I would create some fixtures like korbels that are about 4 inches thick. You could either create the angle of the French cleat directly in the korbel or attach the French cleat o the front of the korbel. Either way you would have the French cleat standing proud of the walk and the vertical height of the korbel would negate any levered force you are worried about. And toy could design the korbels to look like wall decor when the table is not hung.
Hanging a dining room table top from a wall
Please forgive the discursive ramble. I tend to think better "out loud".
So, I have a monster of a dining room table that has been in the family for generations. It's a solid wood table with a beautiful persimmon wood veneer. When it's polished up and not covered in all the random crap that large horizontal surfaces seem to be a magnet for, it positively glows. Unfortunately, regardless of polish or clutter, it devours floor space. On average (pre-pandemic) I need to use it about once or twice a year for dinner parties or family gatherings. The rest of the time, it's just me in the house and I don't need a 40" x 120" table. I do, however, have a large blank wall in that room that I think it would look awesome hanging on. The table itself really is quite pretty to look at. The grain on that persimmon gives it almost a 3-D quality. Obviously there's a substantial amount of weight involved here, so my immediate thoughts were to use a french cleat. That way it could be easily taken down and put back into service when needed, with minimal hassle (obviously the legs would be stored separately and reattached).
However, this leads me to a conundrum. The table has an approximately 4" rail all the way around it. The rail is not sturdy enough to support the weight of the table laterally, so the mate to the cleat would have to be attached directly to the under side of the table. I'm assuming with glue and lots of little screws. But it seems like a 4" thick cleat would also act as a lever against the cleat mounted to the wall. Rather than just pulling straight down, like say, the back of a cabinet, it seems to me that there would be an additional force pulling out from the wall. I'm not certain that it would necessarily be enough to put the cleat off of the wall or the bottom of the table. But I'm also not certain that it wouldn't. The last thing I want is to be woken up by a 200lb family heirloom crashing to the floor.
I'd welcome anyone else's thoughts/experience on how to tackle this quandary.
Have a great day, all!
So, I have a monster of a dining room table that has been in the family for generations. It's a solid wood table with a beautiful persimmon wood veneer. When it's polished up and not covered in all the random crap that large horizontal surfaces seem to be a magnet for, it positively glows. Unfortunately, regardless of polish or clutter, it devours floor space. On average (pre-pandemic) I need to use it about once or twice a year for dinner parties or family gatherings. The rest of the time, it's just me in the house and I don't need a 40" x 120" table. I do, however, have a large blank wall in that room that I think it would look awesome hanging on. The table itself really is quite pretty to look at. The grain on that persimmon gives it almost a 3-D quality. Obviously there's a substantial amount of weight involved here, so my immediate thoughts were to use a french cleat. That way it could be easily taken down and put back into service when needed, with minimal hassle (obviously the legs would be stored separately and reattached).
However, this leads me to a conundrum. The table has an approximately 4" rail all the way around it. The rail is not sturdy enough to support the weight of the table laterally, so the mate to the cleat would have to be attached directly to the under side of the table. I'm assuming with glue and lots of little screws. But it seems like a 4" thick cleat would also act as a lever against the cleat mounted to the wall. Rather than just pulling straight down, like say, the back of a cabinet, it seems to me that there would be an additional force pulling out from the wall. I'm not certain that it would necessarily be enough to put the cleat off of the wall or the bottom of the table. But I'm also not certain that it wouldn't. The last thing I want is to be woken up by a 200lb family heirloom crashing to the floor.
I'd welcome anyone else's thoughts/experience on how to tackle this quandary.
Have a great day, all!
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