[Ben Harper]

Three years and counting. I feel like a slacker but the birth of two children will really slow progress. Just a little more trim work and installing the fireplace in the bar/billiards room and it's over.


Oh, and after all this work the wife announces she would like to move to a new subdivision!


Let me know what you think.


Ben

 

[rsmclay]

Ben,


Very nice! And I absolutely love the bar - that is extremely gorgeous. Good call on the tongue oil and poly. Congratulations. Now enjoy, and do not move.


Rob

 

[Steve James]

Ben,


Did you build the bar yourself? It looks great! I'm in the process of designing mine...


Steve

 

[Ben Harper]

Thanks Rob & Steve!


Steve, I built the bar from scratch. It was probably the easiest construction in the whole basement. It is a basic frame made of 2x4's for the vertical, and 1x2's for the horizontal. Then I simply attached 1/2" mahoghany plywood. The top is actually from a piece of solid mahoghany 3-1/2" thick by 36" wide. The 12 foot piece weighed several hundred pounds!


I chose mahoghany because it is one of the easiest hardwoods to work with, and it finishes great (consistant grain and no knots).


One piece of advice if you are designing your bar and plan to put a keg cooler in it - make sure you have clearance for the keg cooler door to fully open. I made this mistake and had to modify the cooler door so that it can be completely removed when replacing a keg.


Ben

 

[CptnRandy]

Looks great - congratulations!

Quote:

Originally posted by Ben Harper Three years and counting. I feel like a slacker but the birth of two children will really slow progress.

Well, you must not be very serious about this hobby if you had time to MAKE the 2 kids!


Got to get those priorities straight.

Quote:

Oh, and after all this work the wife announces she would like to move to a new subdivision!

Excellent - but tell her you couldn't possibly look at anything without considering the theater space. Think about how great version 2.0 will be!


Randy

 

[gtv]

Great looking bar! I am in the process of building one myself and I hope I can build one that looks half as good as yours! Did you build in a keg ice box or did you buy a kegorater?

 

[Steve James]

thanks for the tips Ben. Question for anyone: I have a bunch of steel studs left over from framing the walls. Could I build the bar frame out of them, and just cover in plywood?


thanks,

Steve

 

[Ben Harper]

gtv,


I purchased a kegorator. Actually I purchased a used one for $20 (yes twenty dollars). The guy said that it had a problem freezing up. Being an engineer, it sounded like an inexpensive challenge. $6.28 later (for a new circulating fan), it has worked great for 3 years and counting. I have seen them advetised used for $250. Another option is to purchase a small, top-loading freezer (

 

[mukaman]

Ben,


How high did you make your riser for the 2nd row? I'm thinking of framing using 2x6 with a 3/4 sheet of plywood giving me just over the 6 in. I'm worried it will not be high enough. It is hard to tell from a picture but yours did not look that high. I was just wondering if vieiwng is fine in the 2nd row?

 

[mukaman]

Sorry Ben...just scrolled down and saw the comment. How high off the floor is your screen? So you think that extra 2" would help. Hopefully you are not looking at the back of someone head in the 1st row.

 

[Ben Harper]

Mukaman,


My front row actually consists of a couch (not visible in pics). It is very easy to see over this row as my couch (and most couches) sit 5 to 6" lower than the Berkline or equivalent theater chairs. Therefore, placing the second row (first row of Berklines) on 2x6's with 3/4" plywood gave me plenty of clearance (2x4's would work just as well).


However the third row (on second tier riser) is only 6" above the first tier. Although the sight clearance still works out okay, I wish I had built the second riser out of 2x8's, giving me an extra 2" for when tall people are seated in the second row. I kept it at 6" as the back of my theater has a lower ceiling.


Hope this wasn't confusing!


Ben

 

[dholmes54]

Beautiful Ht, where did you get thank movie carpet! Looks great

 

[Ben Harper]

dHolmes,


Thanks - the wife hates the carpet. Her "positive" spin was that when the kids throw-up on it, you'll never be able to tell.


I puchased the carpet from Paragon Mills (New Jersey) for $14.50/yd. However, I picked it up myself since I live about an hour away from the factory. Paragon's shipping price was $0.62/yd, which is very reasonable.


The manufacturer's site shows several cinema and rec room carpets. All are priced about the same. Here's the link:

www.joycarpets.com


Ben

 

[dholmes54]

Thanks, that is reasonable!!