Need to replace a worn desk with out changing the highest? Scratches, stains, paint marks, and worn edges could make an previous desktop look completed lengthy earlier than the drawers and body have to go.
This challenge from Brittney Sensible began with a wooden desk that had years of damage throughout the work floor however a base that would keep in use.
As a substitute of eradicating the wooden high or including a concrete slab, Sensible resurfaced the prevailing desktop with skinny coats of Ardex Feather End, sanding between layers earlier than sealing the floor. The consequence seems like a concrete high, however the authentic wooden stays beneath.
Put on Throughout the Wooden High Made the Desk a Candidate for Resurfacing
The desk began with a broad wooden high mounted throughout two drawer models. Its base had already been painted, however the desktop nonetheless confirmed scratches, white marks, worn edges, and adjustments within the wooden end.
Conserving the highest meant the desk dimensions, drawers, and construction might stay in place. The work targeted on protecting the wooden relatively than dismantling the furnishings.
Floor Prep Began With Eradicating Raised Marks and Particles
Outdated residue on the desktop wanted consideration earlier than the brand new materials went on. A putty knife helped take away materials caught to the wooden, whereas sanding and cleansing ready the floor for the coating.
Giant holes additionally wanted to be crammed. For the reason that end would comply with the form of the prevailing desktop, floor prep helped forestall previous injury from displaying via the brand new coats.
Ardex Feather End Created the Concrete Floor
Sensible combined Ardex Feather End with water till it reached a consistency between pudding and putty. The combination wanted sufficient physique to remain on the desk whereas remaining workable with a putty knife.
In contrast to a poured concrete high, this technique makes use of a skinny cement-based layer unfold over the prevailing floor. That retains the wooden high beneath and avoids including a thick slab.
Edges Have been Lined Earlier than the Fundamental Work Floor
Utility began alongside the entrance and facet edges. Sensible unfold the combination with a putty knife, protecting the uncovered wooden and carrying the end across the perimeter.
Additional materials went close to corners the place two planes meet. These areas would lose extra materials throughout sanding, so the added thickness left room to form the perimeters with out exposing the wooden under.
Putty Knife Marks Stayed Seen within the First Coat
As soon as the primary coat lined the highest, the floor had seen trowel strains, ridges, and adjustments in tone. That uneven look was a part of the method relatively than a completed floor.
Feather End units quick, so Sensible labored throughout sections of about one sq. foot at a time. Every part may very well be unfold earlier than the fabric grew to become too agency to maneuver with the putty knife.
Sanding Flattened the Floor Between Coats
After the fabric dried, sanding eliminated excessive spots and tough edges. It didn’t erase each swipe or tonal shift, which helped retain the looks related to hand-finished concrete.
Sensible used medium- to fine-grit sandpaper and repeated the method after every coat. The objective was a floor that felt clean even when marks from the appliance remained seen.
Extra Skinny Coats Lined the Wooden Beneath
Later coats crammed gaps and lowered the distinction between particular person sections. Sensible recommends coating the complete desktop every time relatively than repairing remoted areas, since separate batches of Feather End can have slight variations in tone.
The challenge referred to as for 3 to 5 coats, with each allowed to dry earlier than sanding and including the following. The unique wooden remained beneath each layer.
Sealer Modified the End After the Ultimate Sanding
As soon as the ultimate coat had dried and been sanded, concrete sealer went over the floor. The sealer created the slight sheen seen throughout the completed edge and helped shield the cement-based coating from desk use.
Sensible recommends a minimum of two coats of sealer for a desktop. Surfaces uncovered to extra water would wish extra safety.
Identical Desk, New Work Floor
The completed desk nonetheless makes use of the unique drawer bases, middle drawer, and wooden high, however the brown desktop has disappeared beneath a grey concrete-look floor. White paint throughout the bottom creates a pointy break between the desk construction and its new high.
Laptop gear, a printer, lamp, and workplace provides return to the identical footprint, displaying that the challenge modified the floor with out altering how the desk capabilities.
Concrete End Works With the Current Desk Form
From the facet, the skinny coating follows the unique high as a substitute of constructing the desk look as if a slab was positioned over it. The entrance edge retains its slim profile, whereas marks within the end forestall the floor from studying as flat grey paint.
Would you cowl a worn wooden desktop with a concrete end, or hold the wooden seen and refinish it as a substitute?
