Anyone Built a Bar?

[Blackmesa]

Even though this isn't going in my garage, I hope its not too far off-topic.

Anyone here have any experience building a home bar? I'm in the planning stages and I'm looking for tips & tricks from those who've done it before. I'm struggling with 2 issues.


1) What to do for a back drop? Initially I was planning on creating 12" deep built in shelves behind the bar, since that is the typical bar back drop. However I realized that 12" of shelves, 30" behind the bar clearance, 24" deep base cabinets, and a 12" bar over hang is going to extend further into the room than I want. Even if I custom build shallower cabinets, any mini fridge/kegerator I can find is 20" deep minimum. I think a bar needs something behind it other than a plain wall to not look weird, the finacee thinks I'm nuts. Any thoughts?

2) The bar design is going to be the typical two-tiered, with a main countertop sitting on base cabinets, and the main bar top sitting ~6" above that on a built 2x4 wall. I'm thinking the bar top would be 16" deep, 2" overhang to the lower counter, 2" for the wall and a 12" overhang. I'm planning on a concrete counter top. If I finish the top of the 2x4 wall with plywood and gusset it to the face, will that be enough support? That much overhanging weight scares me a bit. How thick on the plywood?

 

[bczygan]

I designed a bar for Sparky Andersons home.

If the space behind is minimal, then use it to display and store liquor where it is visible, and for not very deep storage below. Maybe 8" deep at the most, maybe just 6". Use a big mirror to give it the illusion of more depth.

Bill


Are you going to have a brass foot rail?

Secure the bar to the floor.

 

[rcktsled]

http://www.familyhandyman.com/woodworking/projects/how-to-build-a-bar/view-all

Family Handyman magazine had a recent feature on building a home bar. I don't know if this will answer your specific questions but there are some good general guidelines here.

 

[Kevin54]

Check with Ratdoggy. He just built a bar in his basement and it turned out super.

 

[CSRPenFab]

I built one for the neighborhood parties a few years back. 8' wide with a nice dry sink, ice storage, and LED under-bar lighting. It rolls on 6" casters for use at whatever backyard is hosting the various parties we have. I'll try to post up some pictures later......

Found some pictures of before it was stocked. Very basic and made from scraps.

 

[ratdoggy]

Check with Ratdoggy. He just built a bar in his basement and it is turning out super.

Fixed it for you....


Here is my thread......http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=283907
If needed I can take measurements for you..
I did granite tile for the top...I was thinking of concrete but I thought it would weigh way too much and be "tippy"

 

[ratdoggy]

I built one for the neighborhood parties a few years back. 8' wide with a nice dry sink, ice storage, and LED under-bar lighting. It rolls on 6" casters for use at whatever backyard is hosting the various parties we have. I'll try to post up some pictures later......

Found some pictures of before it was stocked. Very basic and made from scraps.

That is very nice

 

[P51Boilermaker]

I built a bar in my moms basement. I'd recommend shelves behind the bar if you can. I opted not to when we finished the basement and now I can't because they're metal studs and won't support shelves. Instant regret as I'd now like to put bottles on it, just like a real bar.

I also did a two tier design, the front portion (customer side) I started with 3/4" plywood. Then covered that with a 3/4" pine top I got from Lowes. That was my cheapest option because it was a wide, long, and already glued. I mitred the front edge and attached a trim piece to cover the plywood.

So in the end the front part is 1 1/2" thick. Don't have any other dimensions unfortunately but I'll try to find some pictures of it. If you're worried about the weight of the concrete I'd suggest an artistic or curved support member attached to the front of the bar.

 

[rsanter]

First you need to decide on the style of bat you want.
Do you want the old school style where they had upper cabinets with doors or the more modern with the glass shelves to put liquor bottles on?

If you are really limited on space and the back of the bar will be in an interior wall, how about removing the drywall and recovering some of the space that would have been in inside of the wall to increase effective cabinet depth?

Does the fridge need to be in the back bar? How about 12" depth back lower cabinet for storage of bottles or whatever. Hanging racks for glasses that are only 4" deep with a mirror behind it. Then the bottom of the front bar can hold the deep cabinets for storage, sink and fridge.

How about a mixed theme bar? Backdrop of tools hanging on a pegboard or lionel trains or whatever other hobby you are into.

Bob

 

[P51Boilermaker]

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[Cyberbear]

When I operated my custom cabinet shop I was commissioned to build several wet bars, back bars and wine racks. The ideas are endless and only limited by your imagination and bank account. It reads like your limited space allowances are hindering your options, and the information from GJ readers appears to be helpful. I only wish I could offer suggestions, but there are too many to list. Good luck.

 

[Jazz1]

We did wall behind bar in old fire brick and set clay tiles into wall to hold bottles. Top of bar was1 piece solid maple 10' x 26" custom cut and varnished. Sold house long ago. New owners painted bar top orange.

 

[Blackmesa]

Fixed it for you....


Here is my thread......http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=283907
If needed I can take measurements for you..
I did granite tile for the top...I was thinking of concrete but I thought it would weigh way too much and be "tippy"

I'm curious what you mean by "too tippy" (I haven't browsed through your thread yet). Are you not securing the whole bar to the floor?

 

[Onewolf]

I built a Tiki Bar for our covered patio/pooldeck. http://onewolf.org/Album/HomeProjects/Tiki%20Bar/index.html

 

[jdieter]

I've got most of the design done on a U-shaped bar I'm installing in our basement. It will have a slop rail or drink well, whatever they're called along the inside and a working shelf under the top. One end had to forfeit seating to allow a kegerator install. I'm facing the same dilemma as you with a long overhang. Normal is 9" or so to make seating comfortable. The outer wall of the bar will be faced in stone to match a wood stove hearth I built in the basement. So that means my cabinets are 3" or so undersized in width to allow for the stone facing. I'm going to use 3/8 x 3/4 steel bar stock under the rough top to help support the overhang. I haven't nailed down a top surface yet, the quote for a custom laminate top was several grand, more than I anticipated.

 

[jdieter]

Oh ya another thing I built a full size mock-up of the bar top and outer wall out of some spare rigid insulation I had. Was well worth the time to see how the bar will work with the flow of the basement, how the seating works, get a general feel for the size and how functional the interior area of the bar will be. Highly recommend it if your bar is going to be very big at all. It amazed me how much bigger it was when mocked up than I expected.

 

[ratdoggy]

I'm curious what you mean by "too tippy" (I haven't browsed through your thread yet). Are you not securing the whole bar to the floor?

It's not secured to the floor at at all....
My basement is carpeted...
I felt with the overhang that concrete would be a problem for balance

 

[ratdoggy]

Oh ya another thing I built a full size mock-up of the bar top and outer wall out of some spare rigid insulation I had. Was well worth the time to see how the bar will work with the flow of the basement, how the seating works, get a general feel for the size and how functional the interior area of the bar will be. Highly recommend it if your bar is going to be very big at all. It amazed me how much bigger it was when mocked up than I expected.

I did mock mine up for overhang,height,width and real world usability
One of the first pics in my thread

 

[Conniptor]

Oh ya another thing I built a full size mock-up of the bar top and outer wall out of some spare rigid insulation I had. Was well worth the time to see how the bar will work with the flow of the basement, how the seating works, get a general feel for the size and how functional the interior area of the bar will be. Highly recommend it if your bar is going to be very big at all. It amazed me how much bigger it was when mocked up than I expected.

That's a great idea. We did that with the kitchen island we built at our previous house. We cut up the cardboard boxes from the base cabinets to mock up the 2 level top, oversized. We spent a couple weeks living with it, even eating on it, sliding the base cabs occasionally to get the right position, and trimming the top with scissors until we were happy with its size and radius of the corners. Then the granite folks made a template from it to cut the granite. I really miss that island!

 

[senlow]

I built a Tiki Bar for our covered patio/pooldeck. http://onewolf.org/Album/HomeProjects/Tiki%20Bar/index.html

Well done. I like it.

 

[P51Boilermaker]

Top of bar was1 piece solid maple 10' x 26" custom cut and varnished. Sold house long ago. New owners painted bar top orange.

PAINTED IT ORANGE?!!?!?!?

I can't believe they painted over a solid piece of maple like that. I'd be furious

 

[Blackmesa]

Great feedback, thanks guys!