attempt using it...any advice?

jlynn, you'll learn not to be so surprised at Slow's projects...here's a link to one she said wasn't a serious project...just a quick fix! LOL

Barb

Here is a link that might be useful: Slow's quick fix
jlynn_2007
16 years ago
coming back after looking at the mask..*shaking my head* geesh...that is amazing, well at least there is something for me to aspire to...all of you guys do amazing work!! I'm so glad I found this place!!
nicethyme
16 years ago
ah yes, the cure for everything - a cement block or a glass boob... just start gluing! LOL

looks good Slow, way to use those footers!
stjohnsgypsy
16 years ago
I am so ashamed of myself......I've been in a major slump and you kick out all these amazing projects. I walk aimously around like Dawn of the Dead........looking at all the stuff I have started.......and nothing finished.......you are something else........another neat project you have going...........!! I just need to stay home!!! Still getting inspired by you.......just need to follow-through!!!!!!!
texaswild
Original Author
16 years ago
G'mornin' y'all. Thanks for all the cheering - y'all make me laugh, but if y'all could see this house and garden, you'd know what's been going on - NEGLECT EVERYTHING to PLAY. After I finished working w/HM yesterday on the finishing of the b.r. tiles, I knocked out a couple other blocks, JUST to use up leftover mortar, doncha know, JUST to use the mortar. I started to work in the yard, and plant the Impatiens but couldn't cuz of that nekkid block I showed y'all on the "inspiration thread", and ugly white pot soooooo...... W/grout this morn. and take a pic. Y'all just knock my socks off w/your compliments.
texaswild
Original Author
16 years ago
During breaks in finishing up the grouting/patching/painting to COMPLETE the bathrrom project, I sneaked a few minutes to knocked out and grouted a couple more blocks to make a little patriotic plant tower. Won't show you the half-dead plant I put in there. It'll come back. Rest of the garden is starved for water and attention. MAYBE tomorrow.
madhabitz
16 years ago
This is really great. So did you cement two blocks together for each section or is that just one block on end? Are you going to leave them open to plant something else in the holes?
lyndalu
16 years ago
OMG....I can't believe you finished THREE of those!! Did you actually do all 4 sides of each one in that short amount of time? I think it took me WEEKS to do ONE of mine - and I think yours look bigger than mine!. (Of course, I do work full time...hopefully that can be a little bit of an excuse for me).

Those are so cute, Slow...and like NICE said, what a great way to use those footers!!!
d3bbi
16 years ago
Slow, these are striking!!! Now your eyes will certainly be happy looking at that! I love it!
texaswild
Original Author
16 years ago
These are free-standing cinder blocks, sitting on each other - not mortared together. I only mosaiced the fronts, but suppose I should mosaic the backs when time permits. I'll plant in the holes. Each block is 7 1/2" X 15 1/2". They can be done in about 30 min. If you have hammered dish shards on hand, pick up the right color, look for a likely spot, slap on a dab of mortar, stick the shard, wait a day to grout, and BAM - you have the makings of a pedestal. It's a REAL quick fix if you need one, and a great plant riser.
pea_
16 years ago
When I first started mosaicing i started with concrete blocks but those cube shaped ones not the rectangle ones. I poured concrete in the hole to make it solid. I used them as tent anchors for those pavillion tents that the wind love to give flight to.

p

Down and Dirty Quick Fix

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