Ok, finally (after about 6 years), I've finally gotten to do what I've always wanted in my HT.....buy or build a bar. I had some excess wood laying around, so I thought I would see how far I could go without spending some money. Unfortunately I do have to hit Home Depot for items here and there (like my wall outlets for example in that other thread), but I've saved all my receipts and plan on adding up my total costs. I'm sure someone, especially here, could do better for less, but this is a learning experience for me. There is no set time for me to be done, so any snags on the way, I'll take my time to think it through and figure out.
First I thought I would build up some 2x4s in a 'ladder' style fashion. This was to be the bar's skeleton. I figure the whole project could be broken down into three phases:
1- frame it out (the bar's basic size and shape)
2- skin it out (panels, doors, and tops that would be cut to size and stained and polyed)
3- trim it out (those little pieces of wood and trim that hide things like seams between two panels, plywood edges, etc.....or in my case, cover some mistakes)
Here's some pics of the framing, which I used 2x4s I had laying around.
The tallest ladder frame was for the bar height and where I would mount my bar top. The smaller, for the counter top. The smallest square looking frames would join the two sections and would be the "ribs" of the frame so to speak.
Here's what it looks like after assembly. I used 2" or 2.5" cabinet screws (can't remember).
So, you start to see the shape of the bar once everything's put together. One thing I've noticed is that stupid support pole in the center of my basement. It has been a thorn in my side since moving into my house. Seems it's always in the way no matter how I planned on laying out the HT. Now it seems my bar project will be the same way, but I found a solution. I thought I would just bring the bar out that much further in width. This also made the bar more rigid, since the wall on the other end was it's only anchor point at the time (I didn't want to drill into my floor for anchoring). Some pics.
Before
After
What I did to encompass the pole was cut a small section of plywood, then drill out a 3" hole with a hole saw. I then split the two pieces in half and just butt them back together like so.
Unfortunately, as you can see, I didn't account for the width of my saw blade. See the little gap? I guess I can probably fill that in with a bit of sawdust/glue mix. I personally don't see it as an eyesore as I'm glad I'll have the support pole covered in the end. Also, the white counter top in the first pic was from an old workbench the previous homeowner left behind. I took the bench apart to use the wood from it for the bar. Later on, I plan on building a back bar and will use that counter top for it.
****side note. Being a slow typer sucks. Good thing I copied my text before submitting my post. The forum logged me out for some reason.****
First I thought I would build up some 2x4s in a 'ladder' style fashion. This was to be the bar's skeleton. I figure the whole project could be broken down into three phases:
1- frame it out (the bar's basic size and shape)
2- skin it out (panels, doors, and tops that would be cut to size and stained and polyed)
3- trim it out (those little pieces of wood and trim that hide things like seams between two panels, plywood edges, etc.....or in my case, cover some mistakes)
Here's some pics of the framing, which I used 2x4s I had laying around.
The tallest ladder frame was for the bar height and where I would mount my bar top. The smaller, for the counter top. The smallest square looking frames would join the two sections and would be the "ribs" of the frame so to speak.
Here's what it looks like after assembly. I used 2" or 2.5" cabinet screws (can't remember).
So, you start to see the shape of the bar once everything's put together. One thing I've noticed is that stupid support pole in the center of my basement. It has been a thorn in my side since moving into my house. Seems it's always in the way no matter how I planned on laying out the HT. Now it seems my bar project will be the same way, but I found a solution. I thought I would just bring the bar out that much further in width. This also made the bar more rigid, since the wall on the other end was it's only anchor point at the time (I didn't want to drill into my floor for anchoring). Some pics.
Before
After
What I did to encompass the pole was cut a small section of plywood, then drill out a 3" hole with a hole saw. I then split the two pieces in half and just butt them back together like so.
Unfortunately, as you can see, I didn't account for the width of my saw blade. See the little gap? I guess I can probably fill that in with a bit of sawdust/glue mix. I personally don't see it as an eyesore as I'm glad I'll have the support pole covered in the end. Also, the white counter top in the first pic was from an old workbench the previous homeowner left behind. I took the bench apart to use the wood from it for the bar. Later on, I plan on building a back bar and will use that counter top for it.
****side note. Being a slow typer sucks. Good thing I copied my text before submitting my post. The forum logged me out for some reason.****
bscene-drinkingcheers:
