Do you know anything about glass dining tables? And glass table covers?
 

Because I need both. Would like to give our rectangular dining table to daughter, who needs one, but want to cover it with glass to protect from resident cats and visitors. The size is unusual, so will probably need to be custom cut. Where do I go for this?

Am thinking a circular glass table would help sell our relatively small dining room when we put our house on the market. I know this one needs to be thicker and tempered glass. Any tips for shopping for one?

Go to your local glass shop. I have had several pieces of glass cut for special things.

Just about any glass shop that does doors/windows/mirrors should be able to help you. If it's a straight up square/rectangular measurement they should be able to do that easily/quickly. If you have any decorative edges, they will want a paper template. Just tape together large pieces of butcher paper/paper bags/etc. Take a pencil and rub on the edges so the lead shows the exact outline. They will cut from that.

I have had a glass top dining room table for about 35 years and it is still going strong. There are a couple of scratches but, otherwise, it is fine. About six years ago, I had new floors put in and the guys doing the installation chipped a corner off. Needless to say, I was pretty upset. They took it to a glass shop where they cut off about 2 inches the length of the table and ground the edges. You would never know anything happened to it.

I'm moving in a couple of months and this table is too large to go with me. As it happens, I have a round glass coffee table with a 42" diameter. The glass is 1/2" thick and I've decided it would be perfect in my new place so I started looking for table bases. This place also sells glass tops so you could get an idea of the cost from them even if you go locally. I do think if your plan is to put glass over wood on your daughter's table that I would opt for the plexi for that.

Here is the on line source I found for table bases and table tops.
http://www.kitchensource.com/table-bases/tc-kf2013.htm

Is the table you are giving your daughter wood topped and you want to put a sheet of glass on top of it? My dining room table has pads made for it...it is wood, the pads were made when I ordered the table. They are vinyl topped( look wood grained)some sort of padding and hard bottomed. My table is oval, has three leaves.....the table pads are two separate, that meet in middle, just like table and will fold in half when stored ( never, on table always), well, once a yr, I remove for a few days, oil the top, let it breath..., and the leaves are also made to fold in half.......we have had this dining room set for 50 yrs...and use it often......

Glass top tables make me dizzy, just like open staircases........

The glass shop is the place to go. They will suggest the best glass to use for your purposes. Just know that if something scratches the glass, it cannot be buffed out...usually. But for a glass top, go to a window/glass store that only does glass.

As to shopping for a circular table with a glass top, search the internet and figure out what size you want and get an idea of prices. Then go check out furniture stores and thrift shops.

If the table is wood it should be exposed to air and oiled every now and then. Does your daughter want a glass top on it? I also have table pads on mine that fold up and can be slid under the bed. I also have a nice big quilted table cloth on my kitchen table to protect it when the grandkids come over. Hot Wheels and wooden tables don't go together very well.

Like everyone said, go to the local glass shop, tell them what you need/want and let them guide you. BUT glass is a bugger for showing every speck of dust and fingerprint!! Ask me how I know!!

You are right about that!! :D

glass tops on wood tables usually have dot pads of some sort to keep air circulation going for the wood. I'm sure a glass shop can tell you about those too. beveled edges on the glass look good too if you are not going to cover the table with a cloth or quilt.

DH had custom glass cut for his coffee table; it wasn't terribly expensive. He cut little squares of craft foam to cushion the glass. (The table is black, so he used black foam; you can't see it unless you look for it.)

Glass shops will know what sort of thickness you need for a free-standing glass top and will be able to tell you what you need and probably able to show you some samples too. If you are a little flexible on the exact size & dimensions you might even get lucky and be able to buy one that was either cut to the wrong size or not picked up by someone else - that's nice because it should sell for a discounted price and it's ready to go right away. I did that, got a glass top that would have cost $100 for $35. Score!

I recently had a glass top cut for my dining table. I went to the local glass shop and he had me make a pattern of the top of the table out of heavy brown paper and he cut the glass to the pattern..It is perfect.

We have a local glass shop (I think they are fairly common and easy to find) and have had glass tops cut to our dimensions.

Thanks everyone for the great info! The table I want to give to my daughter is wood, but the top needs to be refinished. I am leaning towards the plexi as a topper (with little bumpers underneath) for the time being, as it won't cost that much. We would invest in a glass topper after the wood top is refinished.

A glass dining room table for our house would probably require the thicker tempered glass which can be pricey, so I am thinking maybe we will be able to rent one while we have our house on the market. Without knowing what our new house will look like, I don't want to invest a lot of money into furniture that might not fit.

I went with Lexan to replace a glass table top. It was cheaper than the glass and a bit more expensive than plexiglass. It is a better grade of plex. Totally indestructable. Does not scratch and lot is easier to keep clean. Any glass shop will have it as well as Lowes or Menards

Oh, thanks so much, Stitchit! I will be able to check out Lexan locally, which makes it a lot easier.

I have had a wood table topped with glass for about the last 19 or so years. I never expose the top to air or anything else. It looks great, glass is scratched from using it to sandwich quilts on. Sewing on it for all those years too. No way would I want a table without glass top.

I just had this done for boss' conference table - highly suggest you get quotes from several glass companies (they will come out and do for free). We ended up going with a one owner one location company due to price, how soon they could get it done (original glass got cracked), and the fact they explained to us why it cracked, how to prevent that, and some other things.

Hope that helps.

Sue

Pretty to look at and a real pain to keep clean. Fingerprints everywhere