My ongoing basement bar build

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Trimmer

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
Messages
69
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Location
Fairfax Station
My bar build started yesterday and since I have learned so much from this website I felt like I owed it to people that haven't done a bar build to use my bar build as a guide. There is a lot to think about when building a bar with a built in Chest Freezer. I'm no carpenter either.. In fact I had to borrow most of my tools from my neighbor..

These pictures will do the explaining better than I can.

bar20.jpg


bar 21.jpeg


BAR one.JPG


bar 2.jpeg


bar three.jpeg
 
Picture three above.
I Framed out the base before screwing anything together. I put the chest freezer up on a 2x6 frame with so top of the bar will be the standard 42" height. To get the other part of the bar the same width I had to extend a wood block about 8 inches to get it to be the same height.

Picture 4 above
I couldn't decide between these two bar rails so I decided to get them both.... The large one for the front of the bar and the small one for the back of the bar. I took a picture of the side view of the large rail because it's important later...

Picture 5 above
This is where it gets really tricky. The bar top over the freezer can not be connected to any part of the frame. The 2x4's on the back of the hinge part of the bar can only be so high which is about 2" down. However with the 10" overhang you can only see that gap if you are about 20' away from the bar. No big deal.

Picture below
structural Bar top on. To attach the flimsy chest freezer lid to the plywood above, I put a piece of plywood inside the freezer and marked the location of the outside (top of the freezer) plywood as well. Flip the chest freezer door upside down on the ground and screw together. It has to be exact. Also, notice the 7" over hang. The other 3" over hang will come from the large bar rail. I primed the plywood on the inside of the chest freezer in a attempt to avoid mold down the road.
 
The bar rail requires a bottom piece of cheap plywood. A a 3/8" (cheap) and 3/4" finished bar rail for the bar top. You can also see the chest freezer opening and the gap on the face behind the hinges.

bar 6.jpeg


bar 7.JPG


bar 8.jpeg
 
love the arm rest peice! should be a real nice sized bar when your thru! dont forget the tv and you'll never have to leave.
 
I will try to frame out the rest of the bar tomorrow. It should look nice. The oak plywood I got was $95 a sheet!
 
Quick google search brought up this. I dont know if maybe a lumber yard would be able to special order from there supplier but you can defiantly get it online. This place looks like they sell all sorts of moldings for bars though.
 
Pulling up a chair and I will be waiting to see those Taps get installed... :mug:

Looking good; What are you going to use for the bar top finish?
 
This build is awesome. I love the footprint, it feels like it fits right where it should be and isn't overkill / underkill.
 
Trimmer said:
Gents,

My bar build started yesterday and since I have learned so much from this website I felt like I owed it to people that haven't done a bar build to use my bar build as a guide. There is a lot to think about when building a bar with a built in Chest Freezer. I'm no carpenter either.. In fact I had to borrow most of my tools from my neighbor..

These pictures will do the explaining better than I can.

i'm guessing when you say "I'm no carpenter either" you mean by trade or occupation. because you, sir, are a carpenter.

awesome workmanship. cheers.
 
How much did all the wood and mouldings cost you?
Have plans to something similar in the basement for parties. Really love that curve and the layout couldnt be better!
 
That type of bar rail is called Chicago bar rail and you can get it from most major lumber yards, at least in Northern Virginia. I got it from a local company called smoot lumber. But Tart lumber also has it in stock. It was only $13 a foot which seemed really cheap considering the plywood was $95 a sheet.

RMS, the final bar top is on. It is red Oak. Once I stain and Varnish it, it should really pop. I still need to trim the whole bar out. On vacation for the weekend but I should get a lot done monday and Tuesday next week. I'll keep you all posted.
 
How much did all the wood and mouldings cost you?
Have plans to something similar in the basement for parties. Really love that curve and the layout couldnt be better!

All the wood so far has cost about $1,200. Taps, chest freezer, 4 faucets line, CO2 tanks, and future trim should put the final bill around $3,000.
 
....RMS, the final bar top is on. It is red Oak. Once I stain and Varnish it, it should really pop. I still need to trim the whole bar out. On vacation for the weekend but I should get a lot done monday and Tuesday next week. I'll keep you all posted.

Have a look at this stuff, I have used it before with good results; but vent the room well especially with the little fellow around since the fumes are bad.

http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/exterior-clear-protective-finishes/minwax-helmsman-spar-urethane
 
Before you put the stain on wipe down the wood with a wet rag to raise the grain then sand it down. If you want to wipe a piece of scrap wood first to check if the grain raises. Once you sand down the raised grain it will not raise again when you stain it and gives you a smooth surface.
 
Thanks RMS and Chrisl77. Unfortunately, I started on the staining and varnish coat before I had a chance to read your posts. But, RMS, I used that exact same spar urethane you suggested. It looks amazing. I sanded, cleaned, pre stained, stained and put down the spar urethane. First time using this stuff and it was easier than I expected. I pan on sanding down the spar urethane before I put down another coat.

I am most proud of picture number 4 below. The bar rail didn't match up with my other rail so I just marked and sanded it down until it looked right. I wasn't sure about the stain color, but once it is done I am very happy with the stain color I chose.

Also I cut the hole for the tee tower and the square for the recessed drip tray.

I can't wait to start putting on all my trim!!! I got an IPA kit from Austin Homebrew today and that will be the first beer I keg.. I am a little worried about getting the kegging system set up. I hear the 3/16th bev seal beer line is very hard to get on the 1/4 barb... I'll keep you all posted through the progress.

In the last picture you can see I used the same piece of wood on the bar rail where the seam is. I wanted the grains of the wood to continue to flow...

bar 17.jpeg


bar 19.jpeg


bar 18.jpg


bar15 (2).jpg


bar 16 (2).jpg
 
Nope. It actually makes your pressure reading accurate when the co2 and the beer are the same temp.

Cooling the co2 will make it look like you lost pressure. That may freak you out but it is normal.

Also, be VERY sure your connections are solid. Check it often when you first get it set up so you dont wake up to an empty tank.
 
Gorgeous bar! I can't wait to see it completely finished with the first pour!

I also can't wait to do something like this in my basement some time in the future.
 
This looks spectacular! If I had the space, I'd attempt the same. In the meantime, I try to just store my goods. Space in proportional to distance to DC on an affordable budget. :)
 
We have the space out here in Fairfax Station, but you have the good restaurants...

serious questions though. I need some suggestions from the kegging experts. I can't decide on the best way to keep my beer lines cool in my tower. I have two options that both have their pro's and con's but ultimately I want cool beer lines to my tower. I am using four 14' bev seal lines (I hope that is long enough because I have already cut my lines...) that will run up my Stainless TEE tower. Also I already made the DIY beer line cleaner https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/diy-beer-line-cleaner-226497/

Option one - Run each beer line through copper lines all the way up the beer tower. Thanks Bradsul
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/pvc-tower-cooling-solution-43072/

The disadvantage to this is that I will not be able to take my beer lines completely out to soak and clean. Since I am using the bev seal line I know it a PITA to put those 3.16 line on a 1/" barb. But if the DIY beer line cleaner works I should never have to take the lines out, correct?

Option two - If I just insulate the inside of my tower will it stay plenty cool? The advantage to this is that I can take out my beer lines and soak them very easily. Does anyone know how much warmer my lines will be with this set up???

Would any other option work better than these? What would you all recommend I do?
 
I built this to cool my tower:

http://www.kegkits.com/kegerator5.htmimage-481465632.jpg

It works great. Just blows cold air from the bottom of my kegerator to the top of the tower. I need to widen the tower hole though as the tube plus 3 beer lines don't fit very well. I even built an on/off switch for when I'm going to be gone or whatever. image-2180651895.jpg

The site offers a premade version that is much prettier and probably works better. It costs me just slightly less to make the ugly junk version.
 
Trimmer said:
Is there any chance my Tee tower would sweat and ruin my nice wood bar top finish?

It probably would sweat if you didn't insulate the inside of it. Mine sweats (no insulation yet) but I guess it evaporates fast enough that it doesn't start dripping down.
 
How far away from your freezer is the tree?? I would consider running a large diameter pvc pipe (same diameter as your tree) from your freezer to and possibly into the tree allowing the freezer to keep this air cold. You could wrap the pvc if you want in some insulation, to minumize the thermal loss. If your Tree is a ways away I would do the PVC trick and then install quick disconnect devices on your beer line. Then pull the lines through the PVC after attaching a nice size line or string to help the lines back through after cleaning and visual inspection. Star san is a good lubricant too if things get tight.

Most Trees have insulation (foam) on the inside that prevent sweating. Commercial Kegorators are a good example, however this is helped by the refridgerating unit keeping this area cold. This is why I would use a Large PVC Pipe to connect the two.

I run maybe 6ft of line in my refridgerator from keg to tap and it works fine, I despense and carbonate at 10 psi normally, unless I'm using a carbonating stone. Your beer line length should be more than adequate.

Oh and by the way your bar build is quite impressive and spot on!
 
I cannot wait to see the taps get installed. I never really new what it took to set up taps on a bar so this is really interesting and more to it than I thought.
 
Awesome build! I love the way the bar flips up to access the keezer. I am just starting to build my bar and might steal this idea. What type of freezer did you end up buying? How many kegs will fit inside? Is it tall enough where you don't need to make a collar (I've seen this in many keezer builds)? Also, where did you get your Tap tower?

Keep up the good work!
 
Awesome build! I love the way the bar flips up to access the keezer. I am just starting to build my bar and might steal this idea. What type of freezer did you end up buying? How many kegs will fit inside? Is it tall enough where you don't need to make a collar (I've seen this in many keezer builds)? Also, where did you get your Tap tower?

Keep up the good work!

It is coming together nicely. I ended up buying the kenmore 8.8 from from Sears because it wasn't as deep as some other chest freezers. Four kegs (almost 5) easily fit inside the 7.2' CF chest freezers is just too tight. So I have four kegs on the floor and a 22 CF nitrogen tank and 10# co2 tank on the hump. No collar needed.

I got my four tee tower from a company called ACUMETALFAB. This is the company that makes many of the towers for suppliers that we typically buy from. He was great to work with and it was inexpensive and very well made.
 
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