Care to watch the progress of my custom bar???

[theeloved1]

Inspired by all the garage progress threads that I try and keep up with on this site, I thought I'd post the progress pics of my current custom built bar project...We probably don't all want a bar quite as bad as we do a garage, but there has to be a few autopians out there that like to kick back a few



You do have to keep in mind that I'm no carpenter, just a "weekend warrior" who happens to be off work for the winter months. I expect somebody to chime in about how I "should" have done somethin different to make it more supportive or what have ya. Thats half the reason I'm posting this...I'm always up for learning...so critique away!!!





Here's the before of the space in my basement...lets see what I can turn it into.

First thing I did was frame up the bottom part of the "half wall" behind the bar, and get the main shape/frame of the bar put together.

Next, was the little secondary countertop area behind the bar. When looking at this, the sink will be on the far left side, with a microwave on a shelf underneath it. The right side of it will be open countertop space, and the mini fridge underneath.

I then added some more bracing across the top...for support, and to make the 6 1/2" overhang on the outside. The bracing 2x4s also extend to the inside of the bar 5". As you can see, there is no 2x4 added on top of those. Thats going to be one of those little "drip trays" or whatever you want to call it. It will be 1.5" lower than the bar.

Time to add some shelves inside the unit.

Most of the plywood is now on...

Thats where I stand right now...I'm having trouble getting motivated this morning so I figure I'd kill some more time by posting this up.





I'll try and keep this updated as I progress...

 

[Wasatch]

Looking pretty good. So what brews do you like? I've been know to start a few beer threads here, lol

 

[theeloved1]

I'm a pretty straight forward beer drinker. Miller Lite would cover 90% of my beer drinking. I don't "stock" anything else, but on occassion I'll have a Rolling Rock, Leineys...Blue Moon isn't bad. All of which only when we're at someone else's house and they have em. Cocktails on the other hand...its probably easier to name what I don't like...favorite being Whiskey Sour.

 

[stilez]

Looks great thus far. I am interested to see this come along.





Are you planning on doing the whole basement around it? How about a plasma TV behind it?





In to any martinis?

 

[theeloved1]

Looks great thus far. I am interested to see this come along.





Are you planning on doing the whole basement around it? How about a plasma TV behind it?





In to any martinis?

Yes, I'm planning on doing the whole basement. I'm starting with the bar and the bathroom. We already have a tv and some spare couches down here. Along with my homemade "professional" poker table, and the ping pong table. Its just a matter of funds as to how fast the rest of the basement goes. The wife and I are "only" 24 so...



On the half wall behind the bar, thats where the shelves for the bottles will be. On the wall that is already sheetrocked, there is going to be a fish tank built into that wall. Front of the tank, flush with the existing sheetrock.



We have a Hitachi 57" Widescreen upstairs thats going to move down here when we get the other stuff closer to done. The plan is for the basement to be the "main attraction" with the living room (tv, couches, surround sound), the computer, poker table, ping pong, and of course the bar.





I'm not real big on martinis, but catch myself stealing sips of my wife's all the time I just don't care for a whole one to myself as much. Although, at a work Christmas party, her boss made "Peppo-tinis" Peppermint schnapps and ???? It was delicious.

 

[theeloved1]

Quick update of yesterdays work...



Sheetrocked the bottom half of the wall so I could slide everything in place. Thats where it sits now...all nailed into the concrete. Put about a million screws in the layer of plywood on the top and then cut and placed the hardibacker board on top of that...again, about a million screws.



It was my first time working with the Hardibacker board. Very strong stuff, but what a PITA to work with. The bar officially weighs ~25 metric tons now

And here's a better shot to show the "drip tray" that sits a little lower around the inside edge of the bar...

I'm hoping to get the bottom done today so that we can bring home some tile and compare colors/patterns.

 

[zippymbr]

Looks cool. What are you going to cover everything with? Granite tiles on the top perhaps? maybe some Maple veneer around the outside with matching maple edgeing around he bar. Brass foot rail can be bought a Rockler.com, along with alot of other hard to find woodworking project stuff.

 

[BobD]

Looking good man! Keep it up and keep up the pics!

 

[theeloved1]

Thanks for the kind words guys...helps to know poeple are looking at the pics Danase



The wife and I are having some "creative differences" about how to stain/paint/decorate the whole thing. We're both into modern stuff, and not big on woodwork, but this tongue and groove paneling is making our decisions tough. Might end up with a "black" stain to keep the grain and wood look, but have it be black to help go with what we have visioned for the rest of the basement.



I'll up more pics tonight or tom. morning of today's progress...

 

[zippymbr]

You could use a laminate, that would be modern looking. What are you using for a bar surface.

 

[theeloved1]

Top surface will be tile that is still undecided upon...waiting to figure out what we're going to do with the bottom to match that...wife should be home any minute, and I'm planning on another trip to the store tonight to discuss options.

 

[theeloved1]

Well, since I've gotten next to nowhere today while "thinking" about this bar...I decided to switch gears a bit. First thought was to clean my fish tanks, but I'm not doing that tonight because I've been messing around with stain and lacquer today...no thanks for putting that in my tanks.



Landed on something a litte more "autopian" instead....Here's what I'm about to tackle...one of my bar signs I inherited. Its nasty. Couple befores to see what I'm working with. I have no idea what kind of expectations to have for results...





EDIT: Moving these before pictures to my next post so they can be seen side by side with the afters...check the next page.

 

[General Lee]

Excellent job so far. I love seeing work in progress pics, especially home improvement. I'm looking forward to seeing more pics and the finishing product!

 

[theeloved1]

Gen. Lee: Glad to hear we have another person watching...I'm actually second guessing my decision to put this on here...I feel pressured to do better work now. Might be for the better in the end.





Here's the pictures of the bar sign that I mentioned in my last post. When I got to taking the cover off, I found out that the "orange" color is from an actual "tint" on the inside of the plastic, it wasn't all just grime from the years.



Autopian process list:



Wash

303

AIO

SSR2.5

NXT

I can't say that I'm disappointed with how it turned out. Damn good sign for free. All three light tubes inside work too! WOOT!

 

[General Lee]

Gen. Lee: Glad to hear we have another person watching...I'm actually second guessing my decision to put this on here...I feel pressured to do better work now. Might be for the better in the end.

Na, don't feel that way. You may encounter people saying, "I don't perfer that design",or that color of", etc. but the bottom line is it looks great so far and it will look fantastic when finished. If you don't want to post them, you can PM them to me



That sign cleaned up well :xyxthumbs

 

[theeloved1]

Naw, I don't have to PM to ya...I don't have a problem putting them up here for everyone to see. I'm only 24 and don't have any "experience" with the trades...other than the stuff I've done since buying my house 2 1/2 years ago. Complete remodels of both the bathroom and kitchen (ceramic tile, tub/shower, vanity, sinks, countertops, tile backsplash, everything) the garage, all interior trim and doors... Therefore, I consider myself in need of any help I can get. Thats why I posted on here in the first place. I'm a fan of watching and posting process pictures...I feel its a great way to interact/learn. I have no problem with CONSTRUCTIVE criticism....bring it on!



The 2 most common phrases around my house are:



My Wife: "Do you know what you're doing?"

Me: "Yeah, its called improvising. If it doesn't work/look like we planned when I'm done, then I'll do it over." :lol



So far, every project has turned out good and I'm proud of my work. If someone doesn't like what I've done, they can get out of my house :Geezx







BTW: Out of curiosity, I tried to find that sign on ebay to see what something "classic" like that is worth. I can't find one. Nor can I find one through the first 20 pages of a google image search.

 

[General Lee]

I do most of my remodeling as well. I refinised my stairs last year. I ripped up the carpet to find pine stairs to be totally trashed. I sanded, sanded some more, sanded some more, filled nail holes, sanded some more, stained and ployurethaned them. I removed the iron stair rail and bulit a wooden stair rail. Looks so much better now.

 

[imported_KevinA]

A friend of mine put bottle caps on the top of his bar and then poured something over it to seal it all in (drawing a blank on the name of the product - someone here will chime in).



Edit:

I forgot to say how nice the bar is turning out - you do good work!



I like the sign too - it's been a looong time since I've see "The Champagne of Beers".

 

[theeloved1]

I've definately found that, over the last 2 1/2 yrs, there hasn't been anything more satisfying than completing a remodeling project on my house. Before here, Nicole and I both lived with our parents...once she was done with hygeine school, we found this place. We'd been together so long already, that we were more worried about getting a house, than we were about getting married at that point. Our realtor (elderly friend of my mother-in-law) more or less tried everything she could to talk us out of wanting this place. I knew it was the one though...as soon as I walked in the door. Not that I can blame her...two young kids getting their first house...this probably wasn't the typical choice.



Built in 1976, the ONLY things that had been done to this house since then were new carpeting in all but 1 room, and a new roof. There was zero landscaping, orange countertops in the kitchen, 3 layers of linoleum floor...avacado green bathroom, all the trim and doors were incredibly dark and drab...overall, there was just a ton of work to be done. Not exactly what the first time home buyer is usually looking for, especially when they're 21. We closed on the place at 3:15 in the afternoon and by 5:30 I had moved all my boxes into the garage and had wrecking bar and hammer in hand...started ripping the bathroom apart right then. That was part of the deal with Nicole...the bathroom had to be done immediately because the tub/shower was SOOOO nasty. I'll see if I can dig up some before/afters of the house...

 

[zippymbr]

I've definately found that, over the last 2 1/2 yrs, there hasn't been anything more satisfying than completing a remodeling project on my house. Before here, Nicole and I both lived with our parents...once she was done with hygeine school, we found this place. We'd been together so long already, that we were more worried about getting a house, than we were about getting married at that point. Our realtor (elderly friend of my mother-in-law) more or less tried everything she could to talk us out of wanting this place. I knew it was the one though...as soon as I walked in the door. Not that I can blame her...two young kids getting their first house...this probably wasn't the typical choice.



Built in 1976, the ONLY things that had been done to this house since then were new carpeting in all but 1 room, and a new roof. There was zero landscaping, orange countertops in the kitchen, 3 layers of linoleum floor...avacado green bathroom, all the trim and doors were incredibly dark and drab...overall, there was just a ton of work to be done. Not exactly what the first time home buyer is usually looking for, especially when they're 21. We closed on the place at 3:15 in the afternoon and by 5:30 I had moved all my boxes into the garage and had wrecking bar and hammer in hand...started ripping the bathroom apart right then. That was part of the deal with Nicole...the bathroom had to be done immediately because the tub/shower was SOOOO nasty. I'll see if I can dig up some before/afters of the house...

If you can survive a remmodeling project and stay together you can survie marriage. It helps if you have the same taste in things, or atleast can come to a compromise. Good luck with your current project. I used to do this kind of thing for living, so I very much enjoy seeing other peoples projects. Keep up the good work and keep the pics coming.