Anyone got any suggestions for bar plans or places that sell them? Anyone actually have any experience with these plans or overall suggestions for building?

I'm wanting to buld a typical L shaped bar. The long end right at 8 ft then the shorter L part attaching to the wall at about 5 to 5.5 ft. I'm going to run electrical through it but not plumbing (I'm doing a free standing sink on back wall behind the bar).

I'm putting this in a room where the length is not an issue, but it is slightly narrow. Meaning I want the bar itself to be as narrow as possible so that you can easily wall around the bar even with people sitting at it. The only thing as far as depth goes that I want in the bar itself is a beverage center (bar fridgerator). I do want a lower level work space behind the bar and I want the bar top to cantilever out at least some so your legs are under the bar top.

I can't find a bar plan on line that fits all the major components I want. One is close but it is a full three feet in depth before I stick the bar top out a little. So I'm wondering how easy these plans are to modify? Should I just get one to give me the general idea, then make the size as I see fit? Or really, is there a point in getting plan? Should I just frame some boxes and go from there? My concern is not the rough in part, but in the finishing details. This will be in a very visible place in our house and my wife agrees we should put up a bar, it better be nice, or I'll never hear the end of it!

When I was planning my basement bar, I went to quite a few sites for ideas, and one I believe is called barplans.com. I didn't use their plans, but I figured out the design and got ideas from the many sites I visited with examples. Good luck! It's a fun process...

Not really a bar, but I've been looking for a couple of years for something like this:
http://www.dannyveghs.com/bar23.htm

for my gameroom that has limited space around the pool table. No luck except for the unit in the photo, but they want like $1200 each whether 4, 5, or 6 foot.

Sdallnct...

I was looking for the same thing a while ago, but I was hoping for free plans and I couldn't find any. If you dont mind paying for the plans, there are quite a few web sites willing to sell them.

I went ahead and build my own and designed it as well. Here is a simple plan that you can modify to your size and liking!! See my gallery or sig for a couple of pictures.

-Sean

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/3033/barframe23uf.th.jpg (http://img215.imageshack.us/my.php?image=barframe23uf.jpg)

Sorry about the image quality....converting from AutoCAD to Jpeg isn't pretty! :rolleyes:

Thanks for the idea guys! Due to my job, I'm probably going to have to put the actual building on hold (I work for a large insurance company on their Catastrophe Team- so sooner or later will be heading to the gulf coast area). However, I want to keep collecting ideas, maybe go ahead and buy some plans so when I get back can jump right in!

MaximAVS, geat bar! Did you attach to the ground or anything? I have tile over concrete slab. So I COULD go in the grout and into the slab, but I figure with even just basic framing and real plywood it would be heavy enough not to have to attach to the ground.

The bar is not attached to the floor. It is plenty heavy not to move, but if you want to anchor yours down, you can use a masonary bit and some blue screws to tie it to the floor. Or use a power nailer (the .22cal variety) and fire nailes into the concrete throught the tile, but you risk cracking the tile unless you shoot through the grout lines!!

-Sean

Thanks for the idea guys! Due to my job, I'm probably going to have to put the actual building on hold (I work for a large insurance company on their Catastrophe Team- so sooner or later will be heading to the gulf coast area).

<snip>





MY heart goes out to you - I wish you safety and health (both physical and mental) on that trip. I cannot even comprehend having to experience that and have to do it in a way to save your employer money when you feel for the victims.




Dennis

MY heart goes out to you - I wish you safety and health (both physical and mental) on that trip. I cannot even comprehend having to experience that and have to do it in a way to save your employer money when you feel for the victims.

Dennis

I certainly appreciate the kind words, but I'm not sure what you mean by "save your employer money"????

I'm on a permanent Catastrophe Team a position I put in for 10 years ago and was fortunate to be selected. As part of this team all I ever do is travel the country helping people when they need it the most, after a disaster.

I have worked Hurricanes, Fires, Tornado's, Hail Storms, Floods, etc, etc. It is all I do. While I'm not technically an adjuster, I'm part of the same group. I mainly do training, assist with difficult issues, quality control, etc. If needed I can fill the roll of an adjuster, fill in for management, help with technical issues, be a classroom trainer, train one on one, etc.

I very, very proud of what I do and that I get to help people. I'm also proud for the company I work for who has never (in over 15 years total working for them) asked me to do something that I was uncomfortable with. And as further note of why I'm proud of who I work for, I just got an e-mail yesterday they my company donated a large some of money to the American Red Cross AND will match contributions dollar for dollar of any donation us employees make.

I certainly appreciate the kind words, but I'm not sure what you mean by "save your employer money"????

I'm on a permanent Catastrophe Team a position I put in for 10 years ago and was fortunate to be selected. As part of this team all I ever do is travel the country helping people when they need it the most, after a disaster.

I have worked Hurricanes, Fires, Tornado's, Hail Storms, Floods, etc, etc. It is all I do. While I'm not technically an adjuster, I'm part of the same group. I mainly do training, assist with difficult issues, quality control, etc. If needed I can fill the roll of an adjuster, fill in for management, help with technical issues, be a classroom trainer, train one on one, etc.

I very, very proud of what I do and that I get to help people. I'm also proud for the company I work for who has never (in over 15 years total working for them) asked me to do something that I was uncomfortable with. And as further note of why I'm proud of who I work for, I just got an e-mail yesterday they my company donated a large some of money to the American Red Cross AND will match contributions dollar for dollar of any donation us employees make.


Hi,


I hope I didn't offend by that, I didn't mean to. I made the comment based on an insurance company is a company that, like the majority, is trying to make money. This is not to say that is wrong, if it weren't for companies making money there would be no jobs. Insurance companies gamble that these disasters won't happen and the customers are gambling that they will hoping they make out in the long end (by the recovery/repair will be more money than they paid for the insurance over a course of time). I realize that insurance companies do help, but they are not to be compared to the Red Cross or other non-profit organization that volunteers and is run on charity donations. Insurance companies are profit-oriented businesses. I help people with computer and network problems, disaster recovery (business IT side), etc., but I work for a profit company. I try to help my customers in any way they need, but the money the company makes helps keep me in a job. I am not the same as a volunteer helping poor with computer problems. Your job sounds very noble and very difficult (I could probably not do it as I would not be able to handle seeing such suffering and dying), but if you wanted to go above an beyond what the requirements of helping were, your company would probably not appreciate the extra costs, like mine if I gave away a bunch of my time free.

I hope I cleared up my comment.





Once again, I apologize if I offended you,

Dennis

Hi,


I hope I didn't offend by that, I didn't mean to. I made the comment based on an insurance company is a company that, like the majority, is trying to make money. This is not to say that is wrong, if it weren't for companies making money there would be no jobs. Insurance companies gamble that these disasters won't happen and the customers are gambling that they will hoping they make out in the long end (by the recovery/repair will be more money than they paid for the insurance over a course of time). I realize that insurance companies do help, but they are not to be compared to the Red Cross or other non-profit organization that volunteers and is run on charity donations. Insurance companies are profit-oriented businesses. I help people with computer and network problems, disaster recovery (business IT side), etc., but I work for a profit company. I try to help my customers in any way they need, but the money the company makes helps keep me in a job. I am not the same as a volunteer helping poor with computer problems. Your job sounds very noble and very difficult (I could probably not do it as I would not be able to handle seeing such suffering and dying), but if you wanted to go above an beyond what the requirements of helping were, your company would probably not appreciate the extra costs, like mine if I gave away a bunch of my time free.

I hope I cleared up my comment.

Once again, I apologize if I offended you,

Dennis

Thank you for the note, no offense taken...

While you are correct, an insurance company is a "for profit" business, you want your insurance company to be profitable. You want your insurance company to make money, and make LOTS of it for years and years. Why? Because when something like Katrina hits, it will take every bit of it and wipe out all of those previous years profits. You certainly don't want an insurance company to "not make money". Why? Where will the money come from if you have a claim?

Insurance companies realize exactly what could happen. It is not a gamble. Especially after hurricane Andrew, companies realized the importance of being ready with something major hits. They have worked with the federal and state governments to make sure those that want insurance, can get it from some place. I won't speak for all companies but I have been working for mine long enough to know one simple thing, when something like this happens they will spare NO expense doing everything they can to help. They will bring in toys for kids who have lost all of their stuff, they will have water, coffee, snacks, they will let people use our phones, faxes, they will help people find someplace to stay, whatever. None of which is "covered under the policy" but it is the right thing to do. You are correct, we do not pay for damage that is not covered, we do not go around handing out money to those that did not have insurance. But if everyone had bought insurance, the right type with the right coverage, then all would get some money. And I understand that some have to choose between eating and buying insurance and this is where in almost every case, the federal government will step in.

Also, people who by insurance should not look at it as a gamble or "savings account". Insurance works by a very simple principle, a lot of people pay premiums that cover the claims of just a few. Insurance does not and cannot work if everyone turns in a claim. You buy insurance for the piece of mind it brings you and for the rare times something happens.

No offense was taken and I certainly didn't mean to sound like I do my job for free. We made a promise to those that bought our product, and I feel great that I get to help honor that promise and help them get their life back together. And I agree, I often work right next to, in the same tents, in the same office with the American Red Cross or other organizations. They are wonderful people!

Back to the original discussion...

A great place for for Home Bar Plans and ideas is The Easy Home Bar Plans site.
Just search for Easy Home Bar Plans in Yahoo or Google.

Ok, here it is...

Easy Home Bar Plans (http://www.barplan.com)

The best Bar Plans I have found for the price!

skip92 barplan.com was in post #2. ;)

skip92 barplan.com was in post #2. ;)

props for being nice about it

i would have said skip92 was a troll trying to promote the website for his financial gain.


oops crap... sorry just hate bad intentions

http://rabeb25.mikesdecks.com/Theater%20Room/

Towards the bottom you can see the bar I built, nothing too fancy but works great.


Bryan

skip92
I believe you can't post URLs until you reach a certain # of posts. I think the # is 5. That's to prevent trolls from promoting a website for financial gain. ;) The forum rules and policies are posted some where. I was wondering why you post the same thing like three times.

OH! Welcome to the forum.

Ok, here it is...

Easy Home Bar Plans (http://www.barplan.com)

The best Bar Plans I have found for the price!

Actually that is the site I joined about a month ago. I have not started yet as I had been working out of town, but MAY be home for a while. As it turned out, it may have been good to wait. The guy at the site is coming out with a new plan any day of exactly the type bar I want to build. He will call it the "Kegger L shape bar", but I do not plan to put in a keg, but will put in a frig. But the overall design is exactly what I want, L shape with work bartenders work area (I plan to have electrical, but no sink as my sink will be a free standing unit behind the bar).

Soon as his new plan is up, I will at least print and start to modify the size for my needs.

http://rabeb25.mikesdecks.com/Theater%20Room/

Towards the bottom you can see the bar I built, nothing too fancy but works great.


Bryan

Very nice! Is that flagstone? Did you use concrete backer board?

Right at this moment, I'm thinking about an engineered stone bar top - quartz, home depot has it as Silstone. We did our kitchen in it and the guys did a great job and might see if I can get it directly through them. For the bartender work area, will probably do either a stained/sealed top or my formica.

I'd rather save the money and find a DIY top, but the granite look is hard to beat.

Well Thanks!
The top is Slate, and the sides and footrest are just regular ceramics. No I did not use a backer.

Bryan

I'd rather save the money and find a DIY top, but the granite look is hard to beat.

I used granite tile on my DIY bar. Pretty much the first thing I ever built/designed of any substance and it turned out not too bad.

only caution is seal the entire thing not just the grout.... my dumb ass had a new years party and now there are ring stains from the bottom of glasses...... not very happy about it.... read that it may just have to do with quality of the granite especially with the black ones... oh well its a bar.

Anyhow the look is cool and relatively cheap.

http://www.crackity.com/gallery/Bar

Still a work in progress, but I used dimensional lumber and plywood and came up with this;

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e393/heynow123/P2010017.jpg



http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e393/heynow123/P2010019.jpg

a bit behind the bar

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e393/heynow123/P2010022.jpg

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e393/heynow123/P2010018.jpg

This bar is a single plywood thickness attached to the existing sink cabinet. Remove two small bolts and I can slide the bar (via nylon slides attached to the bottom) anywhere in the room to move items in and out of the door on the right.

Heynow^
Very nice!!

Very Nice HeyNow^!

Very clean and professional looking. Looks very functional too!

Love the helmet collection you have going there.

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

Why buy plans????? Its sooooooo easy. I love that helmet collection. I started mine last week. Im i the process of glueing all the college pictures and mini scheudles i have to the top, i will then apply laquer (sp) to it. Bar is going to be all cheery, gonna be sweet. I havea similar helmet collection but mine is all college and hs helmets. IO have over 100 mini and full sized helmets

Mantown2,

That's a lot of helmets. I just have the 32 NFL team helmets. My Buckeyes helmet and of course the most important one is my son's HS helmet, jersey and his two state championship games(lost both).

Show us some pics ManTown2

I played peewee , High School, and college football, so ive collected them over that time period. Many of the Helmets are mini helmets. I also have a large collection of other "odd" college football memorabilia. I coach hs football. I am somewhat of a fb junkie. I cant imagine life without, when i go out on a saturday morning and see people or hear people talking about doing things during the day, I wonder "dont these people know that ther is college football on!!!!" Kinda twisted I know. Anyway, DO YOU HAve any other pics of your "sportsbar"????

I will be starting a separate thread soon. I don't want to hijack this thread...


Football is Life. :)

go right ahead start a new one but its too late youve already hijacked this one, friggin terrorist
link me to the new one

Here you go Coach. Thanks for all that you do for our youth! Your countless hours contributing to our youth and making men out or our boys is sincerely appreciated. My son idolizes all of his coaches especially his Pee Wee coach. Makes me proud.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=640633

Heynow,

Great bar. Gave me some great ideas! I like your track lighting (Home Depot/Lowes - think I have seen those.). Lighting will be an issue for me as I have vaulted ceilings and right now the only thing for lighting I have is a ceiling fan and some skylights! I may have to pop some wall lighting in...

[Coming a little late to the thread...]

I built a bar using plans from here:

precision-images[dot]com
(sorry I can't yet post the link or, apparently, even the full url. Not spamming, promise!)

The plans were great. They don't hold your hand or have step by step pictures but if I was able to follow them....

I'll try to remember to post a link to a pic of my bar after I get up to 5 posts. I don't know anything (yet) about HT hence I just lurk here. But I do know a bit about building a bar! :cool:

toofargone
Just create a thread in the testing forum and post to it. ;) I believe 5 is the magic #.

Concerning the link provided on the first page (www.barplan.com), I was curious if anyone has actually purchased and put the bar together in its entirety?

This looks cool, and I might redesign my own theater to accomdate one, yet at the same time, it just looks too easy. You know what I mean? Like a gimmic of some kind.

So, does anyone or has anyone built, seen or purchased anything from this site?

Just curious, and slightly concerned, with a tad of interest! :D

thanks!

Concerning the link provided on the first page (www.barplan.com), I was curious if anyone has actually purchased and put the bar together in its entirety?

This looks cool, and I might redesign my own theater to accomdate one, yet at the same time, it just looks too easy. You know what I mean? Like a gimmic of some kind.

So, does anyone or has anyone built, seen or purchased anything from this site?

Just curious, and slightly concerned, with a tad of interest! :D

thanks!

I bought the plan, well actually you don't "buy a plan". You join the site and it enables you in the members area to view and download the detailed plans, all of them. I like that a lot as in the end, I will likely combine a couple of different plans into the bar I actually build. He builds them pretty much all the same way with finishing details and sizes being the difference.

I have not built yet as I'm still working out of town, but plan to. And for the money I highly recommend buying even tho I have not built yet. Why? Even if you don't use an actual plan, the ideas, suggestions, photos, etc are worth the $16.00 or so $$.

I'll try to remember to post a link to a pic of my bar after I get up to 5 posts. I don't know anything (yet) about HT hence I just lurk here. But I do know a bit about building a bar! :cool:

Gosh, those first 5 posts are the hardest :rolleyes:

Here is a link of some of my bar pics (on the avs gallery):

http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php/photo/19417/cat/500

Hey,

that looks great! Now I'm assuming this bar was made from the bar plans mentioned in the link above? If it was. . .how was the process and overall expense?

Hey,

that looks great! Now I'm assuming this bar was made from the bar plans mentioned in the link above? If it was. . .how was the process and overall expense?

Not sure who this was directed to, but I used plans from precision-images.com (http://precision-images.com/). The website has a nice gallery of pics of users' projects. I would recommend using the plans as it can easily save you the $20 by helping you to use the wood most efficiently.

The wood (red oak) and supplies probably cost around $500. I used the following tools: ciricular saw, table saw, miter saw, jig saw, drill, orbital sander, and router. I wish had access to a drill press but managed with a hand drill. It would be hard to estimate the time it took, but given that this was my first building project I am sure I was super slow anyway.

See this thread for a description of my adventures with epoxy for the top:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=645326

I also went back and forth between plans. The precision-images page has a lot of great pictures and ideas. I think it is geared more towards someone with wood working experience. Barplans.com has some good bars, but they are not as detailed as p-i's. they are more for the beginner. I am a beginner. I purchased plans from barplans.com, but then ended up designing the whole thing myself, based on their plans and other pictures I have seen. I have a commercial keg cooler built in it and also a little fridge. It turned out excellent. measure twice, cut once.

Here another bar, pub style. No plans, except and idea in my buddy head and we took off from there...

http://public.fotki.com/jeffbaker24/bar__home_theater/img_2818.html

http://public.fotki.com/jeffbaker24/bar__home_theater/fullbar_pano.html

http://public.fotki.com/jeffbaker24/bar__home_theater/stb_2723.html

http://public.fotki.com/jeffbaker24/bar__home_theater/img_2736.html

Just to let you know...I am not affiliated in any way with barplan.com .
I just could not figure out why I was not able to post the URL correctly.

I agree, why buy plans? especially $30 per plan! even $15 seem like alot.

The reason I bought from barplan.com was that you get everything on their site for 15 bucks. When I joined about 2 years ago, the price was something like $7.50 and I can still access the site today. If it isn't the plans themselves, it's the cool ideas I got from the membership site. I logged in again the other day and there are more than 500 photos of people bars that have used the plans.

So, to answer cabbageheats question, yes, a lot of people have completed bars using that site. You can se that in the sample gallery they post to the public too.

I figure, if you are an experienced wood worker, why would you need to pay for plans?
The site I mentioned is more for novices like myself who don't have a clue...

It's refreshing to see a site that delivers more than I expected. Sure I paid to join, but I think the membership now comes out to something like 2 bucks per plan...not a bad deal.

I'm about 3/4 done with my bar. I have all the framing done and completed the tops for the bartender area and bar top (3/4" particle board + 1/4" concrete backerboard).

After discussing "plans" and even joining a site, I basically threw it all out and did my own thing!

I decided I really wanted doors and drawers. So I researched cabinets and found a wholesale cabinet place here in town. Now, standard 24" deep lower cab's were to wide and making a box for 12" upper cab's would not have been deep enough and no drawers. Solution? I found "vanity" cabinets that had drawers and doors and as a vanity they are 18" deep. Perfect. I made a L shaped bar out of these (+ a beverage center), secured to the floor and one wall. I then basically framed a wall on the back side of the cab's about 6" higher then the cab's for the bar top.

BTW, finding the cab's wholesale seems to have worked well and I don't think I could have framed it for much less. I know it would not have been less if I bought enough stuff to hand build draws and doors.

I'll post some pic's in a few days as I have taken photos along the way. I'm going to start the trim work (molding) tomorrow and hopefully the bar tops this weekend. I bought black granite 12X12 tiles for the bar top and "think" I was smart by making the bar top 12" deep and basically the back bar area 12" deep. So minimum of cutting, hopefully.

I have never done anything like this before, a good friend was helping me, but had to go back to work :( so now I'm on my own. But with a good start I hope to finish by next week.

I'll post some pic's in a few days as I have taken photos along the way. I'm going to start the trim work (molding) tomorrow and hopefully the bar tops this weekend. I bought black granite 12X12 tiles for the bar top and "think" I was smart by making the bar top 12" deep and basically the back bar area 12" deep. So minimum of cutting, hopefully.


What do you mean by the "back bar" area? The area where your cabs are?

I'm toying with this same concept and would love to see some pics of what you've done.

What do you mean by the "back bar" area? The area where your cabs are?

I'm toying with this same concept and would love to see some pics of what you've done.

Oh yea, sorry I mis-spoke. I meant the bartenders work area. I wanted a two teir counter top, one area for the bartender and the higher area for the actual bar top where people sit.

I'll try to get my photos uploaded tonight or tomorrow.

Can't wait to see your efforts. Especially the granite tiles. Great idea on the vanity cabinets. I am a granite-bartop-wannabe! :)

Oh yea, sorry I mis-spoke. I meant the bartenders work area. I wanted a two teir counter top, one area for the bartender and the higher area for the actual bar top where people sit.

No prob, that makes sense.

What are you planning to do for a countertop for the cabinets themselves?

I'll try to get my photos uploaded tonight or tomorrow.

Looking forward to checking it out.

OK photo time! The photos will show better what I did then my terrible explaination!

Here is the proposed layout. Frig in the aprox place it will go with Blue Tap laying out the rest. The door way directly next to the fig is the door opening leading into the bar from the kitchen. The door opening to the right of that is for the laundry/pantry room.

http://img304.imageshack.us/img304/7808/p31201108da.jpg

With only 18" cab's I didn't trust the weight to hold them in place so I used a hammer drill and screwed 2X4's into my concrete slab in the grout lines of my tile flooring. (sorry about the bad photo, I had just swept and that concrete dust was everywhere!).

http://img304.imageshack.us/img304/4162/p31301111la.jpg

Cab's over the 2X4's that are screwed into the concrete. I then screwed the cab's into the 2X4's. Had to do some shimming due to uneven floor and uneven tiles.

http://img304.imageshack.us/img304/7025/p31301131lg.jpg

Here is the bartender side with cab's in place. I did a terrible job staining the cabs, so once 100% finished, I'll pull the doors, do a little sanding and put on another coat and a clear coat (I had never stained before).

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/7928/p31301152yl.jpg

Here is the frame for the bar top and will also hold the outer "skin" for the bar,

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/1483/p31401192mi.jpg

Here is the two different bar tops framed to support granite tile. I also added foam board between the framing of the bar top so when I "skin" the bar with paneling you won't get that hollow sound and it will give the paneling some support.

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/7425/p31501224dr.jpg

Here is what it looks like from behind the bar with frig in place

http://img304.imageshack.us/img304/800/p31501234lf.jpg

And a dry fit of the granite tile and tin back splash. The bar top itself I made exactly 12" so no cutting except as I turn the corner on the L shape of the bar. The bartender work area "I believe" is just right for one full tile and then a half of one tile. I can use the grout line to fine tune (hopefully). The square hole you see in the tile is a reflection of my sky light overhead.

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/4472/p31801255gj.jpg

That's what I'm talkin' about baby! OUTSTANDING!! :)

That's what I'm talkin' about baby! OUTSTANDING!! :)

Thanks, I still have all the detail work to go and have slowed down since my buddy had to leave (we did the above in 3 full days - well full days with lots of breaks for beer and crown royal!).

As you saw, no sink in the bar, but I have a free standing sink I will put on the wall behind the bar. Easy to install, I just moved it out of the way while working.

Not sure when opening day will be, but I'm saving the tiling till last (have never tiled before) and hope to get to it this weekend or early next week.

Sdallnct - Love the pics, I get a good idea of what you're doing now...

Coupla questions:

How are you planning to trim out the outer edge of the bar itself?

Is 12" of bar going to be enough considering legroom for seating underneath?

What was a good price for those 18" cabs you put in. I looked around at some unfinished ones at lowes last night.

You didn't want to do a corner cabinet? You probably have plenty of storage space anyway, so it might not have been needed. Just curious.

Again, looks great so far...like the idea for the foamboard too...

Question for the group:

Since the bar is considered a half wall, is there an NEC code that requires elec outlets to be placed on the outside area of the bar itself? Does it even require that they be on the inside?

Sdallnct - Love the pics, I get a good idea of what you're doing now...

Coupla questions:

How are you planning to trim out the outer edge of the bar itself?

I have decorative wood trim that I will use. I thought about tile, but figured for the look I'm going for, wood trim (stained like the cab's) would be the best.

Is 12" of bar going to be enough considering legroom for seating underneath?

The bar top is 12" while the overhang is about 8". In all honest, I wish I had it deeper, but with my room width, it was a far as I dare go. My plan going in was not to have it as deep as say a table, but I hate bars with no overhang, so I compomised. The total 12" bar top was figured based on mainly only having glasses on the bar, but it is large enough for a plate if we have so many people that someone (or maybe kids) need to eat up there. And of course once I decided to tile the bar top, I wanted it the same size as the tile so minimize cutting.

What was a good price for those 18" cabs you put in. I looked around at some unfinished ones at Lowe's last night.

18" cab's were $70 ea and I used three. The 30" was like $120 (it was so much more as it had a bank of drawers). On the long portion of the bar I was actually hoping to use a 30 and 36 in cab, but they were out of the 36 and they weren't sure when they would get. The Lowe's/Home Depots in my area had very little in the way of vanity and all they did have were stained a light honey color.

I had originally planned to stick build the entire bar, and leave the area behind the bar open, filling in the space with wine racks, maybe a very small wine frig, etc. However, I really like the doors and draws and can still put a wine rack or whatever behind the door.

You didn't want to do a corner cabinet? You probably have plenty of storage space anyway, so it might not have been needed. Just curious.

A corner unit would have made life easier, but the place I got the cab's didn't have any in this quality. These are cheap "builders grade" cab's, tho I am happy with them. They had much, much fancier cab's (Home Depot had some to) that had detail work, etc, but most of these were $400+ for a single 30" cab. I suppose it depends are you budget.

Again, looks great so far...like the idea for the foamboard too

Thanks I really appreciate it. Like I say, mainly learning as I go and one day spent about three hours walking around Lowes getting ideas on what would work, look good and be in my budget. My original budget was $1,000 for the entire bar, sink and frig. I have not added everything up, but I will be really close. I may have gone over when I had to buy a hammer drill as my regular drill wouldn't drill holes in my concrete slab :rolleyes: .

I have decorative wood trim that I will use. I thought about tile, but figured for the look I'm going for, wood trim (stained like the cab's) would be the best.

Have you looked into bar trim? I doubt the local home improvement stores would carry it, but I've seen it on the web. Really dresses up the area and would even add a little more overhang to your bar, I think.

The bar top is 12" while the overhang is about 8". In all honest, I wish I had it deeper, but with my room width, it was a far as I dare go. My plan going in was not to have it as deep as say a table, but I hate bars with no overhang, so I compomised. The total 12" bar top was figured based on mainly only having glasses on the bar, but it is large enough for a plate if we have so many people that someone (or maybe kids) need to eat up there. And of course once I decided to tile the bar top, I wanted it the same size as the tile so minimize cutting.

I certainly understand wanting to minimize the tile cutting...smart move there.

18" cab's were $70 ea and I used three. The 30" was like $120 (it was so much more as it had a bank of drawers). On the long portion of the bar I was actually hoping to use a 30 and 36 in cab, but they were out of the 36 and they weren't sure when they would get. The Lowe's/Home Depots in my area had very little in the way of vanity and all they did have were stained a light honey color.

Thanks for the price info. I guess I'm lucky, as my Lowes has some 18" cabs with drawers or doors in unfinished condition. They're "builder grade" too, but I'm like you, I don't really need anything beyond that. I haven't looked at Home Depot though.

[B]A corner unit would have made life easier, but the place I got the cab's didn't have any in this quality. These are cheap "builders grade" cab's, tho I am happy with them. They had much, much fancier cab's (Home Depot had some to) that had detail work, etc, but most of these were $400+ for a single 30" cab. I suppose it depends are you budget.

I saw an unfinished corner cab at Lowes when I went, that's why I asked. Can't remember the price, but it had the pull-out double door, which would add a lot of storage room to the space.

Thanks I really appreciate it. Like I say, mainly learning as I go and one day spent about three hours walking around Lowes getting ideas on what would work, look good and be in my budget. My original budget was $1,000 for the entire bar, sink and frig. I have not added everything up, but I will be really close. I may have gone over when I had to buy a hammer drill as my regular drill wouldn't drill holes in my concrete slab :rolleyes: .

Gotta love when the job calls for a new tool to add to the collection. :)

Have you looked into bar trim? I doubt the local home improvement stores would carry it, but I've seen it on the web. Really dresses up the area and would even add a little more overhang to your bar, I think.

I'll have to check it out. Do you happen to have a link or anythng?

I saw an unfinished corner cab at Lowes when I went, that's why I asked. Can't remember the price, but it had the pull-out double door, which would add a lot of storage room to the space.

Really? And these were 18" deep cabinets? The Lowes and HD had almost nothing that was 18" deep. They had a nice selection of kitchen cabinets, but of course those were 24" deep which was more then I wanted. If you can get a variaty of cabinets, 18" deep that would work well.

Here you go:

http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=5762&cookietest=1

I got that link from Hey Now's thread on his bar build (he posted earlier here in your thread). His thread is good for info too, check it out:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=640633

As for the 18" cabs at Lowes, they definitely had them, both with drawers and doors. I don't want kitchen-depth cabs for my bar either, that's why I was looking at the 18 inchers.

Here you go:

http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=5762&cookietest=1

I got that link from Hey Now's thread on his bar build (he posted earlier here in your thread). His thread is good for info too, check it out:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=640633

As for the 18" cabs at Lowes, they definitely had them, both with drawers and doors. I don't want kitchen-depth cabs for my bar either, that's why I was looking at the 18 inchers.

Thanks for the links. I had thought about the armrest type trip, but nixed it. Mainly due to budget (that stuff is expensive!). But it is nice!

It is great that Lowes has a good selection of 18" cabs for you, I had to drive half way across town to find these and I live in Dallas!

Since my home theater will have a "futuristic" theme to it, I'm going to go with an illuminated glass block bar like these photos (not mine, just some ideas from the web). Glass blocks are reasonable and definitely heavy duty enough for a bar.

http://www.starstones.com/assets/images/GLASS_BLOCK_BAR_WITH_TRADITIONAL_FIBER_OPTICS_medium.jpg http://www.glassblockinnovations.com/images/bar_optic.gif

Since my home theater will have a "futuristic" theme to it, I'm going to go with an illuminated glass block bar like these photos (not mine, just some ideas from the web). Glass blocks are reasonable and definitely heavy duty enough for a bar.

http://www.starstones.com/assets/images/GLASS_BLOCK_BAR_WITH_TRADITIONAL_FIBER_OPTICS_medium.jpg http://www.glassblockinnovations.com/images/bar_optic.gif

Nice! Would have not thought of glass block, excellent idea!

You are right, a different look. Since I'm going more for an Irish/Scottish/English pub look, I don't think I would go with glass, but it is a neat look.

In fact, I think I'm going to nix my tin back splash. I'm using a 5" decorative trim in a couple of areas including the front "kick plate". It looks like it would work perfect as the back splash and since I will stain the rest of the cab's think it might just do the trick.

Since my home theater will have a "futuristic" theme to it, I'm going to go with an illuminated glass block bar like these photos (not mine, just some ideas from the web). Glass blocks are reasonable and definitely heavy duty enough for a bar.

http://www.starstones.com/assets/images/GLASS_BLOCK_BAR_WITH_TRADITIONAL_FIBER_OPTICS_medium.jpg http://www.glassblockinnovations.com/images/bar_optic.gif


I'm a wood and brass guy, but you have to love that!!! Excellent work.

Since my home theater will have a "futuristic" theme to it, I'm going to go with an illuminated glass block bar like these photos (not mine, just some ideas from the web). Glass blocks are reasonable and definitely heavy duty enough for a bar.

http://www.starstones.com/assets/images/GLASS_BLOCK_BAR_WITH_TRADITIONAL_FIBER_OPTICS_medium.jpg http://www.glassblockinnovations.com/images/bar_optic.gif

Ditto on the previous comments (my bar will be a little too traditional for this), but I love the way this looks. Very Miami Vice, but in a good way! ;)

Here's some things I did. We're not finished yet though. I'm looking to build a back bar very similar to HeyNow's. I'm not thrilled with the painted bottom of the bar so I think I'll be covering that in some stained wood, again like HeyNow's....good job!

One thing I was trying to accomplish was to keep the bar area functional after my 7 year old boy is 15 years old and is trying to get to my liqour with his buddies and all the girlfriends! The solution was when we framed out the basement we made a 5x12 foot room directly behind where the bar would sit. I found a garden gate that has a solid bolt lock in order to look a bit more decorative, the alternative would have been an exterior style door with a deadbolt. The kegerator is in the back room along with a full size frig. I drilled a hole through the drywall and back of the cabinetry and ran the beer lines up into the laminate back bar counter top. When not using the liqour it just gets locked up in the back room and I just unhook the beer keg (the second tap is root beer).

For those putting a bar together now I would suggest as large a bar sink as you can accomodate and as long as you are doing plumbing attach a dishwasher. Nothing better than having friends over for the game and when done throwing everything in the dishwasher before going up for the night.

Photos are too large to paste here so here's the links to my gallery.

Randy


Full Bar Area (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=7460496#)

Back Bar (http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php/photo/20429/cat/500/ppuser/61836)

Room Behind Bar (http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php/photo/20430/cat/500/ppuser/61836)

Nice! The garden gate gives a great look. (When our 10 year old neighbor turns 15 we'll have to start locking our backdoor :) )

Chiliman,

Wonderful space you have there. Re; the sink... We had a large double sink in the counter before I began my project and it was too big. It left me with very little counter top area. I then went with the small bar sink...it's too small. I think (as Goldilocks would say) a single sink will be just right! I plan on putting in a new counter top and single sink.

One other thing...when they turn to teenagers they can be very resourceful....plan on it. Sounds like you are! We already know most of the tricks anyway. :) I've raised three boys and each of them had their moments!

Chiliman,

Wonderful space you have there. Re; the sink... We had a large double sink in the counter before I began my project and it was too big. It left me with very little counter top area. I then went with the small bar sink...it's too small. I think (as Goldilocks would say) a single sink will be just right! I plan on putting in a new counter top and single sink.

One other thing...when they turn to teenagers they can be very resourceful....plan on it. Sounds like you are! We already know most of the tricks anyway. :) I've raised three boys and each of them had their moments!


The sink thing was from my past experience too. The basement of our last house was very similar but one thing that I was always griping about was if I put 2 glasses in my sink it was full. The one we have now is a good 8 inches deep and 12-14 inches wide.

We'll see how the kids get in there, come 8 years from now, but I won't be too surprised when it happens!

Randy

Gotta love when the job calls for a new tool to add to the collection. :)Yeah, I just added a cordless angle drill and dremel type tool to my collection. Needed to drill some holes in 2x4 studs and needed the dremel tool to cut circles for in-ceiling speakers. Originally I bought a manual drywall circle cutter for less than $10, but as I was in the HD tool crib I couldn't pass up the $60 cordless tool. <sigh>

Where did you find the glass block design?

As far as small sinks go, you could add one of those big laundry type sinks to an adjacent back room. Or if you really hate to do dishes, buy one of those walmart microwave sized dishwashers. I was thinking about buying one...anyone have any experiences using one? or does anyone know how well they work?

As far as small sinks go, you could add one of those big laundry type sinks to an adjacent back room. Or if you really hate to do dishes, buy one of those walmart microwave sized dishwashers. I was thinking about buying one...anyone have any experiences using one? or does anyone know how well they work?

Will have to look into that...seems like the perfect thing for washing just glasses...

You are right, a different look. Since I'm going more for an Irish/Scottish/English pub look, I don't think I would go with glass, but it is a neat look.


What? You can still have glass block and an Irish/Scottish/English -GERMAN pub look....just not full block :) .

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/91.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/90.jpg

I'm waiting to cover and complete the bar last since it's the most expensive and time consuming. I wanted to get my HT up and running first!

This is the look I'm going for just with lighter wood and no columns:

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/00BarIdea.jpg

I like your fridge. It looks like the same I want to use behind mine. Did you get it at HD?

What? You can still have glass block and an Irish/Scottish/English -GERMAN pub look....just not full block :) .

I'm waiting to cover and complete the bar last since it's the most expensive and time consuming. I wanted to get my HT up and running first!

This is the look I'm going for just with lighter wood and no columns:

I like your fridge. It looks like the same I want to use behind mine. Did you get it at HD?

Very nice. I have been working out of town so haven't made any more progress on my bar, hopefully in a couple of weeks.

I actually got the frig at Sams. Here is the link to it on Wal-Marts site:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3192254

I have been working out of town and got no farther on my bar. My wife was ever so nice and called our tile guy and had him do the bar top for me! Yea, will save me a ton of time when I get home. And since our tile guy does our stuff "on the side" I know it was really inexpensive! Son is sending me a photo or two.

My son e-mailed me a couple of pic's. As mentioned, my wife called our tile guy and had the granite tile installed on my bar for me. I travel home tomorrow so hopefully can finish the bar up. From the photos, I like the bar top, I was hoping for a little smaller grout lines, but that is ok. Save me time in doing it myself and was inexpensive (less then $200 labor only).

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/174/barpic10df.jpg

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/1314/barpic45nb.jpg

WOW!! What a classy look! I'm going to go find some black granite and change my bar top. I love the look of your bar. Nice work! Have you decided on what kind of bar railing you are going with? Or are you just going to trim the outside?

Looking good, Sdallnct...

What kind of finish is that on the front paneling of your bar?

WOW!! What a classy look! I'm going to go find some black granite and change my bar top. I love the look of your bar. Nice work! Have you decided on what kind of bar railing you are going with? Or are you just going to trim the outside?

I found the black granite tiles at Lowes. I doubt I'm going to put any sort of bar railing, I think I would have had to plan for that before this point, so likely just trim. I had some decorative wood trim I was going to use, but it may be a little busy and take away from the tiles. So I might just stain a piece of plane wood and glue/nail it on.

Looking good, Sdallnct...

What kind of finish is that on the front paneling of your bar?

Well believe it or not that is really cheap "photo finish" paneling. Well actually it is not paneling but wanes coat (sp?). It is sold in like 4X5 sheets, and I have cut some to fit, but have not installed yet, also picked up at Lowes. I was going to go with bead board paneling and stain it, but I really liked this "leather" look to the paneling, so I'm going to install it and see how it holds up. It is so cheap if it gets beat up, or I really don't like it, I won't feel bad about taking off and replacing (it was like $7 a sheet and I will use 5 sheets). But as it is pretty thin paneling, that is why I installed the insulation board between the supports to give it some extra support.

Some details going in on the bar. Still not finished as I keep having to go out of town, but getting close....

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/6425/20asyouwalkinmedium7nn.jpg

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/8725/18closeuptrimbehndmedium5lz.jpg

Beautiful! I really like the stain color and the granite. Nice work.

Neuner: Any further on your bar? New pictures?

Getting ready to start thinking about what type of design I'm going to go with.

:( No, I'm getting the bathroom wrapped up and some of the molding done. I've started looking for the pieces I need to finish the bar, so at least I'm *thinking* about starting it. I need to find the Bar Rail so I know how to construct the top to fit it. This thread highlights my hunt: Bar Rail (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=701635)

I've also started another project of ripping off our rotten deck and patio door and installing a concrete patio. It's really eating into my time also!

Patio & Sidewalk Project (http://www.h-i-forum.com/showthread.php?t=38)

Well, my bar is making some progress, now that the theater room is pretty much complete. Cabinets got installed yesterday. I think it looks pretty good. The center cabinets will have glass doors and apparently there was problem, so they had to reorder them.
http://images14.fotki.com/v336/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1584-vi.jpg

Better shot of the base cabinets. Lazy Susan in the corner.
http://images14.fotki.com/v335/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1585-vi.jpg

Dishwasher goes on the right. Cabinet for the sink in the center. Drawers on left for stuff like bottle openers, can openers, coasters, crap like that.
http://images18.fotki.com/v331/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1586-vi.jpg

Couple more:
http://images14.fotki.com/v336/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1587-vi.jpg
http://images14.fotki.com/v335/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1594-vi.jpg
http://images14.fotki.com/v335/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1596-vi.jpg

I have the front part of the bar to do. I was thinking of a wainscot or panel system on the front (where you see unfinished drywall). I'm thinking of maybe doing the top part of the bar in your traditional wooden top with a bar rail and doing granite on top of the base cabinets. I'm going to have to either match the stain on the cabinets or do a complimentary color or paint.

Bud

Here's what I'm proposing for the front of the bar. Any comments or ideas?http://images18.fotki.com/v328/photos/6/649633/3817012/barfront4-vi.jpg

Bud

Bud,

I thought about raised panels for my bar. I gave it a couple of weeks sitting at the bar and pondering how I would do it. I thought about making my own, or finding a cabinet door source and just attaching them to the front of the bar. I have a fair size overhang on my bar (about 12 inches) but I can sometimes still touch the bar with my knees. I began to think that banging my knee on a flat panel was not quite as bad as hitting a raised panel or trim. Granted it looks awesome when you see trim or panels on the front of bars. However, I went for a more functional front. I am thinking that perhaps in the future making some faux panels with very flat trim pieces. Jury is still out on that one. I still have to install bottom kick plates, but Lowes wide oak trim pieces are very expensive. I'm thinking of just getting oak 1X6's and routing one edge.

BTW your cabinets and bar are fantastic as usual!

Bud...

I have been working on plans myself, and I was going to use the same look on the front of my bar as you have in the picture.

The biggest problem I have to consider, is the lack of water and power at the arear I want to build my bar. I don't think power will be a huge issue, as I have to have my electrician in to wire the computer room (unfinished office) that will share a wall with the bar, but water is a whole other story. Might just have to use a tub and carry the dishes upstairs to wash. :(

Bud, I really like the recessed panel design. It will give it a great look! Will you be covering this in wood or paint & trim?

I have a fair size overhang on my bar (about 12 inches) but I can sometimes still touch the bar with my knees. I began to think that banging my knee on a flat panel was not quite as bad as hitting a raised panel or trim.

I still have to install bottom kick plates, but Lowes wide oak trim pieces are very expensive. I'm thinking of just getting oak 1X6's and routing one edge.


I was thinking about how far to overhang my top. I've looked at a couple of bars (not too many, I'm married...with children :) ) and every one of them was different. Some had huge overhangs, and some without any at all, so I'm guessing there's no standard. How do you like the 12" overhang on yours and do you wish it hung out further? (Setup for an easy weiner joke).

I think I would route one edge myself. Even if you have to buy the bit which can be expensive, it should save from the premium of a tall trim piece.

Bud, I really like the recessed panel design. It will give it a great look! Will you be covering this in wood or paint & trim?



I was thinking about how far to overhang my top. I've looked at a couple of bars (not too many, I'm married...with children :) ) and every one of them was different. Some had huge overhangs, and some without any at all, so I'm guessing there's no standard. How do you like the 12" overhang on yours and do you wish it hung out further? (Setup for an easy weiner joke).

I think I would route one edge myself. Even if you have to buy the bit which can be expensive, it should save from the premium of a tall trim piece.


Neuner,

I guess it depends on the length of your legs. :) One thing I hate is a very shallow top and you have to sit staddle legged or at an angle (side saddle). My base plywood top is 9.5 inches overhang and a couple of inches more once the bar rail is installed. I still hit the darn stiles occasionally too! But after a couple of suds, it doesn't matter :)

My overhang was also limited to not sticking out too far by the hallway.

It's amazing that I find myself sitting at the bar most of the time while in the basement. The bar railing makes it very comfortable. The height of the bar is perfect for me and I don't have to lean forward too much. Besides the wife is watching chick flicks on the big screen and I get to watch what I want at the bar.

Mock up what you think you will have and test it out first. I made a bunch of adjustments doing this.

Here's what I'm proposing for the front of the bar. Any comments or ideas?http://images18.fotki.com/v328/photos/6/649633/3817012/barfront4-vi.jpg

Bud

Great bar....Nice job!

Where did you get the wall phone? I've been looking for a replica antique English/British wall phone for my bar and have had no luck.

Great bar....Nice job!

Where did you get the wall phone? I've been looking for a replica antique English/British wall phone for my bar and have had no luck.

Thanks. I got the phone from my father in law. He's collected a few from friends over the years. It's a 1950s Western Electric. I'm suppose to get some new guts for it from him to get it to work. It was a different color, like a salmon color, actually. I repainted it and found an old phone store online that was I able to by a black and white face sticker for it to finish it up.

Bud

Bud,

I thought about raised panels for my bar. I gave it a couple of weeks sitting at the bar and pondering how I would do it. I thought about making my own, or finding a cabinet door source and just attaching them to the front of the bar. I have a fair size overhang on my bar (about 12 inches) but I can sometimes still touch the bar with my knees. I began to think that banging my knee on a flat panel was not quite as bad as hitting a raised panel or trim. Granted it looks awesome when you see trim or panels on the front of bars. However, I went for a more functional front. I am thinking that perhaps in the future making some faux panels with very flat trim pieces. Jury is still out on that one. I still have to install bottom kick plates, but Lowes wide oak trim pieces are very expensive. I'm thinking of just getting oak 1X6's and routing one edge.

BTW your cabinets and bar are fantastic as usual!

Thanks Randy. I'm not sure I'd do anything too elaborate for the panels, just get some wood and route the edges so they're relatively flat, which would allow me to use some trim just to hold it in place. I expect that the overhand will be about 12 inches as well. I used one in our kitchen for dimensions, so the edge of the counter would be use at the end of the wall. I assumed I was going the granite route at that point, but again, thinking about doing the top in wood and the base cabinets in granite. Need to prototype.

Bud

Bud...

I have been working on plans myself, and I was going to use the same look on the front of my bar as you have in the picture.

The biggest problem I have to consider, is the lack of water and power at the arear I want to build my bar. I don't think power will be a huge issue, as I have to have my electrician in to wire the computer room (unfinished office) that will share a wall with the bar, but water is a whole other story. Might just have to use a tub and carry the dishes upstairs to wash. :(

I actually built the knee wall you see there in the picture and then had a plumber run the plumbing through the wall. I had used Home Depot's cabinet design services to figure out the basic layout so I could get the dimensions right and build the wall. I used a local cabinet manufacturer for the cabinets themselves. The HD design stuff is free.

Here were my basic plans from them, although the cabinets changed some.

http://images12.fotki.com/v252/photos/6/649633/2311872/bar1-vi.jpg?715680
http://images15.fotki.com/v234/photos/6/649633/2311872/bar2-vi.jpg?715650

Bud

Bud, I really like the recessed panel design. It will give it a great look! Will you be covering this in wood or paint & trim? I'm looking to stain everything once I figure out the details. Everything in dywall white you see should be stained to give it that classic look.

Bud

Did all you guys have water/sewer available for your bars or did some of you have to get creative? I'm wondering how much I'll miss having a sink and running water in my upcoming bar area project. I'm wondering if it is that big of deal. My sewage ejector pit/pump for the bathroom is no where near where my bar will be.

Hmph.....

Mine was relatively close and was able to tap into it. I have a seperate pump for the utility sink in my workshop though. That one is above ground. The bathroom/bar one is below. Any way to add a second?

Bud

Great bar....Nice job!

Where did you get the wall phone? I've been looking for a replica antique English/British wall phone for my bar and have had no luck.

Here's one like mine.
http://www.ahernstore.com/1950-payphone.html

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/ahernstore_1907_13349949

Bud

Randy,

Where did you get your barstools from?

Bud

Bud,

I got them at Sam's. Of course they don't carry them anymore. If you have one near you, check frequently because the styles change all the time. When we bought them, I stood there for over an hour debating whether to buy 4 or 5 of them knowing that I would NEVER be able to match them up in the future. Wife decided that 4 was sufficient. :) she was right.

Did all you guys have water/sewer available for your bars or did some of you have to get creative? I'm wondering how much I'll miss having a sink and running water in my upcoming bar area project. I'm wondering if it is that big of deal. My sewage ejector pit/pump for the bathroom is no where near where my bar will be.



How far is your run?

During my under slab inspection, I asked several questions of the inspector before I went any further. One of the questions was about the extensive run to my wet bar for the sewer line. His answer was for me to place it under the slab and come up in the stairwell wall next to my bar. There was no way that I was going to bust up that much of my slab and I disgreed with his interpretation of the code. I therefore installed joints in my bathroom plumbing so I could 'sneak' in the plumbing to my bar after the rough-in inspection and before the drywall went up. He stated that he was only filling in while my typical inspector was on vacation. I then found out that he was fired for taking 'gifts' and my regular inspector was pretty cool. I went ahead and installed as I planned and had my rough-in inspection and it was approved. Here are some pics showing what I did. I could have done a better job of the connection into the main line at the bathroom, but I did this when I thought I would be hiding it.

This is the connection into the bathroom plumbing. Bottom pvc is for the sewege line, the top is for the venting. Hot & Cold are tapped off of the shower:
http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/37.jpg


This is a pic of it snaking along and behind the stairs:
http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/38.jpg

Connections at the bar. I have since built a cabinet in that corner of the bar where the sink will be installed.
http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/39.jpg

Nice, and I found that store. I kind of like this one.

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/ahernstore_1907_11353909

But I was hoping to find one with a little more British feel. Maybe even one with the red box that swung open to reveal the phone?? Know what I'm talking about?




Here's one like mine.
http://www.ahernstore.com/1950-payphone.html

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/ahernstore_1907_13349949

Bud

I have the front part of the bar to do. I was thinking of a wainscot or panel system on the front (where you see unfinished drywall). I'm thinking of maybe doing the top part of the bar in your traditional wooden top with a bar rail and doing granite on top of the base cabinets. I'm going to have to either match the stain on the cabinets or do a complimentary color or paint.

Bud

Well I'm certainly happy with the wainscot/paneling I "skinned" my bar with. I even used a cheap photo finish wainscot that looks sort of like leather, then put some stained trim to cover seams.

However, now that I'm done and gotten use to staining, I can't help but wonder what real wood, say bead board panels/wainscot would look like. If you are using a nice rich, dark stain, I can only imagine would be awesome.

Another thing with the cheap paneling anyway, is I already have one little scratch. Not a big deal, I can probably cover with a brown sharpie or something. But it would probably be more durable if wood/stain then able to touch up stain if needed.

Oh...also an update! I installed my sink yesterday! YEA!!! A buddy was in town and we went and got some beer and decided to take it on our self! I had called our plumber be he had been so busy he wasn't sure when he could come out and since we didn't even have rough in done, it was going to charge a little over $300 at least. So we went and bought about $60 worth of stuff and knocked it out in about 3 hours. And I didn't flood the house!!! I went surprisingly smooth. The wall I was putting the sink on had plumbing as the other side is the kitchen sink. And I figured I could do the supply lines easy enough, but I wasn't sure how to tie into the drain line and keep it all in the wall. But we actually had very little problem! That PVC pipe is slick. Pretty much like a jig saw puzzle. An angle here and angle there and it was done!

I'll try to post more pic's within a few days...

Here's a couple of pics of different British phones in booths. I thought of trying to find one of those, as I've seen them come up on eB*y occassionally, but ended up going with the same phone that Bud bought. Works well and looks good. And I figured that few friends/family would know the difference.

Actually, mine is authentic, just doesn't work at the moment. Its a Western Electric from the 50s. My father-in-law had it. I got that and a 40's barber chair. Cleaned up pretty well, although has a tear on the seat that's been taped. It's in the garage, but I'll be moving it shortly.

Bud

Actually, mine is authentic,Nice-- my replica's ok, but there's a different level of construction and feel with the authentics. I had bid on a few, but the price on them in any kind of shape seems to creep up to over $200 pretty quickly, and then when you add on $50 or so to ship those beasts, it just made the case for me to get a replica.

Actually, they're quite heavy. I had to make sure I hit a stud when I hung it. I think they typically put a plate on the wall then screw the phone to the plate. I didn't have the plate, so I had to wing it.

Bud

I had to do some winging with the replica as well. While it mounts on a standard phone wall mount, it sticks out about 1/4" from the wall, giving it a loose feel on the wall. So I had to build a wall plate to firm it to the wall.

I ordered 30" bar stools for my bar...finally. I found a deal at JCPenney's and free shipping, so bought four to get started. These have backs and swivel. I will eventually get an additional two or three more plain stools with no backs to fill in when we have that many people.

But my question...I want to go ahead a buy a stool for the bartender work area. What size? Should I get 30" so will be sitting at the same height as guests or 24" so it will be lower to work on the back bar area? I'm thinking 30" as I can't imagine even pouring a beer while sitting down, so mostly would stand up to mix hand a drink then sit back down to have one with guests.

Not sure, I'm curious as well. Can you link to the bar stools you bought? Would love to see them.

Bud

BTW, the guy was here today and did the templates for my bar counter and concession area. I'm going granite all around. It's call St Cecilia. I decided to do it on the base cabinets and the bar top. One less thing for me to do. It'll make it a little more "kitchenie", but I'm OK with that. Got a pretty good deal, better than expected.

It'll look similar to this:
http://www.stonelocator.com/images/thumbnails/StCeciliaDark.JPG

Bud

Did all you guys have water/sewer available for your bars or did some of you have to get creative? I'm wondering how much I'll miss having a sink and running water in my upcoming bar area project. I'm wondering if it is that big of deal. My sewage ejector pit/pump for the bathroom is no where near where my bar will be.

Hmph.....

I had the same issue for my bar area. My plumber recommended a drain pump system that pumps the waste water up to your standard drain pipes.

Here is a link to the unit that he put in for me.

Zoeller pump (http://www.zoeller.com/zcopump/products/homeimprove/drainpump.htm)

I had the same issue for my bar area. My plumber recommended a drain pump system that pumps the waste water up to your standard drain pipes.

Here is a link to the unit that he put in for me.

Zoeller pump (http://www.zoeller.com/zcopump/products/homeimprove/drainpump.htm)

Well that is the main reason I didn't put a sink in my bar, I didn't want to "run" plumbing. However the wall behind the bar is common to my kichen. So I put in a free standing vanity type sink behind the bar and pretty much just lined it up just opposite to the kitchen sink. So everything there. I figure I will mainly use a sink to dump glasses in, wash hands, etc. Since the kitchen is right there I'm sure I'll just take stuff there to be really cleaned.

I need to post some new pic's so you can see.....

Not sure, I'm curious as well. Can you link to the bar stools you bought? Would love to see them.

Bud

Well we bought them based on price. Wife and I could not agree. And if we were going to spend $300 or whatever on custom, we did not want to be rushed. So I ordered some close out of JCP's for $50 ea with free shipping. I see they are now up to $60 ea, but there is no longer a pic available.

If you look up item number IF781-9782F at the JCPenney site you will get the item, but no pic. I'm still looking.

They look sort of like this one only with a web back

http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/ProductsHOM.aspx?DeptID=25439&CatID=27114&CatTyp=DEP&ItemTyp=G&GrpTyp=STY&ItemID=0da56b5&ProdSeq=1&ProdCount=91&Dep=housewares&RefPage=SearchDepartment&ShowMenu=T&ShopBy=0&SearchString=bar+stools&S4DeptID=25439&CmCatId=SearchResults

BTW, the guy was here today and did the templates for my bar counter and concession area. I'm going granite all around. It's call St Cecilia. I decided to do it on the base cabinets and the bar top. One less thing for me to do. It'll make it a little more "kitchenie", but I'm OK with that. Got a pretty good deal, better than expected.

It'll look similar to this:
http://www.stonelocator.com/images/thumbnails/StCeciliaDark.JPG

Bud

Very nice...should look great!

Bar sink pic's,

Here is what is looks like if you were walking by the bar or about to go behind the bar. The "window" above the sink is a pass thru to my kitchen and as you can see the sink is just on the other side of the opening. I still need to finish out this opening. (I believe originally the room where my bar is was open to the exterior for there really was a window in this pass thru. I simply removed the window when we did the kitchen).

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3179/copyofp7240004smallyd3.jpg

A close up. As you can see I added Guinness Opener and have a matching "cap catcher" on the way.

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/5633/copyofp7240002smallaj5.jpg

An angle shot of what it looks like behind the bar.

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/6302/behindbarsmalltf0.jpg

This is a "pub" table I picked up. Actually is a close out outdoor "bistro" set from Target. But the colors and such match perfect. The Aluminum framing matches almost exactly with my granite bar top. As you can see I still have some work to do on electrical switches and plugs.

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/8012/copyofp7240001smallsc5.jpg

They look sort of like this one only with a web back

http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/ProductsHOM.aspx?DeptID=25439&CatID=27114&CatTyp=DEP&ItemTyp=G&GrpTyp=STY&ItemID=0da56b5&ProdSeq=1&ProdCount=91&Dep=housewares&RefPage=SearchDepartment&ShowMenu=T&ShopBy=0&SearchString=bar+stools&S4DeptID=25439&CmCatId=SearchResults
Those are pretty nice. I know thats not exactly what you got. Are yours metal?

Bud

Those are pretty nice. I know thats not exactly what you got. Are yours metal?

Bud

Yup metal. Which I'm not totally thrilled about. But again, I just wanted to get something to put in there and I will continue to look for what I really want. I had friends over last weekend (one of whom helped me install the sink) and it was such a pain to just stand around. We ended taking our beers in the media room which while not bad, is not really set up to just sit around and talk. It is set up to watch a movie!

They should have been here yesterday and doesn't look like will make it today. And since they are shipped directly from the dealer, I can't track the shipping on the JCP web site. I'll take pic's and report back once they come in....

So here is what the bar looks like dry fit with the new framing for the panels. So far, so good. Next Saturday I go to the place that can match the stain for me.

http://images18.fotki.com/v339/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1631-vi.jpg
http://images18.fotki.com/v339/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1630-vi.jpg

Still figuring out the panels and the molding themselves. I also ordered corbels to support the granite:
http://www.premierwood.com/catalog/ProdImages/cosmocorbel%20LRg.jpg
http://www.premierwood.com/catalog/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=835

The granite is scheduled for install on the 30th.

Bud

My bar stools finally came in. I put one together this morning.

The good,

-match well in the room with black aluminum frame including "web" back
-small foot print, don't take up a lot of room
-swivel is really a "lazy susan" that can just spin with no "spring back". I like that

The bad,

-while they have a back, it is pretty low. OK for sitting but looks odd with the chair empty
-they are a low seat. They really stretch to call this a 30" chair. Again, not bad when sitting in it, but looks small just sitting there. I measure and including the cushion it is just barely 29.5", but then when you sit the cushion compresses by about 2.5 inches. Course I may have built my bar a little high
-seems a little easy to tip over when sitting in it. But I am a big heavy guy

Now remember I only paid $50 per chair with free shipping on these. So I got four of them for the price of one decent chair.

My bar will pretty easily seat 6 and maybe 7, but I didn't want that many chairs in there all the time. So my plan was to have four nice matching stools always sitting around the bar and then have 2-3 other in the garage or whatever available if I need them when having a party. So I think I will continue to look for four nice stools, and rotate these to the "fill in" chairs when needed.

I'll try to post a pic later once I get them all built.

I'm finally getting a chance to work on mine a little more. It's taking some time since I'm finishing all of the molding and woodwork in my basement at the same time.

It looks contemporary, but this will change as soon as I start adding the finish trim around the lights and edges.

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/112.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/113.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/114.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/115.jpg

I'm finally getting a chance to work on mine a little more. It's taking some time since I'm finishing all of the molding and woodwork in my basement at the same time.

It looks contemporary, but this will change as soon as I start adding the finish trim around the lights and edges.



That is awesome! I'm so jealous of you guys that have basements, all that room!

I like the glass in the middle of the panels. Like your lights. I had some lights picked out at Lowes and they went on clearence, now I can't find them....

As promised, pics of my new bar stools. To recap, could not agree with wife on bar stools, especially with the money we were looking at. Was tired of no where to sit, so found these on close out from JCP's for $50 ea w/free shipping.

See my pro's and con's in my prior post. The height actually works about perfect. And the overhang is just fine. Sure a little more room would have been better, but I didn't want to take up that much space in the room.

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/3706/p8090053smallpf0.jpg
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/4988/p8090055smallxc7.jpg
http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/5193/p8090057smallkv4.jpg

Very nice!

Bud

Here are the granite shots of the bar. Faucet is not attached, just stuck it in the hole. I'll work on my wood front this weekend.

http://images18.fotki.com/v346/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1653-vi.jpg
http://images18.fotki.com/v346/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1654-vi.jpg

Bud

I think those bar stools look very nice!

Here are the granite shots of the bar. Faucet is not attached, just stuck it in the hole. I'll work on my wood fron this weekend.

http://images18.fotki.com/v346/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1653-vi.jpg

Bud

That top turned out great! I seriously thought about going engineered stone (quartz) as that is what we did out kitchen, but it really would have blown the budget out of the water (it would have been more for the top then everthing else in the room combined!), so I went with granite tile. But I sure like how yours looks.

I see the 2X4 supports, are you going to have to add some bracing? How big is the over hang?

I think those bar stools look very nice!

Thanks, you are kind. I'm not "unhappy" with them, but glad they were so cheap or I would not have liked them at all. And it will be nice having something in there over the holiday weekend.

I think, I want to look for wood stools in a dark stain. With all the wood trim pieces I have all over the bar, I think a nice dark wooden bar stool would look much better then the metal.

I see the 2X4 supports, are you going to have to add some bracing? How big is the over hang?

I have the panels built for the front of the bar, we did that last weekend. I also have 9 corbels on hand that I need to stain as well. Should be a productive weekend, assuming it doesn't rain. I want to do my staining outside.

Here's what the front panels an d corbels will look like. The overhang is about 9 inches.

http://images18.fotki.com/v348/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1639-vi.jpg
http://images18.fotki.com/v287/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1641-vi.jpg

Bud

Bud-- your panels look fantastic.

Thanks, you are kind. I'm not "unhappy" with them, but glad they were so cheap or I would not have liked them at all. And it will be nice having something in there over the holiday weekend.

I think, I want to look for wood stools in a dark stain. With all the wood trim pieces I have all over the bar, I think a nice dark wooden bar stool would look much better then the metal.

Yeah, you're right, that would look better. Although the black goes nicely with your black granite countertop.

Having extra stools is good though, for overflow crowds.

Bud-- your panels look fantastic.

Thanks. Can't wait to see how it looks stained.

Bud

I have the panels built for the front of the bar, we did that last weekend. I also have 9 corbels on hand that I need to stain as well. Should be a productive weekend, assuming it doesn't rain. I want to do my staining outside.

Here's what the front panels an d corbels will look like. The overhang is about 9 inches.

Bud

Yup, stain outside if at all possible. I "learned to stain" during this project and while it seems easy, I learned quickly you have to have patience. On my cabinets and trim, I sanded everything before starting, two coats of stain with sanding in between then two coats of clear coat, sanding in between. Between the messy staining and sanding, I'm very glad I did it outside.

Staining is a major PITA. Messy too. Best attempted outside where you can minimize the mess.

Staining is a major PITA. Messy too. Best attempted outside where you can minimize the mess.
My wife did our staining, which included the ceiling behind the bar. After a couple of hours of hearing her cursing like a sailor, she emerged, splotched like a leopard with Miniwaw Red Sedona #222. Oh, and it's oil-based as well, so it doesn't clean up with water (but covers and penetrates beautifully). She showered, scrubbing with Comet to get it off.

I have the panels built for the front of the bar, we did that last weekend. I also have 9 corbels on hand that I need to stain as well. Should be a productive weekend, assuming it doesn't rain. I want to do my staining outside.

Here's what the front panels an d corbels will look like. The overhang is about 9 inches.

Bud

I have 8" overhang and do wish it was an inch or two more, but it works fine.

I see what you did now. I have 8" granite tile overhang and did not add outside bracing. But I built up the top with 3/4" OSB and then 1/4" cement backer board the exact size of the tile, before putting the tile on.

I really like the nice clean look you got.

Sounds familiar.

Kudos on passing off the job to the wife. Well done. :D

Sounds familiar.

Kudos on passing off the job to the wife. Well done. :D
A good manager knows when to do the work and when to delegate it. :D


(please don't tell my wife I said that)

A good manager knows when to do the work and when to delegate it. :D


(please don't tell my wife I said that)

Yikes. Don't worry, I won't. I wouldn't want to have a guy's death on my conscience. ;)

A special note/warning for those going with granite:

I was really cleaning up the bar this morning and noticed I had a water stain or two on my granite tiles. Now I have been pretty careful (but it is a bar). And after installing I did seal the tile (maybe I need to do it again). It is not enough to worry about (it is on the bartenders side), but it did catch my attention. I do have coasters and napkins.

Now it is possible that these are not the highest quality granite and maybe I should seal them again. But for those using granite you might read up and follow recommendations closely so you don't have an issue with staining.

Here are the final pictures of the bar with the stained panels/corbels installed. I jsut need some quarter round and thats it for now. I may do a foot rail at some point.

http://images18.fotki.com/v345/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1680-vi.jpg
http://images18.fotki.com/v346/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1681-vi.jpg
http://images18.fotki.com/v341/photos/6/649633/3817012/100_1682-vi.jpg

Bud

A special note/warning for those going with granite:

I was really cleaning up the bar this morning and noticed I had a water stain or two on my granite tiles. Now I have been pretty careful (but it is a bar). And after installing I did seal the tile (maybe I need to do it again). It is not enough to worry about (it is on the bartenders side), but it did catch my attention. I do have coasters and napkins.

Now it is possible that these are not the highest quality granite and maybe I should seal them again. But for those using granite you might read up and follow recommendations closely so you don't have an issue with staining.

I know that if you don't seal it, you may get water marks, depending on the stone. I was told to seal mine twice a year for the lighter colors and once a year for the darker (we have a dark granite in our kitchen). I haven't seen any stains yet. It may be less noticeable with granite that has mutliple colors in it as well.

Bud

Here are the final pictures of the bar with the stained panels/corbels installed. I jsut need some quarter round and thats it for now. I may do a foot rail at some point.


Gorgeous! I'd definately add some foot-rail, but that's just my opinion. You can get it in silver (stainless looking) or brass for sure.

Great job!!

Here are the final pictures of the bar with the stained panels/corbels installed. I jsut need some quarter round and thats it for now. I may do a foot rail at some point.

Bud

Very, very nice! Very classy looking.

I know that if you don't seal it, you may get water marks, depending on the stone. I was told to seal mine twice a year for the lighter colors and once a year for the darker (we have a dark granite in our kitchen). I haven't seen any stains yet. It may be less noticeable with granite that has mutliple colors in it as well.

Bud

Well my granite tiles are black. I think I'm going to pick up some more seal and do it again. I was more worried about the grout then the tile, but looks like I'm going to have to watch out for the tiles as well.

BTW, I picked up a wooden bar caddy set from this place,

http://alcoholcontrols.barstore.com/

It looks like this only I got the cherry wood set,

http://www.kegworks.com/images/product-images/t_18861.jpg

Works really well even for day to day stuff. The set I got also came with two coaster holders, and 6 compartment condiment holder.

But the multi function piece the I put the image in is the most useful piece for me. Napkins, coasters, openers, toothpicks, all handy in one organized small "box".

Thanks guys. I think it turned out well. Still waiting on my glass doors, the ones installed were the wrong ones. I need to install the dishwasher and hook up the faucet as well. Oh and reverse the door on the fridge. Still need to figure out the backsplash as well.

I don't think I'd go with a brass footrail, but will likely add something at some point.

Bud

I don't think I'd go with a brass footrail, but will likely add something at some point.

Bud

I think that is a good call. As soon as I finished my bar, I was going to add one cause it "really looked like it needed it". But once I added bar stools you almost don't look down there anymore.

Where are you needing the backsplash? Just on the bar itself or above the sink/frig as well?

Definately around the sink area, but would likely continue under the wall cabinets. I just don't want it to look more like a kitchen, so tile is out. I don't think I want a mirror and wanted to something a little more creative. Someone mentioned stamped copper. I was also thinking about using tin ceiling tiles, assuming I found the right look. Not sure though.

Bud

I used the tin ceiling tiles for the back splash in my kitchen. It is fairly easy to work with. You will need a couple of pairs of good tin snips and a metal bit for a drill. I just glued mine on (liqued nail) and didn't mess with nails.

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/1655/p7210070smallnv6.jpghttp://img451.imageshack.us/img451/3681/p7210069smallwz8.jpg

I was planning on using the left over tin for the backsplash on the bar. However, I had some left over wood molding that fit perfectly, so I used that instead. I only had the area behind the bar to do.

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/8725/18closeuptrimbehndmedium5lz.jpg

That looks pretty nice. Are those a dark silver or are they more black? Wasn't sure if the flash washed out the color.

Bud

I like the idea of the tin ceiling tiles as a backsplash. I've been trying to decide how to do a backsplash in my kitchen for a while now. I think I might steal that idea. :)

Bud - Your bar looks great. What stain did you use, btw?

Sdall - Weren't you considering a bar-table like BuffBakerGA awhile back? If so, I've updated the thread in the theater room forum with my project.

That looks pretty nice. Are those a dark silver or are they more black? Wasn't sure if the flash washed out the color.

Bud

These are sort of a silver/grey background and if you look closely you see sort of black specks, if the makes sense.

Personally, I liked the tins, but didn't like the color. My wife picked the color so I'll giver her the credit or the blame. But she likes it, so guess that is all that matters.

We ordered about 12 samples before deciding on which color to get. We got from,

http://www.americantinceilings.com/?source=adwords&campaign=2353974&adgroup=8359134&keyword=14514480&wcw=google&gclid=CMfhzIOTmYcCFRZXWAoddBBCbQ

They have a section on using them as back splashes. It really is easy, tho remember this is tin. I cut my finger pretty good once. Here is the FAQ's for doing a back splash. BTW, they talk about adding trim to "finish" the ends. I just planned it where I any visible ends were "factory finished" so I really didn't bother with any trim. I had also added under counter lights, and they do reflect off the tin a little and look nice.

I noticed they added a note about uneven cutting with tin snips. This is VERY true. Now in my situation, I was planning on adding under counter lights, so when I had the cabinets installed I had them do a light rail. So when I cut the tins, I put the cut end at the top, where unless you stick your head under the counter, you can't see it. But if you don't have a light rail, you might follow their suggestion and have them cut. In my case I got luck and only wasted two pieces. I was able to slide the cut portion behind the microwave, so again, you don't see anything uneven. I ended up with a pretty clean look. Only one seem didn't come out like I wanted, but it is back in the corner where you don't see it.

http://www.americantinceilings.com/products/backsplash/backsplash-faq.html

Thanks for the links, I'll check it out. I have Tin snips and from my previous work doing some HVAC, you're right, ragged edge. I was thinking that if you left a 1/2 or so extra on the edge you cut you could probably fold the extra over and flatten it out creating a clean line. Not sure how think the panels are though. When I was forming an in-wall return, i clamped some sheet metal between a few 2x4s and folded it over to get a straight line. Might work, not sure.

Bud

Bud - Your bar looks great. What stain did you use, btw?
Thanks. I found out about a place that does stain matching. I wanted to match the color of the front of the bar with the new cabinets. You bring in a sample that you want to match, like a door and a piece of scrap wood you want to use and they'll mix up a stain for you. In my case, there was a pre-made stain (#235, but don't remember the color name) that was very close, so I went with that. Apparently the stain is popular among woodworkers, the guy that helped me make the panels owns a cabinet shop and he swears by the stuff. They also made wood fillers for all sorts of woods.

It's called Wood Finishers Supply (http://www.woodfinisherssupply.com/nof-index.shtml) and they have multiple locations/distributors, including the one here close to me. Click on the complete list of locations (http://www.woodfinisherssupply.com/distributors.shtml).

Bud

Thanks for the links, I'll check it out. I have Tin snips and from my previous work doing some HVAC, you're right, ragged edge. I was thinking that if you left a 1/2 or so extra on the edge you cut you could probably fold the extra over and flatten it out creating a clean line. Not sure how think the panels are though. When I was forming an in-wall return, i clamped some sheet metal between a few 2x4s and folded it over to get a straight line. Might work, not sure.

Bud

Sounds like you have more experience then I do with the metal. I had no luck folding or bending the tin. For example, in the one corner I had, I was just going to use a single piece, bent at the corner. I couldn't get it straight or tight enough, so I cut the piece. But again, with your experience, you might make it work.

You can order samples (like we did for color) and that might give you a hint as to what might work. Also, you might be able to rent or borrow as heavy duty guillotine cutter. I would think this would give you a straight line.

Overall I'm happy with the look and how it installed. I wanted a more nuetral color, but wife one out on that....but I'm not bitter ;)

I like the idea of the tin ceiling tiles as a backsplash. I've been trying to decide how to do a backsplash in my kitchen for a while now. I think I might steal that idea. :)

Bud - Your bar looks great. What stain did you use, btw?

Sdall - Weren't you considering a bar-table like BuffBakerGA awhile back? If so, I've updated the thread in the theater room forum with my project.

Steal away!

can you post a link, I can't seem to find your thread....I bought a small outdoor bistro set, but I might be interested in building something....

Steal away!

can you post a link, I can't seem to find your thread....I bought a small outdoor bistro set, but I might be interested in building something....

Here you go:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=676030

In looking at the thread, I must've gotten you mixed up with another poster, as I don't see where you posted there, but hopefully it'll be some use anyway!

Here you go:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=676030

In looking at the thread, I must've gotten you mixed up with another poster, as I don't see where you posted there, but hopefully it'll be some use anyway!

Nice bar top for the HT Room. No I don't have room for that. My rear row of within about 9" of my rear wall. And the seats rock!

I was looking for like a free standing pub table to build. I have a free corner open in my bar, and my wife doesn't like sitting at a bar (she is short) so she really wanted a "small pub table/bistro table".

We have picked one up from Target on sale...but always looking for another DIY project (tho I seem to have plenty to do).

Bud and other who built a knee wall . . .

What height and width did you use? 40.5" for a 1.5" top? Use 2"x6" lumber? How does the bar top (granite) mount to the top of the wall?

Scott

Bud and other who built a knee wall . . .

What height and width did you use? 40.5" for a 1.5" top? Use 2"x6" lumber? How does the bar top (granite) mount to the top of the wall?

Scott

Scott,

Just replied to your PM. 2x6 construction definitely. Helps to run the PVC for the sink. My raw framed knee wall was 42". Keep flooring in mind when you figure that out, if you use solid wood floors, you'll lost 3/4 inch. Granite was about 1.5". I recommend using Home Depot design to lay out the bar/cabinets. It doesn't cost anything and at least you'll have all the dimensions to build from. The granite is attached with silicon.

Bud

for those of you who have built your bars, what is a good distance to use for behind the bar? By that I mean the distance between the wall (or other cabinets) and the start of the bar. Is 4' good enough or should I go a bit bigger? I don't want it to be too cramped if 2 people are behind the counter/bar but I don't want to intrude on the room either.

thanks

This will give you an idea of my dimensions. Initially I thought there was a lot of room, but when you add cabinets, it got smaller pretty quick. I then thought it would be too small, but its just right for me. Enough room for a person or two, but thats about it.

Here are the dimensions for the bar. I used Home Depot to help with the design, they generated this plan that I used to build the knee wall.
http://images12.fotki.com/v252/photos/6/649633/2311872/bar1-vi.jpg

I only one minor change after the framing was done, I swapped out a small bookcase for some 12" cabinets at the end by the opening (B2412BUTT). I wanted storage for little things like corkscrews, bottle openers, other bar accessories and not decorative stuff.

Hope it helps.

Bud

We ordered about 12 samples before deciding on which color to get.

Just ordered 10 samples from them. I saw another site that has 2x4 panels for back splashes, so I may end up going that route.

I was also thinking about old licenses plates! Maybe just black with white letters, maybe in a mosaic look, not sure. Maybe just put it together like a jigsaw puzzle. Haven't put too much thought into it. I bought a few plates on ebay before, they're pretty cheap and wouldn't need too many. The wife wasn't real thrilled with that idea, but not sure I really described it well to her.

Bud

Just ordered 10 samples from them. I saw another site that has 2x4 panels for back splashes, so I may end up going that route.

I was also thinking about old licenses plates! Maybe just black with white letters, maybe in a mosaic look, not sure. Maybe just put it together like a jigsaw puzzle. Haven't put too much thought into it. I bought a few plates on ebay before, they're pretty cheap and wouldn't need too many. The wife wasn't real thrilled with that idea, but not sure I really described it well to her.

Bud

License plates would be cool. We tried to think of some creative things for our kitchen before we went with the tin. I looked into just getting metal roof flashing, but the wife didn't like. We found this "outdoor art" that was basically painting on a metal canvas. We were going to put that behind the oven, then wallpaper the rest of the area. But we decided that wouldn't look at that great on our oven as we have a basic 30" range. If you had a larger pro-type range it might work. I thought about mounting some laminate designed for counter tops on tongue and groove plywood and using that for a back splash, but decided against that as well. Tho we found some laminate that might have worked well.

If you search some of the home improvement sites, you will find some pretty creative stuff out there.

I posted a question over in the HT construction forum but it really is more of a bar question, so I figured I'd post the same here. Here's a link to that thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=741714

Does anyone have any thoughts on my plans? Thanks,

-Ryan

Ryan, speaking in general terms, your bar is not much different that mine. Sure, mine is angled and we have different stuff, but not that different. If you think you have enough storage, forget moving the bar forward. Thats where ours are similar, I have cabinets on a side wall and the half wall. Thats plenty of room for a bar. Besides you'll need that wall for hanging a nice plasma for the folks perched there ... make sure you consider prewiring for a TV anyway.

Which way is the HT door going to open? In towards the HT room?

Bud

Nice layout. I like the two frig idea. I have one beverage center (beer only) in my bar, but now I'm thinking of adding a small wine frig. Very smart adding the dishwasher as I assume your kitchen is on the main floor.

Ryan, speaking in general terms, your bar is not much different that mine. Sure, mine is angled and we have different stuff, but not that different. If you think you have enough storage, forget moving the bar forward. Thats where ours are similar, I have cabinets on a side wall and the half wall. Thats plenty of room for a bar. Besides you'll need that wall for hanging a nice plasma for the folks perched there ... make sure you consider prewiring for a TV anyway.

Which way is the HT door going to open? In towards the HT room?

Bud

Thanks Bud - I posted some new pics in the other thread. In short, we want the overall appearance from the rest of the basement to be more bar-like and less like some cabinets and counters off in the corner (or even worse, like a kitchen). The HT door probably will open out as I plan to have a riser in the back of the room and don't want to impede the door opening.

-Ryan

Nice layout. I like the two frig idea. I have one beverage center (beer only) in my bar, but now I'm thinking of adding a small wine frig. Very smart adding the dishwasher as I assume your kitchen is on the main floor.

Thanks. Yep, we have our kitchen on the main floor just above this space. The wine-fridge is pretty much a must-have for us. I'll probably upgrade my kitchen's dishwasher as well and move the existing (loud) one down to the bar. I'd love to have a full-size fridge down in the basement as well, but space is limited and getting that down my stairs would be exciting to say the least. Looks like our future second fridge will end up in the garage, and we'll use a "beverage cooler" downstairs.

-Ryan

I don't know if you have done your backsplash or not, but I was at Lowes today and they had some "faux" tin backsplashes. Yes they look exactly like tin and they even have the exact same pattern as our tin, but when I picked on up it was a heavy plastic rather then tin. I have never seen this stuff before. I picked up a brochure and it is ACP "Decorative Thermoplastic Panels". You got to see them, they look exactly like the tin, but they are not! Weird. Now I don't like the idea that when you touch them you can feel they are plastic, but I image would be a lot easier to work with. They even have matching trim pieces and matching self stick "paper" to go over outlets. At $18.00 per piece, I thing they are more then I paid for the tin, but again, another option and should be super easy to work with.

http://www.acpideas.com/home.cfm?XlinkID=1&XRequireOnce=YES&CFID=1358818&CFTOKEN=29892888

Just ordered 10 samples from them. I saw another site that has 2x4 panels for back splashes, so I may end up going that route.

I was also thinking about old licenses plates! Maybe just black with white letters, maybe in a mosaic look, not sure. Maybe just put it together like a jigsaw puzzle. Haven't put too much thought into it. I bought a few plates on ebay before, they're pretty cheap and wouldn't need too many. The wife wasn't real thrilled with that idea, but not sure I really described it well to her.

Bud

Sdallnct and Chinadog,

I have been following this thread a while and am planning on using this idea for my basement/media/multipurpose room bar. In fact, this tread lead me to the AVS Forums and has got my mind whirling with ideas for the room.

My bar will be a bit smaller and have more of a Deco look to it. I'll post some SketchUp pictures or what I am thinking when I have enough posts under my belt to allow me to add links.

Anyway, I did have one question: Is the top level counter top on the half-wall very secure? My design will not allow for any sort of corbel to help with support.

-Chris

Chris,

I would venture to say that the granite (without corbels) isn't going anywhere, but can you stand on it? No. You might want a little less overhang than normal if you have not corbels. If you have any overhang, you should be able to use small corbels. Also, I used 2x6 construction on the knee wall as well. What will you be using?

Bud

I was planning to use at least 2x6 construction for the knee wall as well. The problem with corbels is that I want to have some sort of backlit translucent panel for the facing or my knee wall. I was thinking of something like the glass block that was shown earlier in the thread or some sort of frosted glass panel.

As for the countertops, I was planning on going with something a little different. Zinc. I figure I can use MDF as the substrate and then form sheet zinc over the MDF. I have found some suppliers for the zinc sheets along with zinc solder to solder the joints. I just need to find someone with a metal break to form the sheets for me.

I'll try and get the SketchUp drawing done and posted this weekend.

-Chris

This photo even tho blurry, shows how I built my bar top. Basically I built a half wall turning the studs sideways. I then added a 2X4 level with the top of the studs on both sides of the studs.

On top of this I put 3/4" OSB if I remember (tho maybe plywood), then 1/4" cement backer board, the granite tile on top of that. The total depth of the bar top (not including trim) is exactly 12". Why 12"? Because I was using 12" tiles. The overhang is about 8". I wish I did more of an overhang, but the room I put this in was not very wide. So I was actually trying to keep the bar as narrow as possible, but still comfortable. It is very solid. No need for additional support. I'm very happy with it considering I have never built anything like that before.

Oh the 2X4 you see running across the floor at the bottom was for support during construction. I actually removed it when doing the trim out. The cabinets are screen into my concrete slab between the gouts of my tile floor, with the stud wall screwed in the cabinets. The unit is very, very solid.

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/1483/p31401192mi.jpg

I love reading these threads about building bars. That's going to be my winter HT project... a simple 6' bar behind my back row.

My room is waaaay too small for this one, but I came across this picture while searching the web for ideas and pics...

http://www.mbwfurniture.com/images/P7195574.jpg

In Atlanta... $25K on ebay.

Okay.

I have never used SketchUp before, but here are two quick renders of what I am thinking about. They are basically to scale, but some details were made up on the fly and others are still being worked out in my head.

Front:
http://members.cox.net/foutty/images/house/images/bar.jpg

Back:
http://members.cox.net/foutty/images/house/images/bar2.jpg

I love reading these threads about building bars. That's going to be my winter HT project... a simple 6' bar behind my back row.

My room is waaaay too small for this one, but I came across this picture while searching the web for ideas and pics...

In Atlanta... $25K on ebay.

Looking forward to seeing your bar progress. Keep us posted!

Bud

cfmustang,

Any more progress on your bar? I'd like to see how that Zinc works out.

Bud

Sorry, no real progress.

Things were too hectic the past month and now the holidays are too close to start the project. If I were to start running the power tools downstairs now, getting sawdust everywhere, my wife would kill me.

So, I will start after the New Year. The extra time is giving me a chance to rethink my design a bit. I am thinking of scrapping the glass block/lit panel knee wall and going with a deco style wood panel. I still plan on going with the zinc counter tops though.

Maybe this weekend I can work on the Sketch Up images again and come up with a updated design.

Are any of you guys putting under-counter ice makers in your bars? I highly recommend doing so if you can spare the 15 inches. If you try to use an ice bucket, you'll run out too quickly and/or the ice won't be cold enough.

Are any of you guys putting under-counter ice makers in your bars? I highly recommend doing so if you can spare the 15 inches. If you try to use an ice bucket, you'll run out too quickly and/or the ice won't be cold enough.


I was on the fence when they were going for $200, but I was in the local Big Orange the other day dropping another large amount of cash on other things when I saw they had the magic Chef MCIM30TS for $150 with an additional $30 rebate. Was just there again tonight and they had a few left. At $120, I couldn't get in on the flatbed fast enough!

FYI it works like a champ, cranking out the first cubes in under 10 minutes and keeps 'em coming like clockwork every ten or so thereafter. This one is a hair under 17" tall.

Pat, do you have a sku or a picture? You have me curious now.

Bud

Pat, do you have a sku or a picture? You have me curious now.

Bud

It looks like this:

http://www.shentech.com/mcim30twdh.html

I also got some hits googling "home depot magic chef ice maker" but the HD site seems to be down. Don't know if this promotion is local to Denver. The rebate form did not indicate that it was.

BTW, I've been following your thread for almost a year, and not only was it a great inspiration but you gave me a fine tip on the beverage cooler, which I ran out and bought before I'd even made much of a start on my room. Now I'm hoping to be finished in two weeks and plan to repost all my pictures in a new thread. Hopefully you will stop by and take a look. I never knew if I should post the original in the general or dedicated area, but decided on the general because it's a multipurpose room. it never attracted much comment for some reason.

Thanks

Pat, thanks. I see it on their site now. Their search engine is dismal. 199.00! You did get a good deal. I need to pick up a second beverage cooler as well in the next month or so (prior to Superbowl).

Looks like you last posted in early November. I've got it marked now. Looking forward to the new pictures!

Bud

Haven't posted any new pic's since my bar stool pic's. But really havn't done much more. Just some decorating (and father and law got a dart board for us for X-mas).

I did get my TV mounted and the trim installed around the opening under the TV and above the sink.

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/5968/bartvoverviewio8.jpghttp://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1252/bartvtrimop8.jpg

I am looking for some suggestions for shelving. See the window just left of the bar? It is about 4" deep and I thought I would put some 4" shelving in there to hold my pint classes. The window is 36" wide, so a little big for glass. Was thinking about just using some 1x4's and paint to match.

Any other thoughts or ideas?

For shelving, I would install 1/4" thick glass shelves. This is what I did for shelving in my bathroom and love how it turned out.

Pat, thanks. I see it on their site now. Their search engine is dismal. 199.00! You did get a good deal. I need to pick up a second beverage cooler as well in the next month or so (prior to Superbowl).

Looks like you last posted in early November. I've got it marked now. Looking forward to the new pictures!

Bud

I saw a unit similar at Costco for about $150 a while back. After reading a fellow AVS'ers experiece with these units, I passed. He had mentioned that they can develop mildew if not cleaned frequently between usage ( I am assuming after the unit is off and not being used and water is left in unit).

Here is what Skippy31 said about this type of unit;

I used to have one of these portable ice makers not the exact one referred to here. Now I have an ice maker built into my main fridge.

The portable unit worked really well (make ice really fast and lots of it) and did not require a water hookup. The only drawbacks were:

1. You need to clean it regularly to make sure it is sanitary especially after it's been sitting for a while (parhaps with water in it).

2. The fan on mine was quite loud. As a result in my open concept house I would only run the unit when I needed ice and then turn it off afterwards. Unit was too loud to run all the time in my application. It would preclude using it near a theater etc where it would be distracting.

Best Regards,

Skippy31

For shelving, I would install 1/4" thick glass shelves. This is what I did for shelving in my bathroom and love how it turned out.

You think it could handle the 36" width with no support in between? There would not be a lot of weight on them, 5-6 empty pint glasses. I would love to do glass. I know to get 4" X 36" I would have to have it cut and it would need to be tempered...just in case.

Guess I'll check with a couple of local glass companies....

Haven't posted any new pic's since my bar stool pic's. But really havn't done much more. Just some decorating (and father and law got a dart board for us for X-mas).

I did get my TV mounted and the trim installed around the opening under the TV and above the sink.

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/5968/bartvoverviewio8.jpghttp://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1252/bartvtrimop8.jpg

I am looking for some suggestions for shelving. See the window just left of the bar? It is about 4" deep and I thought I would put some 4" shelving in there to hold my pint classes. The window is 36" wide, so a little big for glass. Was thinking about just using some 1x4's and paint to match.

Any other thoughts or ideas?

I had a ~6' span HERE (http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/slides/IMG_2011.htm) behind my bar that I wanted glass shelves for. I opted to put a center support in to break it in to two 36" spans. I was supporting liquor bottles, so I went w/ 3/8" glass, and they are VERY strong. I'd suspect 1/4" would be ok for just some glasses.

I was going to say the 36" should be fine too, as long as you use think enough glass. I had a 30" window in my old house spanned by glass shelves. They held my glass collection with no problem.

As for an update on my bar, I found a sheet zinc supplier for the counter top and they are supposed to be sending me a sample of the .030" zinc today. That way I can get a better idea of the look along with an idea of how difficult it will be to fabricate.

I had a ~6' span HERE (http://caesare.homeip.net:32171/basement/slides/IMG_2011.htm) behind my bar that I wanted glass shelves for. I opted to put a center support in to break it in to two 36" spans. I was supporting liquor bottles, so I went w/ 3/8" glass, and they are VERY strong. I'd suspect 1/4" would be ok for just some glasses.

Nice looking. And your are right, you have a lot more weight on those then I will.

You think it could handle the 36" width with no support in between? There would not be a lot of weight on them, 5-6 empty pint glasses. I would love to do glass. I know to get 4" X 36" I would have to have it cut and it would need to be tempered...just in case.

Guess I'll check with a couple of local glass companies....

Mine are 4 feet long and 12 inches wide. I got mine from one of the Glazing contractors we frequently use. With my span he said 1/4" was enough for what I was going to use it for, <20lbs overall.

I was in Best Buy the other day and saw the following fridge (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6831663&productCategoryId=pcmcat48300050015&type=product&cmp=++&id=1091102024230) for $250, but they are showing it on their website for $350. Hopefully the store price it correct. It locks & has dual zones which I hadn't seen before.

If the price is really that much, then I'm thinking about this danby (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6831672&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat48300050015&id=1091102024284). Anybody know anything about them?

I was in Best Buy the other day and saw the following fridge (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6831663&productCategoryId=pcmcat48300050015&type=product&cmp=++&id=1091102024230) for $250, but they are showing it on their website for $350. Hopefully the store price it correct. It locks & has dual zones which I hadn't seen before...........................................

Just make sure either way, you get something that is made to be "built-in" if in fact your building it into a bar (ie:dishwasher in your kitchen) as they need to be vented differently. Most built in fridges/wine have vents down at the very bottom in the front.

Here are some good online companies to browse/shop:

http://www.summitappliance.com/
http://www.u-line.com/

Just and FYI for this interested:

Just before x-mas Lowes had a small counter top wine frigerator, holds like eight bottles. It was like $80, now down to $60. They still had a pallet full of them. I asked the guy if they would go lower and he said maybe another $20 off after the weekend!

I'll keep my eye open. I really wanted something that would hold a case, but if I can pick it up for $40, I might just do it. Heck, might get two....

I've gotten a little bit further with mine. My main goal is to the top completed so it can be used for serving food for my little girls birthday party so I really need to hurry. The rest of the finish trim is going to have to come later. It's taking a while since I'm working on the rest of the trim for the Media Room at the same time.

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/121.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/122.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/123.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/124.jpg

I'm trying to figure out what to put behind the bar; plate glass mirror, picture/painting? I might be able to fit thin shelves for bar glasses, but not sure what I want to do.

how did you make the elbow rest on the top? Is it a solid piece?

I finally got around to playing with the zinc sheet samples last night. I received two small squares at .030" and .027" thickness. The .027" sheet seems like it will easily be thick enough and it is quite a bit less expensive.

I cut and bent the .027" square to simulate a corner piece and then soldered the joint. Trying to bend it with the tools I have at home proved to me that I'll need to find a sheet metal break to get the bends I need, but I am not too concerned about that. The other thing I learned is that regular old tin solder does a fine job joining the seams. I don't have fine enough sand paper at home (probably need 1000 grit) to blend the seam to the zinc, but I am convinced that when I do, it will be nearly invisible. I'll post a pic this evening.

I'm curious, have any pictures of the zinc stuff?

Bud

It took a while to get a clear picture because the sample is small and I had to zoom quite a bit to show detail, so getting it focused was a bear...

(...and I am about worthless with a camera) :p

Anyway, here is the .027 sample with two ends bent and the corner joint soldered. I think it will come out quite nice.

http://members.cox.net/foutty/images/house/images/zinc1.jpg

Like I said, I will need to find someone with a sheet metal break to get nice clean bends, but that shouldn't be too hard. It cuts really nice with metal shears, seems very dent/gouge resistant and can be finished many different ways. Apparently, zinc has been the material of choice for years at oyster/raw bars.

I found a home bar tutorial from Kegworks before I started designing my home bar. It was a HUGE help as I was better able to plan things.
The link is in their Tips & Tricks section at the very bottom of the web page.

I also bought most of my bar supplies from them.

Out of curiosity, what height did everyone use for their bar counter? I purchased my wine fridge and most of the wood this past weekend and am getting ready to start building this week.

It looks like standard bar height is around 42", but I would like to know what you guys used and if it is comfortable. Also, how much of an overhang were you using for your counter tops? 1" 1 1/4"?

This weekend I actually found my original cutout layout that I took to Lowes for them to cut my plywood sides. I figured 42 inches for my finished top. So my side panels were 40.5 inches with a layer of 3/4 plywood and then the final 3/4 inch flooring on top of that. I wouldn't change my current bar height and the stools fit perfectly. If you decide to go with lower stools then you could drop your bar height down to accomodate lower stools.

Right about 42"

Lots of great bars! Here is mine. Its modest, but it does the trick on a teacher's budget and its all mine! :D
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f357/buckrogers71/IMG_0904.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f357/buckrogers71/IMG_0903.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f357/buckrogers71/IMG_0902.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f357/buckrogers71/IMG_0901.jpg

Under the bar I have a small refridgerator, a wine cooler and my beer miester.
I used hanging cabinets and built them up to be base cabinets as I recessed them into the wall and I didnt have the depth for standard base cabinets.

I would like to do a couple of other things, but they will have to wait.

The pool table is a 4x8 w/ subway returns.

The LCD and AV equipment is upstairs in the living room.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Out of curiosity, what height did everyone use for their bar counter? I purchased my wine fridge and most of the wood this past weekend and am getting ready to start building this week.

It looks like standard bar height is around 42", but I would like to know what you guys used and if it is comfortable. Also, how much of an overhang were you using for your counter tops? 1" 1 1/4"?


Most bars are generally 2-tiered - the 42" is for comfortably accomodating bar stools and those sitting on them. You are still going to want standard counter height (34"?) for a second, lower level for you to work at while behind the bar. 42" is too high (for most) to work on comfortably.

Most bars are generally 2-tiered - the 42" is for comfortably accomodating bar stools and those sitting on them. You are still going to want standard counter height (34"?) for a second, lower level for you to work at while behind the bar. 42" is too high (for most) to work on comfortably.

I agree w/ MS. My bar measures 41" from floor to top. My stools are 29" from the floor to the seat and it is quite comfortable. However, I built my bar about 10 years ago, before I had internet and people started to post plans. What I did was go the local establishments and measured. Yes I got some crazy looks, but I got the measurements I wanted.

The only thing that I regret is not making it 2 tiered. I also regret that I didnt buy a bigger house that would have allowed me to do that.

As for a sink, I wish I had one, but I just take the dishes (mainly glasses :cool: ) right upstairs and toss em in the sink. Its not too bad but...

Lots of great bars! Here is mine. Its modest, but it does the trick on a teacher's budget and its all mine! :D



If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.


Buck...where did you get your bar stools?

Buck...where did you get your bar stools?

To tell the truth, I dont remember :( I did a search on the net and found a place that had them. I will look through some of my paperwork and see if I have the place.
Sorry.

Out of curiosity, what height did everyone use for their bar counter? I purchased my wine fridge and most of the wood this past weekend and am getting ready to start building this week.

It looks like standard bar height is around 42", but I would like to know what you guys used and if it is comfortable. Also, how much of an overhang were you using for your counter tops? 1" 1 1/4"?

Mine is 42-1/2". I only have a small 2-tiered area for the bar sink with a custom cabinet below and love how it turned out. Even though I didn't have the top completely done, testing it out at a party, it worked wonderfully. I was glad I didn't have the 2-tier because people congregated behind & in front of the bar and commented how nice it was. It was a great gathering area that I was hoping it would be. Once I install the bar rail, the overhang in front will be ~12" and I sit comfortably without hitting my knees on the front of the bar.

I thought it was 42", but I wanted to make sure. You know, "Measure twice..."

I was planning on doing a two-tier construction as well. Unfortunately, no sink. I didn't plan for running water or a drain down there when I finished the basement last year.

Anyway, here are the cabinets and the wine/beverage fridge. Actually, they will be moving forward about 4", so that outlet will be hidden (pure luck there). Don't pay attention to the mess down there right now.

did you get them at lowes? they were similar to the ones that i was looking at for my back cabinets.

may i suggest getting another one around the same size and possibly a smaller one? I will tell you one thing, they will fill up quick. Being married, the wife has filled up the ones that I built behind the bar.

what are you going to do for a top? i did a piece of 3/4" oak vaneer ply and then stained it and put some Behr 50 over it.The Behr 50 is like 50 coats of poly in one application. I dont know if they make it anymore, but if you are going the wood route, check at a marine supply store, they would have some type of water proof varnish.

Good luck w/ the project and keep us posted.

I got them at Home Depot. I believe that both stores carry the same brand cabinets.

I would like to get more, but unfortunately space is at a premium downstairs. I kept trying to find a way to make it a L-shaped bar, but to keep it from overwhelming the room made the space behind the bar to tight.

I am thinking a way to get around this will be a second phase...a back bar. The pictures don't show it well, but there will be some room directly behind the bar for a back bar. Since that won't need to be full depth, I am planning on buying more of the same cabinets and cutting down the depth of them to maybe 18". I haven't sketched all that out but it seems like the way to go. If you go back a page or two, you will see a SketchUp render that shows my original plan (with a older design for the bar) from the other angle showing the bar from the front and you will see where I can put the back bar.

For the counter top I am going with metal. I purchased 3/4" MDF that I will be building up to standard counter top height 1 1/2" and then covering with .027" sheet zinc.

CF, might I suggest this for your back bar cabinets. Get some hanging cabinets. I know, I know, "They are way too short." The get some 2x10's and some plywood. Build up the base until they are the height that you want.

I did this with some cabinets behind my bar and recessed them. I put a small oak shelf on them and viola. A little work station and some extra cabinet space.

I will see if I still have the pics of the job.

Lots of great bars! Here is mine. Its modest, but it does the trick on a teacher's budget and its all mine! :D
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f357/buckrogers71/IMG_0904.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f357/buckrogers71/IMG_0903.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f357/buckrogers71/IMG_0902.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f357/buckrogers71/IMG_0901.jpg

Under the bar I have a small refridgerator, a wine cooler and my beer miester.
I used hanging cabinets and built them up to be base cabinets as I recessed them into the wall and I didnt have the depth for standard base cabinets.

I would like to do a couple of other things, but they will have to wait.

The pool table is a 4x8 w/ subway returns.

The LCD and AV equipment is upstairs in the living room.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Now that is a bar that I could belly up to and feel at home. Thanks for sharing your bar!

Got the frame of the half-wall done. This gives a little better idea of the design I am going with. A bit more of a modern look than most on here, but that is the style of the room - a touch modern.

http://members.cox.net/foutty/images/house/images/barframe.JPG

Next up will be sheathing the front and back of the half-wall with 1/2" oak veneer plywood and veneering the angled edge with oak veneer... All nice and smooth...

looks good! its on its way!

Lots of great bars! Here is mine. Its modest, but it does the trick on a teacher's budget and its all mine! :D


Under the bar I have a small refridgerator, a wine cooler and my beer miester.
I used hanging cabinets and built them up to be base cabinets as I recessed them into the wall and I didnt have the depth for standard base cabinets.

I would like to do a couple of other things, but they will have to wait.

The pool table is a 4x8 w/ subway returns.

The LCD and AV equipment is upstairs in the living room.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.


I deleted the pics so my post wasnt so big, but I have a question, what type of wood did you use on the front of you bar. It looks a lot what I have pictured in my mind. My plan is to use cedar along the front and sides of the bar and Im thinking of using redwood on the bar top. Also those bar stools are exactly what im looking for, if you dont mind, where did you get them.

I havent had time to actually start working on my bar but I have made a couple of drawings using sketchup. This is the room Im working on, pretty much to scale. The floor actually looks a lot like in the pics, and the red wall is actually close the same color. The clear wall should also be red, but im new to sketchup and cant get it to work. I really hope to have to bar done in the next few weeks, but we'll see.


Let me know what u think.


(had to delete these pics to try to get new ones up)

I deleted the pics so my post wasnt so big, but I have a question, what type of wood did you use on the front of you bar. It looks a lot what I have pictured in my mind. My plan is to use cedar along the front and sides of the bar and Im thinking of using redwood on the bar top. Also those bar stools are exactly what im looking for, if you dont mind, where did you get them.

I used pine tongue and groove bead board from depot. I took some leftover 1x's and attached them horizontally and attached the bead board vertically.
If i was to do it again, I would have done a flat front w/ some raised panels.
The stain is special walnut by minwax.


The top is 3/4 oak vaneer plywood.

As for the stools, I thought that I had the sales slip from the internet company that we ordered them from, but sadly I dont. I found a lot of other interesting things though.

I had done a search for barstools and they came up. I wish that I remembered. Sorry.

I like the look of the bar and the room. The only thing that "I" might change, would be that little table. You'd be suprised that when you have a party how people belly up to the bar. Plus you could maybe put a dartboard there or something.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

Does anyone have their kegs located far from the bar? How do you keep the beer lines cold?

I didn't have room to put a fridge behind the bar so I'll have it in the basement or garage. I'm wondering if anyone has a solution other than glycol cooling.

Does anyone have their kegs located far from the bar? How do you keep the beer lines cold?

I didn't have room to put a fridge behind the bar so I'll have it in the basement or garage. I'm wondering if anyone has a solution other than glycol cooling.

Mine is right under the bar but I have seen distance runs on this site:
http://www.superprod.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&categoryId=233058&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=232902

I dont know if this is what you are looking for, but....

Thanks for the info buck. I would love to put a nice big bar in a nice basement, unfortunately I dont have a nice basement. The room is pretty small so the bar is only going to be about 7 feet long. I thought about putting it on the other wall but I dont think the setup would work. Next to the door is a sliding glass door that leads to the deck. the wall opposite the little table actually has a closet with a washer and dryer in it. I was planning on moving the wash/dryer to the basement but wife is REALLY against it.

So the results are a pub table that will be about the same height as the bar, with the same stools. Sooner or later there will also be a flat screen on the wall.

Got the frame of the half-wall done. This gives a little better idea of the design I am going with. A bit more modern than most on here, I think.

http://members.cox.net/foutty/images/house/images/barframe.JPG

Next up will be sheathing the front and back of the half-wall with 1/2" oak veneer plywood and veneering the angled edge with oak veneer... All nice and smooth...

This is very similar to how I built my bar (pic's are earlier in this post). Instead of kitchen cabinets I use bathroom vanity cabinets. Why? Like you, I had some space issues and vanity cabinets are 18" vs. the 24" for kitchen. On the half wall, I turned the studs sideways. Again, just to keep everything as compact as possible.

I put a skin on mine of cheap photo finish paneling. It looks fine. Sort of a leather look. Had I to do over again, I might go with real wood bead board or something.

Nice looking...good job.

Thanks! Your bar was the inspiration for mine and the model I have been following.

I would have went with vanity cabinets if I could find them, but alas, no luck. At least, not the less expensive builder grade. Also, I went with the the 2x4 studs in the more traditional orientation for the half wall because the bar is straight across.

My thinking was that a L-shaped bar would have provided more support for the upper counter top than my design, but I don't have the room for an L-shaped design. Therefore, I went with the thicker half wall as cheap insurance.

With any luck, I'll be able to get the half wall sheathed and the MDF for the counter tops cut and ready to be covered with zinc. I still have to order the zinc and the foot rail, so I will be stalled again for a little while but it should be mostly done after this weekend.

I got say having a bar is awesome! It is so versatile. I have had kids over (friends of my kids) and served popcorn, candy, pizza and cokes. I have had my boss and co-workers over and got out the wine, Crown, and "the good" pretzels. My wife has had her co-workers over and I served them Sangria, chips and homemade salsa. I have had my best friend over and we did car bombs till 3:00am. And I have found myself in there are weekend mornings having coffee, reading the paper while watching the news on tv.

Originally thought the bar would be a good way to make use of the room. But like our media room, it has turned into an almost every day usage room. It duty as everything form overflow for the dinning room, to watching sports to sipping wine.....

Anyone "on the fence" about putting one in, should just do it. How is everyone else enjoying theirs???

We've really enjoyed ours as well... we went with media/game/bar space, and it's a natural congregation point in the basement... especially with friends over.

I'll tell you as soon as I can get it done.... Man it's taking forever, but mostly that's because we have 2 under the age of 2 with a third on the way :o

We did have family over for a birthday party and although I held my tongue when they used the bar without a protective poly finish on it, I was happy to see everyone naturally congregate around it.

This weekend I'm hoping to finally coat the bar top before anything happens to it!

ours is the meeting place whenever we have ANY type of get together. It almost makes me wonder why I dont have a nice 32" LCD or Plasma on the wall :rolleyes:

Oh yeah, now I know, I'd never leave the basement :D

Like a previous message, I am thinking of putting a bar in, but plumbing is not an option. The area is already finished and the plumbing is on the other side of the room.

Do you guys have any dry bars? What are your thoughts? I would at least have a fridge under the bar.

I wouldnt say that mine is "dry" ;) I have a beer meister under my bar, a wine fridge and a fridge.

No sink though. Would I want a sink? I guess if it wasnt a problem to do, but in all honesty, it doesnt bother me.

I'll have to post some pics of the back

I added a sink to my bar area as I had plumbing right there. But in all honesty, it is not a huge deal and while handy, I could have lived without. I mainly do beer and wine. I have a ton of glasses, so not like a need to do a quick hand wash or anything.

It has come in handy when me and a couple of buddy's get a little out of hand and do car bombs, or shots, mixed drinks as then it is nice to rinse out quickly or dump some ice.

But again, could have lived without.

Personally, I couldn't have a bar without a sink, but I am always making mixed drinks. I don't know how well I could do that without a sink to rinse the mixing equipment. Really, it all comes down to what you serve most often. If you do beer and wine, you may never even use the sink.

Personally, I couldn't have a bar without a sink, but I am always making mixed drinks. I don't know how well I could do that without a sink to rinse the mixing equipment. Really, it all comes down to what you serve most often. If you do beer and wine, you may never even use the sink.

That I couldnt agree w/ more. I do beer, wine, and standard 1 drink mixes (vodka and tonic, rum and coke etc.) Every now and again, i will do some martini's for the wife, but she usually drinks the same one and its only one mixer.

Like a previous message, I am thinking of putting a bar in, but plumbing is not an option. The area is already finished and the plumbing is on the other side of the room.

Do you guys have any dry bars? What are your thoughts? I would at least have a fridge under the bar.

Mine's dry. I could've put a sink in as plumbing is right above the bar. I don't miss a sink. For large gatherings, it's mostly beer and wine (lots o'wine), and simple one mixer drinks. Martinis and the like seem to be ordered only during smaller gatherings or for just me and my wife (and I have multiple shakers). Blended drinks are only consumed during the summer and outside, so they're made in the kitchen or on the patio anyway.

Cleanup is usually done the next day, so glassware (I have lots) is taken to the kitchen for the dishwasher.

Bud-
Are the Corbels the only thing that you have supporting the overhang of the counter? I am working on a straight 8' bar and have it all done. I am a little uneasy about just installing corbels and using adhesive to mount the countertop to the bar wall and corbels. I have searched the web and can't find any clear recommendations on how to do this.

Bud-
Are the Corbels the only thing that you have supporting the overhang of the counter? I am working on a straight 8' bar and have it all done. I am a little uneasy about just installing corbels and using adhesive to mount the countertop to the bar wall and corbels. I have searched the web and can't find any clear recommendations on how to do this.

udey,

Yes. The silicon basically keeps the granite in place. It's not going nowhere, believe me. The corbels are there for support of the overhang (obviously) and that should be sufficient. I added extra corbels, more than what was done upstairs in our kitchen (as granite), basically for aesthetics. The corbels are held on by three inch deck screws through the back, they're not going anywhere either.

Bud

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this. I found this forum browsing the web. We are building a bar and I found chinadog´s design and I really liked it. I would like to know if possible the basic dimensions of the design, I mean height and width of the bottom and top shelves. I think these dimensions are perfect and I would like to build mine like this one. I will have to adjust the dimensions to the european standard but it will help as a "base".
I am thinking on using standard kitchen cupboards and then adding the upper section using wood.

Your help will be appreciated.

Regards.

Vince.

Vince, I'm happy to provide that, but not sure what you mean by "height and width of the bottom and top shelves". I believe I posted the actual design for the dimensions (at least the first design). The heights are standard cabinet heights. Let me know. I'll be gone for part of this week, but will respond as soon as I can.

Bud

Mine's dry. I could've put a sink in as plumbing is right above the bar. I don't miss a sink. For large gatherings, it's mostly beer and wine (lots o'wine), and simple one mixer drinks. Martinis and the like seem to be ordered only during smaller gatherings or for just me and my wife (and I have multiple shakers). Blended drinks are only consumed during the summer and outside, so they're made in the kitchen or on the patio anyway.

Cleanup is usually done the next day, so glassware (I have lots) is taken to the kitchen for the dishwasher.

I think this is a great point. I find myself "controlling" the drinks based on the event. Bunch of buddies over, lots of Beer. Couple over, beer/wine. Co-workers, maybe some mixed stuff.

But having the bar makes it each to control.

Im building a bar in my game room and not sure how to go about installing the beer tap. I dont have the room for a full sized frige. How far are you able to run the uninsulated beer line for the beer tap tower?

You really cannot go too far with the uninsulated line (maybe a few feet)? I am not sure how expensive they are, but water-cooled and glycol-cooled systems would do what you want.

Im building a bar in my game room and not sure how to go about installing the beer tap. I dont have the room for a full sized frige. How far are you able to run the uninsulated beer line for the beer tap tower?

I went about a foot with my run. I used some HVAC insulation for the lines

I still get foam with my tower mounted on top of my keg. Cold beer over lower temp lines equals foam. Pour for a couple of seconds, dump in sink, rinse glass and pour a perfect beer.

I built a room behind my bar to put a full size frig, some cabinets, and a kegerator....it's also to lock up the alcohol from the kids and their friends when they get to that age. (can be seen in my gallery) My run is about 4-5 feet. It comes out the top of the kegerator, through a hole in the wall, up the cabinet at the bar and into the tavern head which is mounted on the bar. On short runs like this in a home bar system you should only have your CO2 pressure at a level enough to keep the beer fresh and push it along the lines. I'm in the restaurant business, I have my commercial lines set at 33 pounds. My home keg is at 10-12 pounds max. The lower the pressure, the less foam you will get. You'll always get some but as HeyNow says, just pour a half a glass, dump and rinse. If you have to dump more than that, turn down your pressure and let it settle.

A glycol system will run in the thousands. For a restaurant I have in the plans a 25 tower system running 100feet is just short of $20K. I would bet a home system would be at least $4-5k since the major expense is the glycol box/compressor system.

Hey guys:

a lot of good info here. I am building out my basement into an Irish\Engligh pub feel. I have been looking for plans and specs that fit that type of look but I havent had much luck. I saw barplans but it doesnt seem to have the type of bar im looking for. Any thoughts on plans or info on types of wood to use etc? Any recommended sites for the equipment to go along with the bar such as taps? I'm putting two taps in.

Check out BritInVa's build/bar...Mark has done very nice work...

A quick question for any of you guys that used veneer plywood for your bars...

Can a dent in veneer plywood be steamed out like a dent in normal wood? Last night my wife opened the garage door during a storm and the strong winds knocked over my bar's half-wall which is in the garage while I am finishing it. Fortunately, the most recent coat of finish was put on a few days ago so the finish is ok, but it landed on a plug and dented the finished side.

The way the bar is set up, this dent will most likely not be visible due to where it is, but I am still wondering if I can steam out the dent... Darn the perfectionist in me...

Also, I should finally have an update on my bar in the next few days. A stupid mistake made me have to redo the half-wall when it was more than half finished along with other real life stuff getting in the way. Should I continue to post here or start my own thread?

I looking to build a bar in my recently finished rec/theater area and I can't decide on what bar I want to build (late summer or fall build). I have a few ideas, but they are very rough and would like some input if anyone has any. Also, if anyone would be interested in helping me out with a rendering, that would be much appreciated as well...... :o

Anyway, he's what I got......

Future bar area.......
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r315/jgnagel/Basement/th_DSCN0903.jpg (http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r315/jgnagel/Basement/DSCN0903.jpg)


Bar idea 1.........
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r315/jgnagel/Bar%20ideas/th_1.jpg (http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r315/jgnagel/Bar%20ideas/1.jpg)


Bar idea 2......
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r315/jgnagel/Bar%20ideas/th_2.jpg (http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r315/jgnagel/Bar%20ideas/2.jpg)


No matter what bar style i pick (can even be different from the two ideas i currently have) I do know that I want to put a kegerator in the area (as shown....sort of). Also, if you need a better idea of what my space looks like, you can check out my thread (below).

Thanks for the help.

John

Here are a few pics of my bar at rear of the Theatre.....the bar chairs are tempoary.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k242/BritInVA/HT/140-4082_IMG.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k242/BritInVA/HT/140-4049_IMG.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k242/BritInVA/HT/140-4002_IMG.jpg

Cheers,
Mark

Turned out great Mark!

This has to be one of the best bar threads I have ever come across! Some awesome bars and ideas here!

I really like the cabinet over the bar. Looks great.

No matter what bar style i pick (can even be different from the two ideas i currently have)

I went with a 45-45-45 bar and love the look. The shape helps with the flow around the bar for when I have a lot of people over. There aren't obtrusive corners to run into or have to get around. The 45 degree corners do make it a little trickier for cutting some the trim pieces. I'm almost done, still have to finish the trim on the soffit and poly the whole thing.

Here are pics with the epoxy top coat complete:

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/143.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/142.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/141.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/mneuner/136.jpg

A quick question for any of you guys that used veneer plywood for your bars...

Can a dent in veneer plywood be steamed out like a dent in normal wood? Last night my wife opened the garage door during a storm and the strong winds knocked over my bar's half-wall which is in the garage while I am finishing it. Fortunately, the most recent coat of finish was put on a few days ago so the finish is ok, but it landed on a plug and dented the finished side.

The way the bar is set up, this dent will most likely not be visible due to where it is, but I am still wondering if I can steam out the dent... Darn the perfectionist in me...

Also, I should finally have an update on my bar in the next few days. A stupid mistake made me have to redo the half-wall when it was more than half finished along with other real life stuff getting in the way. Should I continue to post here or start my own thread?

I dont know. If you have a scrap, maybe you could try it on that? Am I correct in that assuming that part is stained? If so, I might be worried about that.

Good Luck! At any rate, I would love to see the pics.