Unfortunately, most apartments are no differentlarge area, so to place all the necessary furniture in them, you need to have imagination. A folding table will help to "cheat" the space. It is worth saying that the owners of housing in the far abroad also play with the area in exactly the same way.
A folding table will fit perfectly into an interior with a small area.
Table setting at the window sill
Making a folding table with your own hands is not difficult. The design is so simple that all you need to make it are:
- countertop;
- support;
- loops;
- fasteners.
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of a folding table.An example of optimal use of space is a table attached to a windowsill (Fig. 1). Working at it during the day, you will be provided with maximum lighting. The holes drilled in the tabletop are provided to let the air heated by the radiators into the room. If you doubt that such a number of holes will ensure normal heat exchange, you can drill them over the entire surface of the tabletop. In this case, for full-fledged work at the table, you can put plywood or another plate on the tabletop. Since the tabletop will be in close proximity to the battery, you should not use chipboard for its manufacture, so as not to activate formaldehyde emissions. The best materials for the table are FK and FBA plywood, MDF boards and solid wood. The thickness of the table top can be from 20 to 30 mm. You can choose the width of the table yourself. The main thing is that it is not greater than the distance from the windowsill to the floor. The length of the folding table can be equal to the length of the window sill.
Figure 2.The balcony table is made of MDF using piano hinges, dowels, screws, butterfly hinges and other tools. The support bracket is made of 50x25 mm bars pulled together into a right triangle. The upper part of the support is connected to the tabletop with piano or window hinges. To strengthen the support element, 2 brackets can be attached under the table. Judging by the diagram shown, the main load from the table will be directed to the battery. This is not always justified. It is better to attach two U-shaped supports under the tabletop. Their upper crossbars, connecting both legs, will simultaneously function as a side rail. The legs are screwed to the crossbars with long screws, and the side rails themselves are connected to the tabletop with piano hinges, which allows them to be folded when closing the table. Before installing the tabletop, a piano hinge is screwed into the bottom of the window sill with screws, after which the table top is attached to it. You can cover its surface with stain, varnish or paint. Return to contents</a>
Table for the balcony
It is also possible for a balcony (Fig. 2). The table is made of 20 mm thick MDF. To make it, prepare:
- marking tool;
- piano loops;
- butterfly loops;
- dowels;
- self-tapping screws;
- Confirmates and the key for them;
- impact drill;
- drill-screwdriver;
- electric jigsaw;
- sandpaper;
- brush and paint.
Figure 3.Attach the tabletop mounting strip to the wall panel using confirmats. The tabletop will be semicircular, so tie a nail and a pencil with a cord to apply markings. This will create a kind of compass. The radius of the tabletop is 50 cm. Draw a semicircle and cut it out with a jigsaw. Measure 40 mm from the base of the semicircle and draw a line parallel to it. The strip cut along the line will serve as a rail for attaching the tabletop. Cut out a 30x60 cm rectangle and round off its corners on one side. Drill 4 holes in the plate. The panel will be attached to the wall through them. Cut out a truncated triangle with 60x30 cm legs. It is intended to be a support for the tabletop. To make the table look more elegant, drill several holes in the support with crowns of different sections. Sand the surfaces and paint. After that, attach a 100x4 cm strip to the tabletop. Connect the support to the 30x60 panel using piano hinges. Attach the tabletop mounting strip to the wall panel using confirmats. You will get a certain design (Fig. 3). Close the confirmat caps with decorative plugs. Do not forget that all fasteners must be screwed into holes prepared in advance for this. Make markings on the wall, drill blind holes in it for 6 mm dowels and insert them. Attach the folding table to the wall. Plug the holes with plastic caps, fill with putty or seal with sealant. After filling or sealing with sealant, you can paint the surfaces to match the color of the table. It should be said that the width of the strip for this design is selected based on the thickness of the blanks for the table. If, for example, 16 mm thick laminated chipboard is used for its assembly, the width of the slat will be 32 mm. If you decide to use laminated chipboard, do not forget to cover the ends of the cut boards with melamine or semi-soft edge. Melamine tape is glued to the edges with a hot iron, and PVC tape is fixed with glue.</ ul>
