Outdoor Cooking Table Modifications

Posted on September 13th, 2010 in How-to Cook Outdoors Tips by Gary House

I don’t know about your back but mine doesn’t appreciate bending over at odd angles for hours while I prepare outdoor cooking delights for my family and friends. Most table manufacturers seem to think that a table only needs to be waist high and they are correct if all you are doing is sitting at the table. I cook at mine when I am in the back yard or out doing a demonstration and after a hour or so of leaning over chopping and mixing, I’m reaching for the pain pills quick as you can blink.

I use several of those folding resin top outdoor tables you find all over the place, great to sit at but not to work at. They do make those tables that adjust in height, that only means a new table purchase and I don’t need more tables just higher tables.

Modification was the option I choose, simple, fast and easy to undo if necessary. My main cooking table is a 2 x 4 top and stands a whooping 29 inches tall, way to low compared to a kitchen counter which is at least 36 inches tall and a great height for me.

Answer to my back problems was simple: raise the height of my favorite table to 36 inches!

So here is what I did and how I did it:

Table height is just to low for a long day of cooking. You can see how much I am bending over, just a bad angle for my back.

Here is a 1 inch PVC pipe 4 feet long and four 1 inch PVC caps for the project. You may need a larger size for your table. Measure the outside diameter of your table leg and get that size PVC pipe. (PVC pipe is measured by it’s inside diameter.)

Mark PVC pipe at 12 inch intervals so you’ll have 4 – 12 inch pieces. Make sure you cut them all exactly the same length!

Your project should look like this now.

Get your bestest little buddy to pound the caps on for you. Notice the ear muffs? That rubber mallet makes lots of noise LOL!

I choose to drill an adjustment hole in my legs. This gives me an option to raise the table to a full 36 inches.

Cotter pins are inserted into the adjustment holes. I keep mine un-opened so I can adjust the level as I need to. I may drill aditional holes in the future to give me more flexibility.

Here are the leg extentions installed. A fast slip on and slip off approach.

Well here it is all finished! 4 feet of PVC pipe, 4 PVC caps, 1 hour of work and my bestest little buddy to help me. You can see by the picture that I am no longer leaning over. Sooo much better on the old back! Now I just need to figure out how to clean that nasty looking table.

Till next time,

Gary