Building a Bar

[redoubt]

So, we've been wanting to build a bar for awhile. We've picked a good spot, got 'er all planned out, but we're not sure what materials we want to use. We're trying to do this fairly cheap, but want it to come out looking pretty good. The plan is to do an L-shape against a wall and around a weird corner to help use up some otherwise unusable space. It'll be roughly 7-8' long on the longest portion, 4-5' long on the "L" piece, and about 2' deep. We'll be building in spots for 2 kegerators (3 taps total). Most of the bar will be open space underneath for stools, etc. but there will be some storage spots built in too.

Do you guys have any tips on materials to use (or to not use)?

Thanks!
Keely.

[GuingesRock]

You're in the valley. How about a making it by stacking wooden apple boxes on their side with a large live edge plank on the top. The apple boxes could be facing outwards and used for storing and displaying items such as brewing books, growlers, hops, beer bottles, beer glasses.

[redoubt]

Thanks, Mark. Any idea where to get a big live edge plank? The apple boxes are a good idea, and could likely be sourced easily enough.

-Keely.

[GuingesRock]

Kathleen's dad, the guy you met the other night, has a band saw. If he doesn't have anything suitable, he'd know someone else.

If you end up using the boxes, some could face inwards for glasses and bar supplies, and some could face outwards for displaying stuff.

[GAM]

All I can picture is a beer leak and runed books. I would go for a solid top for safety.

Sandy

[GuingesRock]

Tha plan was to put a wide live edge plank on the top Sandy, as a bar top. The whole thing might be slightly wobbly though. An advantage is it could be easily moved/relocated like a piece of furniture and wouldn't be a permanent fixture.

[redoubt]

Whatever the bar top is (probably going to be the live-edge plank), it'll be fastened to the wall and reinforced underneath so it won't have any wobble risk and could handle being leaned on, etc. It'll be more-or-less permanent, but that works for me as it's otherwise useless space. Anything stored underneath would most-likely be bottles of wine, growlers, or other glassware. We've got a decent spot for books at the moment.

Thanks again for the input, guys.

-Keely.

[GAM]

Sealed is more my concern. Beer spills are nasty. I know how you feel after the Kezzer spill last week Mark.

Sandy

[GuingesRock]

Oh, I see. It will need to be sanded and lacquered with something. Old beer is also very sticky. Cardboard beer mats would be nice. Could get some printed with Rabbits on

[redoubt]

Oh yes, definitely planned on sanding and sealing/lacquering it to ensure it doesn't soak up beer and get nasty.

Rabbit beer coasters sound good! The actual rabbits aren't keen on holding our beer...

-Keely.

[GuingesRock]

Could put little doors on the apple boxes and keep rabbits in them too.

[bluenose]

if you go the apple crate way, you could add a lot of strength if you tied them together with some vertical 2x3's or 2x4s... a couple of horizontal ones would work too, they could be hidden underneath the crates and underneath the bartop

everything could be sealed with clear silicone if you have the knack for applying it cleanly

[enduir]

A live edge plank is always an amazing feature, might be a challenge to work with on a L-shape but it can be done.

Personally for the top, front and sides I'd go with a nice plywood (birch goes on sale a lot) stained dark with trim either white (for an accent) or stained to match the rest. Easy to drill for taps or notch to put in a drip tray. Live-edge could be used across the front as feature on a higher ledge (the way most bars are lower at the back).

Another thing people are doing at the moment (and would be a very cheap option) is build with OSB and stain.



To seal I'd go for Helmsman Spar Urethane. Comes in gloss, semi-gloss and satin finish. It might get scratched up eventually but a light sand and fresh coat will fix it right up.

Alternatively you could do a few coats of Danish oil which is kind of a stain/varnish mixture. I know a lot of bars use a pour-on epoxy for a very durable finish but I've no experience with that stuff. If you go to Kent or Home Depot or anywhere like that they usually have display samples so you can see how each finish looks on a few different woods.

Anywhere that might come in to contact with liquid (even accidentally), I would seal.

[redoubt]

Teej, thanks for your input!

What is OSB?

We've got some live-edge planks coming shortly, thanks to GRock and his father-in-law, Perry. That'll be the bar top. For the bottom, we're thinking either plywood or MDF to build some shelves and such. If we use crates/apple boxes, it'd maybe be for wall-shelves, but we're not that far into the plan yet.

The two-tier idea is likely out...the back edge of the bar will be mounted against the wall, more like a counter-top I guess. We haven't got the space to create one that you could go behind.

Kirsten was thinking Spar for finishing, I think, so we're on the same page there!

Pics will be posted once we get to work, of course.

-Keely.

[GuingesRock]

OSB ...Oriented Strand Board. Cheap and strong. I agree, places done out with it look cool. I like it just sealed, without stain. Parts of the Fid restaurant (Dresden Row Halifax) are done like that (pic below). Good restaurant to go for lunch and glass of wine.

[enduir]

Ah right, I get you now. I was thinking of an L-shape out from the wall instead of against the wall.

OSB is cheap and cheerful, just the way I like it. Say you were putting vinyl siding on a timber-frame building, you might cover the frame with OSB underneath the siding. It's traditionally been seen as a bit of an ugly duckling but getting popular now because it gives an interesting new look. Also it's about half the cost of construction grade plywood, and 1/4-1/3 the cost of something like birch or oak plywood (based on 3/4", 4'x8' sheets).

MDF is a great product but I'd be careful using it anywhere that might get wet. Not that plywood deals with moisture overly well, but MDF is notoriously moisture-sensitive unless you paint or seal it thoroughly (like the backs and undersides of shelves).

[mumblecrunch]

OSB ...Oriented Strand Board. Cheap and strong. I agree, places done out with it look cool. I like it just sealed, without stain. Parts of the Fid restaurant (Dresden Row Halifax) are done like that (pic below). Good restaurant to go for lunch and glass of wine.

Agreed that OSB can look awesome. Combined with the poured epoxy mentioned earlier it can make a really nice table/bar top (although Live Edge is going to be that much purdier).

Also agreed that Fid was awesome. Sadly it closed its doors a year ago tomorrow.

[redoubt]

Ahhh. I always thought of OSB and plywood as the same thing. Now that I see what OSB actually is, I can differentiate between the two. (Can you tell I have sooooo much building experience? ...or not...)

Kirsten cleaned out shed the other day, and I think there's some decent OSB out in there from when the shed was built (before we bought the house). That could be handy.

And yeah, good call about the MDF and moisture. We were planning to seal things, but the OSB may be better overall...

-Keely.