My Theater Bar - Heynow^'s Version

I've been posting pictures of my bar that I built in my basement adjacent to my open theater area in a couple of different threads and thought that I may as well begin my own thread. I am not going to give a lot of detailed measurements simply because my area will certainly differ from what others may have in their environment. I'll attempt to explain what I have done and why. I looked at many bar threads and plans and tried to keep mine simple and inexpensive.

I made my bar portable. Why? Simply because I may need to move it to get items in and out of my basement door. Believe me, it's stable and it slides across my carpet with ease. I just unscrew two bolt attached to the base cabinet and I can move it by myself.

As you will see from my pics, there is no blueprinted plan. I actually placed blue painters tape on the floor to see how the bar would impact on mobility in the room. I moved the tape several times.

I'm still adding items and changing décor frequently. I like my environment to be flexible; i.e. Superbowl parties, movie parties, etc.

The beginning;

Here you can see what the area looked like when we bought the house. The base cabinet I could use again, but those head knocker top cabinets had to go. They were narrow and not very utilitarian. They look great in the garage though! 



My research indicated that the bar should be 42 high from floor to top. Figuring that I would have a sheet of ¾ inch plywood for the top base plus and estimated ¾ inch of whatever I decided for the finished top of the bar. I had them cut both plywood sheets to 40.5 inches. This gave me four 40.5 by 48 inch sheets out of the two eight foot long sheets to make up my base.

This shows the long dimension. My base is 7 feet long by 4 feet wide with a 2 foot return.



This shot shows the 4 foot section of the base and the ¾ plywood top.



This shows the return and you can see the back of the bar that I used 2x4s to bridge the plywood sections.



How the unit will relate to the half of the basement room.




The beginning of the application of the bar railing. I love this stuff. It drove me crazy, but it looks good and is very comfortable. The chair is there to check the height, but it was several inches shorter than our final chairs. So why did I bother? Because I was thirsty!



Long side with railing application



Return side

Thanks Vikram R.



The staining begins



I wanted black granite tiles for the top but couldn't find a vendor that didn't require a large minimum number of tiles. So as you will see the top is oak flooring.


I used 1X3 oak on the corner ends and seams. I used a router to add a groove.




.





I decided to put brass railing on for the footrest. Wood and brass, I like it. Search the net, there are bargains for brass railing and fittings, some are twice what others are.

Hey Biggie.

I found the molding at a local Hardwoods vendor, believe it or not, just 10 minutes from me. They have all types of molding and exotic wood material. Bless the yellow pages!

Since the bar is stained pretty dark, I decided to add rope lights under the top. The non-dedicate theater seating area is adjacent to the bar; I had to figure a way to avoid the light hitting you at eye level while sitting in the Berks.




So I laid the rope in clear channel and then pinned molding in front of the string of rope light.



Problem solved.

Thanks Bud and Mntneer.

I ran the rope from left to right on the outside all the way around to the inside terminating at the wall. I then plugged the rope into a lutron lamp dimmer then into wire mold that I installed on the inside of the bar. I have the kegerator and one small fridge plugged into the wire mold as well. This way I can disconnect one wire and move the bar around.

It is a little cluttered in this early picture, but you can see the wire mold under the bar top.

Here is a shot as the bar is today. I'm constantly moving things around, but you will see the new fridge the wife got me for Christmas.



The back bar consists of 1x6 oak boxes (2) connected to a 1X6 shelf. The top is a 1X6 oak plank with crown and trim piece. The top lifts off and each box can be removed from the wall separately leaving the bottom shelf. The mirror is beveled standard mirror fare I got from Lowes.



A couple of close-ups of the back bar detail. I still have to paint the ceiling darker.













And one final shot of the completed (yeah right, my work is never done) BAR!



Hope this will give interested folks some ideas.

You could stain it prior to assembly. I glued and screwed it, so disassembly wasn't an option. Not one drop of stain got on the carpet . I had several layers of canvas drop cloth down. Worked well for me.

All things considered my guess is the unit only weighs 250-300lbs. The 3/4 oak top is the heaviest part but the unit overall is well balanced. The nylon glides that I have on the bottom makes the bar very manageable.

I have additional counter top to put above the fridge that sits next to the kegarator. You could certainly do shelves in this application. Shelves would not work for me on the long side because I couldn't open the left drawer or cabinet door. That area makes a great place for the trash can. I didn't need any additional shelves since I have the storage under the sink.

CaptRandy,

I'll take some this evening and post just for you!

walstadm,

The bottom is 3/4 inch cabinet grade (or whatever Lowe's calls it.. $40 bucks plus per sheet) plywood. One near perfect side and the other has some slight imperfections. I don't recall the fancy name for the plywood. I used regular solid oak 1X3s and routed them with a simple groove. I glued and used a finish nailer to attach.

This is for CaptnRandini,

First two bolts are removed



Take off the wire mold (two clips hold it to the 2x4). Unplug the rope light since it's attached to the bar top. Pulllll ..moves well on the carpet with nylon slides on the bottom of the bar.


Inside of the pulled out bar. Lots of room for shelves if you want to build them.




Return sidenotice how thin this is? Think office furniture.



This is the long side that goes against the wall. You can see where the rope light begins. This is a very telling cross section of the build.



Distance shot


I'm bragging.standing alone it's pretty plumb



Bud, you can see the wire mold clipped back on.



For this demonstration, I did not move the kegarator or mini fridge. The are easily moved out of the way with wheels.



There you have it CaptnRandy!

Thanks Randy! The Mobile bar!

Mantown2,

Yes, I know Earl. When he played for the OYlers. A running machine. Helmets on at an angle until I build a long box for them.

We are still waiting on your pics Mantown2!

Tom,

Very observant of you! I was worried about the same thing. But surprisingly with the 3/4 plywood base top and the 3/4 oak flooring AND the wrap around bar molding this baby is extremely rigid. At some spots there is an additional 3/4 routed trim piece that adds additional support underneath. That makes it a total of 3 inches of width support. It is glued and screwed. There is no wobble or flex at all. I think that it has to do with the backward "J" shape of the top itself. The top is attached to a sandwich of 2X4 and 3/4 inch plywood. Now, I won't kid you, if someone got on the bar and danced near the wall, I would guess it would give a bit. But only slightly on that end. I could put a 1X on the wall to hold it up or an angle iron like I have to attach it to the base cabinet, but the back bar is there and that prevents any major weight on that end. Besides, the largest beer I serve is 1 litre .

Here is another close up of the cross section. You could brace it with an angle brace under the bar.

Whooo Hooo!