A homemade garden table is exactly the size that suits your patio, and every meal at it feels that little bit more rewarding. With a bit of DIY skill, a weekend to spare and the right tools, it's very doable. In this guide you'll read how to build a sturdy wooden garden table: from design and choice of wood to a step-by-step plan, the finish and maintenance. You'll also read when buying is actually the smarter option, with a few tables available to buy as an alternative.
In brief: start with a working drawing and keep a table height of around 72 to 76 cm. Choose wood that suits your experience: scaffold wood and Douglas fir are easy, hardwood is more durable but harder to work with. Use stainless steel screws, leave a small gap between the tabletop boards and treat all sides with oil or stain. Not keen on maintenance? Buying is often the smarter choice.
Making it yourself or buying?
Before you go and pick up any boards: is building it yourself really for you? A homemade table is unique and made to measure, but it takes time, tools and maintenance every year. Here's how the two compare:
| Aspect | Making it yourself | Buying |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Made to measure | Standard sizes |
| Time | One or more weekends | Just assembly |
| Cost | Depends on wood and tools | Fixed price, easy to compare |
| Material | Mainly wood | Also aluminium, Vironwood, Centostone |
| Maintenance | Oil or stain every year | Often little or none |
| Warranty | None | From the manufacturer |
If you enjoy the DIY side most, building it yourself is a lovely project. If you mainly want a table that needs little attention and you want it quickly, have a look at would you rather buy or try the selection tool.
The design: size, height and shape
A good working drawing prevents most mistakes. Draw the tabletop, the legs and the frame underneath, with all the measurements. You'll use this to create your cutting list. Pay particular attention to these points:
- Length: as a rule of thumb, allow roughly 60 cm of table edge per person. Don't forget the ends of the table if someone is sitting there too.
- Width: if you sit opposite each other, 90 to 100 cm is comfortable, leaving room for dishes in the middle. On a narrow patio you can build it narrower.
- Height: a garden dining table is usually about 72 to 76 cm high. Measure your own chairs and choose the height to suit them.
- Leg room: the frame under the tabletop shouldn't hang so low that your knees or the armrests of your chairs knock against it.
- Leg position: legs in the corners give the most seating room along the long sides. If you move them inwards, there's more room at the ends, but the table becomes less stable when someone leans on the edge.
You can read how much clear space you need around the table in how much space you need for a garden table. You'll find a size chart by number of people in buying a garden table: what to look out for.
Mark it out first
Use masking tape to mark the outer dimensions of your table on the patio and place your chairs around it. This way you can see whether the table is too big or too small before you start cutting, and whether you can still easily walk past it.
Which wood should you choose?
The wood determines how easy the job is, how heavy the table becomes and how much maintenance the top will need later. Softer woods are pleasant for beginners, while harder woods hold up better as a tabletop over time.
| Wood type | Workability | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Scaffold wood | Easy | Soft, dents and stains easily |
| Douglas fir | Easy | Can splinter, sand well |
| Treated pine | Easy | Treat saw cuts afterwards |
| Oak | Moderate | Use stainless steel fittings only |
| Hardwood (e.g. Bangkirai) | Difficult | Heavy, always pre-drill |
| Teak | Moderate | Expensive, check its origin |
Scaffold wood is the classic choice for a rugged DIY table. It's usually soft softwood, so the top dents and stains more quickly. If you buy used scaffold wood, check it carefully for nails, staples and metal residue before you start cutting. Douglas fir is a little sturdier and has a warm colour. Oak is beautiful and strong, but it contains tannic acid: combined with iron and moisture, it leaves black stains, so only use stainless steel. Hardwood and teak are the most durable choices for a tabletop, but they're heavier and harder to work with.
Want to know how each type of wood performs as a tabletop, with a comparison to Vironwood and Centostone? Then read which wood is best for a garden table. You'll find a broader comparison in popular wood types for garden furniture.
Materials and tools
Get everything ready before you start. That way you won't have to make a trip back to the DIY shop halfway through, and you can finish the table in one go. You'll work out the exact quantities from your own working drawing.
Materials
- Boards for the tabletop
- Beams or thick boards for the legs
- Battens or strips for the frame under the tabletop
- Stainless steel screws in two or three lengths
- Possibly coach bolts with nuts and washers for the legs
- Waterproof wood glue for outdoor use
- Oil, stain or primer and exterior paint
- Sandpaper in a coarse and a fine grit
- Felt pads or adjustable feet caps
Tools
- Tape measure, pencil and try square
- Hand saw, chop saw or circular saw
- Cordless drill with wood bits and a countersink bit
- Sander
- A few clamps
- Spirit level
- Brush or cloth for the finish
- Safety glasses, ear defenders and a dust mask
Don't have a saw or prefer not to do the cutting yourself? Many DIY shops will cut boards to size for a small fee. Just take your cutting list with you.
How to make a garden table in 7 steps
This step-by-step plan works for a simple rectangular table with a top made of separate boards on a frame and four legs. It's a basic guide: you decide the dimensions yourself based on your patio and your chairs.
Draw the table from above and from the side. Determine the length and width of the top, the height and the position of the legs. Subtract the thickness of the top from the table height: that's the length of the legs. Put all the parts, with quantities and sizes, into a cutting list.
Cut all the parts to size and check with the try square that the saw cuts are square. Sand the boards smooth and lightly round off the sharp edges of the top. This feels nicer and the finish adheres better to a rounded edge.
Apply the first coat of oil or stain before you assemble everything. This way you reach the end grain, the underside of the top and the places that will end up touching each other later. Let the coat dry thoroughly according to the packaging.
Lay the battens in a rectangle on a flat surface and screw them together. If the table is long, add one or two cross battens between them to prevent sagging. Measure the two diagonals: if they're equal, the frame is square.
Lay the tabletop boards on the frame with a small gap of a few millimetres between them, so rainwater can drain away and the wood can move. Let the top overhang by a few centimetres on all sides. Pre-drill and screw from underneath through the frame, or countersink the screws neatly from above.
Turn the top over onto a clean, flat surface. Position the legs in the corners against the frame and secure them with long screws or coach bolts. Check with the try square that they stand upright. If the table still wobbles, add braces between the legs and the frame.
Turn the table over, place it in its final position and use the spirit level to check that it's level. Sand any rough spots and apply the final coat of oil or stain. Fit felt pads or feet caps to the legs and let everything dry thoroughly before using the table.
Always pre-drill in hardwood and close to the ends of a board. A screw driven without a pilot hole into the end grain will split the wood exactly where you least want it to.
Finishing: oil, stain or paint?
Untreated wood absorbs moisture, dries out again in the sun and then cracks or greys. A good finish protects the top and determines the look.
- Oil: soaks into the wood and keeps its natural look. Easy to top up, but you need to repeat it regularly, usually every year.
- Stain: protects against moisture and sunlight and comes in transparent and opaque versions, so you can also get it in a colour. Choose a stain suitable for outdoor use.
- Primer and exterior paint: gives a solid layer in any colour. On a horizontal tabletop, paint takes a beating; if it starts to peel, you'll need to sand it down before repainting.
- Doing nothing: only suitable for durable wood such as teak, which turns silvery grey outdoors. Softwood deteriorates quickly without protection.
Plates, glasses and food will end up on your table, so read the label on your finishing product carefully and choose one that's suitable for tabletops and furniture. You can read how to treat your wood step by step in treating wooden garden furniture.
Maintaining your homemade table
A wooden table only stays looking good if you give it some attention. Fortunately, that doesn't take much work:
- Wipe the top down now and then with lukewarm water and a mild soapy solution, and let it dry thoroughly.
- Apply a fresh coat of oil or stain to the top every spring, after you've cleaned and dried it and given it a light sand.
- Check the screws and bolts at the start of the season. Wood moves, so tighten them up if needed.
- Don't put the legs directly on wet soil or grass. Feet caps or a few paving slabs keep the underside dry.
- Cover the table with a breathable cover in winter, or store it in a dry place.
You can read more about cleaning and stains in cleaning a wooden garden table. You can find out how long a wooden table will last with good maintenance in how long does a wooden garden table last.
A breathable table cover also protects a homemade table. Measure your table and choose a cover that's slightly larger:
Checklist before you start
Tick off these points before you make the first saw cut:
- Spot on the patio decided and marked out with tape
- Working drawing with length, width and height ready
- Chairs measured: seat height and armrests
- Wood type chosen, see which wood is suitable
- Cutting list made and wood bought or cut to size
- Stainless steel screws and possibly coach bolts at home
- Outdoor oil or stain purchased
- Flat workspace and someone to help with lifting
Common mistakes
Placing the tabletop boards tightly together
Without a gap, rainwater stays trapped between the boards and the wood can't expand. The result: warped boards and rot. Leave a small gap of a few millimetres.
Using ordinary screws
Steel screws rust outdoors and leave dark streaks, and with oak even black stains. Choose stainless steel, even if it costs a bit more.
Only treating the top
Moisture mainly enters through the end grain and the underside of the wood. Treat the parts on all sides before assembly.
Not pre-drilling
In hardwood and close to the ends of a board, the wood splits if you screw without a pilot hole. Always pre-drill, and countersink the screw head if it's on the top.
Making the frame too low
If the battens under the top hang too low, you'll knock your knees or the chairs won't slide underneath. Measure your chairs before you build the frame.
Standing the legs on wet ground
Legs on grass or soil draw up moisture and will rot from the bottom. Place the table on paving slabs or use feet caps.
Would you rather buy?
No time or inclination to do DIY, or do you want a table that needs hardly any maintenance? Then these are strong alternatives from our range. All specs come from the product information; you can see current prices on the cards.
Wood look without oil: Edison oval 220x115 cm
The Edison has a top of Vironwood slats in light teak and an aluminium frame with a dark grey powder coating. According to the product information, Vironwood is a low-maintenance plastic with a wood grain: you don't need to oil it. The oval table seats 6 and is 69.5 cm high to the underside of the top.
Edison oval garden table 220x115 cm light teak
Note: according to the product information, bowl-shaped glassware can focus direct sunlight and leave small burn marks on the top. You can read what Vironwood actually is in what is Vironwood.
Long table for 6: Newton 230x110 cm
The Newton is a dining garden table measuring 230 x 110 cm, with a height of 72 cm and 70 cm to the underside of the top. The top is light teak Vironwood, and the frame is aluminium in carbon black, in drum style. It has room for 6 people.
Newton dining garden table 230x110 cm
Lightweight and All Weather: Zeus 180x100 cm
Want no wood maintenance at all? The Zeus has an aluminium top and X-frame, with a teak look on the top. It's listed in the specifications as All Weather, seats 4 and weighs 29.7 kg.
Zeus dining garden table 180x100 cm
Real wood, lower model: Ibiza lounge-dining 170x100 cm
Do you really want wood? The Ibiza has an acacia wood frame in whitewash and a Fibrestone top in sand. At 68 cm high and 57 cm to the underside of the top, it's a lounge-dining table: lower than a standard dining table and designed to be used with a lounge sofa. It has room for 6 people.
Ibiza lounge-dining table 170x100 cm
Note: according to the product information, store this table dry during prolonged bad weather and in winter, preferably with a protective cover.
Want to compare more tables? Take a look at wooden garden tables, garden dining tables or read the best garden tables of 2026.
Wooden garden tables
View tables →Garden dining tables
View tables →Garden tables for 6 people
View tables →Build a bench too?
A homemade bench along the long side of your table provides lots of seating in little space. You can read how to go about it, with the right seat depth and choice of wood, in making your own garden bench.
Frequently asked questions
Which wood is best for making a garden table yourself?
For a first project, scaffold wood, Douglas fir and impregnated spruce are the easiest: they are widely available and simple to saw and screw. They are softer, though, so the tabletop will dent more easily and needs careful maintenance. Hardwoods, oak and teak are more durable for a tabletop, but heavier and harder to work. With these you should always pre-drill.
How high should a homemade garden table be?
A garden dining table is usually around 72 to 76 cm high. Measure your chairs before cutting the legs: there needs to be enough legroom between the seat and the tabletop, and chairs with armrests must be able to slide under the table frame.
Can you make a garden table from scaffold wood?
Yes, scaffold wood is popular for a rugged garden table and is easy to work with. It is soft, however, so the tabletop will dent and stain more quickly. Sand it thoroughly, check reclaimed scaffold wood for nails and metal remnants, and protect it with oil or wood stain, including the end grain and the underside.
Which screws should you use for a wooden garden table?
Choose stainless steel screws, preferably A4 marine grade. Ordinary steel screws will rust outdoors and leave dark streaks in the wood. With oak, stainless steel is especially important: the tannic acid in oak reacts with iron and moisture to produce black stains.
Is making your own garden table cheaper than buying one?
That depends mainly on the type of timber and the tools you already have. With softwood and your own tools it can be good value; with hardwood, or if you need to buy tools first, it often isn't. Factor in your time and annual maintenance too. A bought table with a Vironwood or aluminium tabletop, for example, needs no oil.
Do you need to treat a homemade garden table?
Yes, unless you choose teak and let it weather to a natural silver-grey. Oil or wood stain protects the timber against moisture and drying out. Ideally, treat the parts before assembly so that the end grain, the underside and the joints are all well protected, and repeat the treatment every year.
