» 2x4basics Picnic Table Kit, Sand, 17310

2x4basics Picnic Table Kit, Sand, 17310 Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: A large, sturdy, utilitarian picnic table
Comment: I bought this kit because I wanted a very large picnic table (and benches) for family gatherings. The kit definitely delivered.

Something to take in account with this kit is auxiliary cost. I constructed the table and benches with 8 foot long non-pressure treated 2x4's and painted the boards with exterior high gloss paint. The 2x4's at Lowes in SE Massachusetts cost $50. The gallon of exterior paint cost $25 (and I used at least ¾ of the gallon). By the way I would suggest not eating on a table constructed of pressure treated wood (it is impregnated with poison after all...)

In constructing the table, I painted the boards first before screwing them to kit provided items.

When laying out the boards for assembly to the kit items, I found that using a dozen or so kid's magic markers placed between the 2x4's lying flat on the ground provided appropriate spacing for the table/bench deck as I screwed on the kit provided items. I also found that drilling my own screw placement holes in the kit pieces for the screws was sometimes preferable to using the kit's pre-defined screw locations.

Construction of the table (minus painting) took about an hour. I would definitely suggest installing the several dozen screws using a drill. Doing them all by hand with a screwdriver would be a real chore.

After constructing the table I found that I needed to install a couple of stringers on the table and on each of the benches. The stringers are 1x3 wood strips running perpendicular to 2x4's underneath the eating or sitting surface. This was to level the table/bench surfaces given the 2x4's tendency to bow/warp as they dry. Not critical but easy enough to do and made the table look better (flatter).

All in all a good kit if you are looking for a large, sturdy, utilitarian picnic table set.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: 2 x 4 basics Picnic Table
Comment: Excellent product. We love it. Purchased a bench and an addition table since the picnic
table. I recommend these for anyone. Look great, go together great. Not one problem.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Table!!
Comment: Sturdy, attractive and easy to build. A wonderful value. Family and friends love it, too.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: picnic table kit
Comment: I bought the table kit and am very pleased. We needed a short table, four
feet long, and this was perfect. It is on our deck at the camper. I used
the new plastic wood instead of 2x4's. It is 5/4 x 6" wide. It only took
4 pieces 12' long to complete both table and benches.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Decent product - poor assembly instructions
Comment: I just completed building this picnic table and am pleased with the result - both in terms of final cost and esthetics. And while I'm not much of a craftsman, basic math skills say that the assembly instructions on the box are frustratingly WRONG (and note no other instructions come inside the box so keep the box until it's built). In case you didn't know, what is referred to as a 2" x 4" is in reality only 1.5" x 3.5". the width of the plastic table frame is 29.62" and because of the way the predrilled holes in the frame are lined up the boards that go on top of the table can't exceed that. Let's do the math: 8 boards on top at 3.5" each is 28" plus the 7 spaces of 0.5", which is spacing width according to the instructions, come to a total of 31.5". In other words if you follow the instructions you won't be able to get all 8 boards on. Fortunately I realized this before I had screwed the boards to the plastic frame and corrected the spacing. In my case I used some chopsticks that were about 0.30" and that worked out fine.

Another frustrating detail you need to be aware of is that if you build your table to the maximum 8' length and you use the more economical framing 2x4s that I did then your bench will feel like a trampoline when sit down on it. The span is just too long for the boards not to noticeably sag. My solution was to screw two boards underneath the spans at appropriate intervals to shore up the bench and that solved the problem. One nice thing about the benches is that they are wider and one person who sat on them commented that it made them more comfortable.

One last thing you should know if you plan on rounding the corners - you either have to cut them before you screw them on or move the legs closer to the center. I had planed to cut the corners (the cutting template is on their website but no mention of that is on the box) but after I had assembled the table and benches according to the instructions it wasn't possible to cut them because it would have required cutting into the plastic legs.

I tend to believe the manufacturer's claim that the plastic frames will last many years (they use the word lifetime) but it would be nice if they could get their act together and provide better instructions.

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