I have been looking and looking for a pre-built bar, and haven't found anything that really meets my needs. The few that I have liked have price tags that are well outside my budget.

With that... I was wondering if I could go to Lowes, for example, and buy the cabinets, countertop and materials to build it yourself? Would they even have the expertise in something like this? Examples, etc?

 

My father built a bar in the basement. I will be at my parents' house tomorrow so I'll take pictures. It's very basic but might give you an idea.

 

building a bar sounds like a pretty basic project.

 

There are plenty of webpages out there that can assist you in building a bar.

 

No, I have never built a bar but hanging cabinets is a beotch. I would think that may be the hardest part. I think you'll do great.

 

hanging cabinets is a walk in the park. way easier then the finish carpentry involved

 

I already have a huge mirror on the wall, so I'm not thinking about wall cabinets. More like cabinets underneath, etc.

 

what exactly is your question scrib?

if you just want the cabinet/countertop type deal it's really really straightforward. you know what you're doing.

 

I really don't think I know what I'm doing.


I know there are cabinets out there, and I know I can get any type of countertop... But bringing it together... No fucking clue.

 

you don't know how to put a countertop on some cabinets? ?

 

this will be my next project as well.

I am planning on the bottom cabinets to be 1/2 the depth of regular cabinets along the wall.
The actual bar part is killing me.
We have a simple modern look (wood) in the house and I want to keep that going.
Bringing the elements together is killing me as well.

 

how so? what are you having troubles with

 

i think my problem is that I am afraid to fuck things up.
It's one thing to put up a basement but, I am afraid of the "finishing" skills to make th bar look good.
Does that make sense?

 

ya. i can understand the apprehension to actually doing it, but you should be able to at least put together a decent plan. it shouldn't be too hard to find the materials needed to build a basic cabinet bar.

 

Building a bar for the pool area is on my to do list this summer. I have a few ideas... but haven't quite decided the route I want to go. I think I'm just going to frame out a basic rectangle, wrap it in wood, then face it with stone on the front and sides and a tile as the countertop.

We'll see...

 

tile is such a shitty countertop surface. go with a solid surface, concrete if you wanna go the DIY route.

 

here's an outdoor bar with a nice concrete countertop...

 

Why is tile bad? We were going to use granite tiles anyway...

 

Cause it's a PITA to keep shit from rocking and tipping over with the height differences between the grout and the tile.

If you do use tile, make sure you have tiny grout lines, maybe not even have any. Butt the tiles right up against each other.

But I agree with the boss, SS :ftw:

 

www.photos.yahoo.com/jgiguere17

click on the side skirts folder and you can see the bar I built in college

all 2x4's and teh top is MDF 1/2 in thick covered in bottle caps. the outside is a thin fiber board covered with "wood grain" contact paper. from afar you can not tell it is contact paper and even sitting at it you can hardly see the lines. molding for all the edges and all

 

Scrib I think there's sites that will actually give you diagrams on building a bar so you just have to cut to dimensions listed and put it together per say..

Might cost a few bucks but if you're hesitant about building your own this might be the way to go..

 

If you have no idea on how to build a bar, I'd suggest not building one.

If you can't or won't buy one, then I'd suggest you start building little things, and keep increasing the difficultly, working your way up to the bar. There's no reason to jump straight into the bar if its going to come out crappy.

Or better yet, have your father do it (and help him out), that way you learn something & he does all the hard stuff.

 

Maybe start of by finding an existing bar that is the 80% solution, copy it, and tweak it to your own needs.

I had no creativity to build my fireplace mantle, so I went to Eddie Bauer, photographed one in their store, and more or less copies it for 10% of the price.

 

Ahh, makes sense! Thanks for the tips!

 

Another idea is to check out an unfinished furniture place... I just bookmarked a place near me yesterday, since I've been looking for a small cabinet for the kitchen:

http://www.millstores.com/display.cc...dex,cat1L.html

Maybe you have an unfinished furniture place near you ??

 

Here is what my dad built (and almost never uses):







I'm not sure what exactly you're looking for but this might give you an idea.

 

nice. wood on top and stone on the sides, it's inverted! neat.

 

Wow, weird seeing that link. We purchased a TON of stuff from them when we lived in NY!

 

eve - that is a sweet looking bar.

But as you pointed out, bars don't get used nearly as much as people think they will. It's something I've considered, but haven't had the time or justification for one. Maybe someday, but it sould suck to spend all the time and effort to build something that would rarely get used.

 

I don't really care if it doesn't get used as long as I didn't spend a shitpot to get it.

 

Point taken. Even if not used, they can also be an attractive furnishing.

 

Ending up buying one...

Got a sweet deal... 84" bar, Chestnut finish with a formica top.

 

nice, where did you get it from... I was JUST thinking about bars today (may finish our basement).

 

Ended up going to The Great Escape.

http://www.shopthegreatescape.com/

Pretty decent deal. I found some stool at Target to match, I think. I was going to get something there, but figured there are many more options for stools and chairs out there.

 

It's here...

 

Looks great....Always something I wanted...Next house maybe (although I picture myself ending up like Jack Nicolson in the Shining)....

 

Looks great (the mirror is a nice touch), but now you need some stools...

 

Working on that... Not sure if I want stools or chairbacks.

 

I prefer chairbacks, but stools and chairbacks are another one of those things that are sometimes hard to find. You'll see alot of 'em, but you never seem to find the exact ones you're looking for...

 

yih, I hear ya. I saw a couple that I like, but they were $150 a pop... And I want 4, so that would be $600. No thanks.

I like the idea of a combo... Two stools, two chairbacks. But matching that will be a royal pain.