Repurpose an Old Grill

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Our last major DIY project for 2020 was to cover the street-facing underside of our deck with painted boards.  The main reason for this was mostly aesthetic, but I also wanted to hide some of the items we were storing under there.  Including our old, rusted-out grill. In case you missed that post, here is the link: DIY Deck Skirting.

We’ve done a couple of deck updates this past year, and while preparing for a final outside dinner, we realized our grill was finally not up to the task. We bought a new one, but we were not quite ready to throw the old one away. Instead, it found a temporary home under our deck until we could take it to the dump.  It stayed in the back of my mind since I was trying to think of a purposeful way to reuse it.

While talking to Pieter one morning, I asked if the base was still sturdy and maybe could be used as a mobile table.  He immediately pulled it out of storage and started taking it apart.  We removed the lid and grill inserts, as well as the basket from the bottom. What remained was the perfect height for a table, and with a bit of cleaning and painting, it could be the perfect support for a new mobile table.

We set off for supplies at our local Home Depot.

Supplies Needed

• Two Pieces of Wood (a top and a bottom shelf)
• A Length of Aluminum Angle
• Black Spray Paint
• Metal Screws
• Wood Screws
• Wood Stain
• Clear Shellac Spray

Back home from the store, Pieter immediately took out the power washer and gave the old grill a good cleaning.  We placed it in the only sunny spot available that day to dry – the front lawn. 

Making a Table

The next step was to cut and add the two pieces of aluminum angle edging, which would act as side supports for the wooden top.  After they were fastened to the structure with metal screws, the whole base got a couple of layers of spray paint and was left to dry.

Pieter started with the work to measure, cut, and stain the two pieces of wood – one for the top and one for the bottom. We measured the top piece to be wider than the base to give us an overhang on the left and right sides. We kept it the same width front to back. The bottom piece needed some additional cutting on the corners to fit around the legs of the base.

After the stain dried, we screwed the top piece of wood onto the metal brackets and placed the second piece of wood onto the bottom support. Final touches included some clear shellac and reattaching the bottle opener to the side of the new table. If your old grill doesn’t have a bottle opener, you can purchase one online. This cast iron version works great (we have added four to our outdoor table).

This is a super easy and inexpensive way to repurpose your old grill and save it from a landfill. It can still be around for many years as your new mobile table.

Do you also think of ways to repurpose items around the house instead of getting rid of them? And what have you recently repurposed?