My Home Bar Thread

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toycruiser23

Active Member
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
31
Reaction score
7
Location
Chandler, AZ
Hey All! Well for my first post on here I'm going start a thread on a project I've been working on for over 4 years now. Earlier this year I made some great progress and it's almost done. So a quick summary of what my dad and I have been working on.
I moved into my house in Chandler back in July of 2005. One of the reasons I liked this house was because of a fairly large backyard and a 12'x24' "Tuff Shed" there as well. This shed had power, in wall AC unit, fan, roll up door and a 4 station work out machine in it, all that the last owners left. Well instead of using it as a workout room, I decided to make it bigger, bring more power over and turn it into a man cave/tavern.
I got my dad to help since he is quite handy. We added on 6' to make it 18'x24', raised the roof, made it vaulted with open beams and put pine t&g for the ceiling. My grandfather is a retired electrician so he helped me wire up the place. We brought over more power, 2AWG 220V, and I put in a 15,000BTU in wall heat pump, like something you would see in a hotel room. I put in wood flooring from Costco, bought a sweet pool table, built a stereo rack, 32" LCD TV, wainscoting, beer bottle shelf that crowns the room and for the finale, built a L shaped bar that measures 11'x8' roughly including a backbar. Bar is complete with a sink/hot water, 15cu keezer, 4 taps, CO2/beer gas tanks, etched mirror, mini fridge and mini freezer.
So I've only been brewing for 2 years now and when I started this project, I had no idea I would become a homebrewer. It makes sense for me to be a homebrewer, since I am a DIYer, plus I have space to entertain and serve my beer.
I'll post some pictures of the progress from when I moved into my house to what it is today. I'm still looking for some pictures, so you'll see some jumps in progress. Enjoy! :mug:
 
Shed/backyard when I first moved in.
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Progress
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2x12 ridgebeam and 2x8 rafters. 4x6 beams holding the walls together
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So I had ordered the pool table and it was due to come, but I didn't have the flooring in yet! I put down the flooring for the entire room in 6 hours on the day before the pool table was due to arrive!
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Measuring where the pool table was going to be placed...
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And it's in!
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When we put the beams in, we didn't just simply divide them up into the room. I strategically placed one so it would be directly centered over the pool table and allow me to hang the pool table light fixtures from it.
 
A couple of side notes...
The walls are green because this is an Irish/Guinness themed pub. I plan to cover the walls with Guinness and beer posters, so you'll only see the green in between.
Notice the wood stain and the felt color on the pool table? Any idea why I went with this combo? Any guesses?
I took a piece of the wood stain of the pool table to homedepot to have the color match it. I bought the Behr Stain paint and that's what is painted on the ceiling, beams and eventually the wainscoting.

My dad and I are proud!
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Starting on the back bar...
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looks pretty awesome! i am thinking 'black and tan' color combo perhaps? way to go on the pub, you will definitely be the envy of the forum for a while! cheers!
 
Now flashforward to earlier this year. Here is where I am missing some pics. The backbar got done, the stereo cabinet done, and the beer bottle shelf that crowns the room is done. First pic is the start of the L part of the bar, where the keezer is going.
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looks pretty awesome! i am thinking 'black and tan' color combo perhaps? way to go on the pub, you will definitely be the envy of the forum for a while! cheers!

Thank you and oh so close!!!! Think of right after a Guinness pour... with the big head. I can put a glass on the edge of the table and it looks like a glass of Guinness! :mug:
 
More pics of the bar
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I spent about 8 hours on a weekend sanding the bar top. We used 2x6 pine T&G with the flat side up. Glued them together and sanded the heck out of it! 2 piece bar top.
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Got the bar top varnished and hinges in.
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And done! Only a few minor details left. We still have to put face pieces on on the inside of the bar and vertical pieces on the outside. In the room I still need to finish the shelf/trim above the wainscoting, floor molding and finish off the crown molding. I still need to pick up a few more bar stools and plan to put a foot rest along the bottom of the bar.
 
This past St. Patty's Day, I brewed 30 gallons of beer and 5 gallons of root beer for my 4th Annual St. Patty's Day party. This party is one of the reasons why I kicked things in overdrive to finish the bar. It's been long overdue... here are a couple of pics.

Me pouring beer!
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People enjoying themselves on my homebar.
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I even printed off little flyers with the beers I have on tap. I named my pub Kali's Tavern after my dog, Kali.
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wow, nice work man. love the etched mirror and bottle crowning. didn't spot a dart board or mechanical bull though....i'm sure you still have some work to do :p
 
wow, nice work man. love the etched mirror and bottle crowning. didn't spot a dart board or mechanical bull though....i'm sure you still have some work to do :p

Thank you! There is a place i can put a dart board, but it would take up some potential sitting room at the bar. I have a dart board on my back porch for now. For a while I was planning on putting in a poker table, but my bar ended up being a foot longer than I first planned. So because of lack of room, no poker table. It's crowded enough in there already. :)
 
Dude,

Seriously what's with the MGD and Blue Moon tap handles? Turn in your membership. LOL. All kidding aside what a great brew shed and brew pub. I am as green as your walls with jealousy.
 
Dude,

Seriously what's with the MGD and Blue Moon tap handles? Turn in your membership. LOL. All kidding aside what a great brew shed and brew pub. I am as green as your walls with jealousy.

I know, I know! Already been taken care of! A friend from work found some Sierra Nevada tap handles for me. I also plan on making my own as well. Thanks for the compliment!
 
jerk store called..... they are running out of you!

Ill bring beer to share, when you gunna invite me over?


Seriously though.. good lookin place! Nice work.
 
jerk store called..... they are running out of you!

Ill bring beer to share, when you gunna invite me over?


Seriously though.. good lookin place! Nice work.


LOL, if you bring beer, you are invited! Nice thing about having 4 taps is the ability for other avid homebrewers to bring over a keg and share. :mug:
 
Here's the latest picture of my backyard. As you saw from some of the construction pictures, I was also working on a hot tub, patio area. The vine covered trellises surround that area.

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Looks amazing mate, reminds me of a good old neighborhood pub back home.

Could you put up a few more pics showing the chest freezer and how it looks head on from that side of the bar. Also is your draft box cooled? Id be interested in seeing how you ran your lines to it. Im trying to convince my father in law to go the chest rout for his bar rather than spending 600 bucks on a commercial that will only hold 3 cornies.

Cheers:mug:
 
The actual bar didn't take long to construct. We had it done in about 3 weekends. At least the L shaped part.

Looks amazing mate, reminds me of a good old neighborhood pub back home.

Could you put up a few more pics showing the chest freezer and how it looks head on from that side of the bar. Also is your draft box cooled? Id be interested in seeing how you ran your lines to it. Im trying to convince my father in law to go the chest rout for his bar rather than spending 600 bucks on a commercial that will only hold 3 cornies.

Cheers:mug:

The draft box is cooled a bit. I'm running a 2.5" PVC from the keezer to the draft box where the lines run inside. It helps, but there is a lot more I can do to keep the lines cooler. There are some very good looking keezers online. I prefer them over the commercial keg coolers. I currently don't have any pics of running the lines. I'll see what I can get tomorrow, the draft box is placed int here semi permanent.
 
Great build man, I am very green with envy. SWMBO approved a 12x24 man cave in the back yard of the house we will one day buy. I was pushing for 18x24, maybe a few of these pics will win her over. If not, maybe a porch with added onto the cave will work. Either way I'm gonna be reviewing your posts for some inspiration. Again awesome work.
 
Great build man, I am very green with envy. SWMBO approved a 12x24 man cave in the back yard of the house we will one day buy. I was pushing for 18x24, maybe a few of these pics will win her over. If not, maybe a porch with added onto the cave will work. Either way I'm gonna be reviewing your posts for some inspiration. Again awesome work.

Thanks man! 12x24 is nice, but that extra square footage really allows you to do a lot more, like add a pool table. I think you would see that a 12x24 would also be a bit crowded if you ever entertain. During my latest parties, I found that it was getting crowded, mainly because the bar was in there now, but that also allowed people to crowd around the bar. :tank:
 
Dude you went from a gym to a pub.....You gonna pack on the pounds in style now!!!! Love the place it is everything a man who loves beer could ever want in his backyard.
 
all is beautiful, but where are the growing hops?
:)

Thanks! The hops are growing in my garden, which is straight beyond the vines. I have a twine going up to the side of my house. I just planted them last April, I don't think I'm going to get much this season. Phoenix heat is killer!
 
Amazing. You should be really proud of that bad boy :rockin: I only wish that i still lived in Chandler so I could swing by for a beer :mug:
 
I think it's about time I update this thread. I decided to finally finish the bar. I was about 92% done, with all that was left was mostly trim, including floor molding, window and door trim, crown molding, and a shelf trim that is placed above the wainscoting. I also ordered 8 more barstools, stained and varnished them and made shelves for the back bar. No more stacking glasses... woot!

Staining chairs and all
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Staining shelves
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Window trim in
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Shelf
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How about a shelf outside?
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