Basement bar build! DIALUP WARNING (many pics)

[cabot]

I'm in the process of building a door. Getting a perfect seal is tough. I'll be installing a rubber gasket onto the door, like on a fridge. The door itself will also be insulated with 1"-2" of styrofoam insulation.

 

[Tusch]

Man rule #173: If you are in the market to buy a house, and you stuble apon one with a bar installed, said man must purchase the property without hesitation.

I may have been 5 at the time, but that is exactly how my parents ended up in their current house. It was a sweet old 3 barrel bar with barrel seats with leather trim, absolutely beautiful. We lost it in a house fire but replaced it with a nice cherry wood and brace piece

And now to the thread! I love your set up, I am at least a year away from building my bar but I love reading this threads there's so much to be inspired by.

 

[cabot]

Thanks guys! I'm looking forward to seeing all of your bars (hint cough hint hint wink nudge)!

A little bit of progress. Been slow lately due to real work

Put another another coat of poly, also poly'd the beer gutter, just need to glue and screw it to the bar top now. I also got all of my barstools in and managed to get a few pieces of 'flair' on the wall. Things I've been hanging onto for years with the hopes of making a bar someday. That photo of the last B's game at the garden comes in second to the home bar license. It was my pepe's, (RIP). My grandma bought it for him back in 1972 for the bar he had in his basement. I'm finding that decorating the area around the bar is almost as much fun as making the bar itself. Great project overall!

Fridge door construction got pushed back. Hoping to get to it early next week now!

 

[cabot]

Bar is ALMOST complete (just need to polyurethane one piece of trim and a door) and is functioning!

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You can see the weather stripping on the hinge side of the door is getting mangled when the door closes, I need to figure this out. I am picking up a wireless thermometer soon so I can see how cold the fridge is actually getting. I have the fridge set on 3 (out of 8) and it feels plenty cold to me, but I want to find out the exact temp.

Fridge cycles once every couple of hours. So far, I'm optimistic. Beer is carbing right now, should be pouring my first pint within a week!

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

Nice work, beautiful bar! On that fridge, I'd highly recommend a coat of poly on the floor, or a coat of paint that will stand up to the moisture. I've been amazed at how dirty the bottom of my kegerator gets just from the occasional drips and dirt.

 

[cabot]

TwoHeadsBrewing, thanks for the suggestion. I'll throw some poly down on it when I finish up the trim!

 

[Joe C]

Is that a pic of the Boston Garden? If so, GOOD MAN!

 

[IrregularPulse]

Very Nice, This is what I hope to someday end up with in my basement to replcae teh existing keezer.

 

[pizzaman]

That's Hot

 

[cabot]

Joe you know it is The B's broke my heart again this year...so next year it is!

 

[Joe C]

Joe you know it is The B's broke my heart again this year...so next year it is!

Me too man, me too.

 

[cabot]

My bar is completed! Had a "small" issue with the o-ring on my gas post crapping the bed and emptying my co2 cylinder overnight Got new co2, replaced and lubed the o-ring and now I'm stylin!

and

Now on to the decor, and on to the brewing! I'm going to have to step it up to keep up with the bar...its just so easy to pull the tap handle I am having a big birthday party in August which should really put it to the test!

 

[jpeter31]

You might try cutting some slots in your door and using weatherstripping that is made to put into the kerf you cut.

Amesbury Group Foam-Tite - Weatherseals


The leaf seal "D" sould be good for the interior jamb.

 

[cabot]

Oh great suggestion. Of all the thoughts I had, cutting slots into the door never crossed my mind...thats brilliant Thanks for the link.

 

[cabot]

and

 

[arturo7]

Mighty fine, sir. Mighty fine.

 

[cabot]

Thanks Arturo. Now I need to hurry up and wait for some of your HBT'ers to happen through Maine for a pint.

 

[Joe C]

You have my bottle opener!!!

 

[Whut]

Now I need to hurry up and wait for some of your HBT'ers to happen through Maine for a pint.

Road trip! Nicely done cabot, nicely done indeed.

 

[mmb]

Any more details on the door? I've got to rebuild time and yours seems to close fairly flush.

Very nice!

 

[cabot]

Joe I like it so far. It repels bud light bottles with the strength of 10 grinches.

Road trip indeed! The grill will be on from now until October.

mmb, I am still in a trial period with my door. Right now it just has weather stripping stuck to the inside of the gasket portion. The stripping on the hinge side of the door is still giving me some trouble, but once the door is closed it seems fine. Currently there is only a latch in the lower corner of the door, I am thinking of adding another to the top corner. (just a dead bolt). I am awaiting the electricity bill, but I do know the fridge is on it's very lowest setting and the temp is holding between 36 and 38 degrees with 2 kegs in it.

The frame on the far side of the door (the non-hinge side) is cut at a bit of an angle. There is a corresponding angle inside the fridge to accept it. This allowed the door to be deep enough to insulate, and still let it open and close freely. I'm terrible at putting this into words, but would be happy to take photos for you if you think they'd help you out. Don't be shy if you have any more questions, assuming my answer thus far hasn't destroyed any confidence you had in me

 

[Hegh]

Is it the weather stripping on the hinge-side of the door that's giving you trouble? I wonder if you could attach it to the stationary side, instead of the door. That would make it squish straight when the door closes, instead of brushing against the frame as it closes. I hope you understand what I mean...

 

[cabot]

Hegh I hear what you're saying. That is exactly what is happening, it is peeling off as it brushes against the frame. When this bit finally falls all the way off, I will try placing it on the stationary side and see what happens!

 

[MajorWoody]

I like the way your bar looks.

How are you going to deal with defrosting that thing, or with the minor flood that will occur when/if the power goes out? It looks to me like the water will just run out onto the wood floor of your refrigerated compartment.

 

[mmb]

mmb, I am still in a trial period with my door. Right now it just has weather stripping stuck to the inside of the gasket portion. The stripping on the hinge side of the door is still giving me some trouble, but once the door is closed it seems fine. Currently there is only a latch in the lower corner of the door, I am thinking of adding another to the top corner. (just a dead bolt). I am awaiting the electricity bill, but I do know the fridge is on it's very lowest setting and the temp is holding between 36 and 38 degrees with 2 kegs in it.

The frame on the far side of the door (the non-hinge side) is cut at a bit of an angle. There is a corresponding angle inside the fridge to accept it. This allowed the door to be deep enough to insulate, and still let it open and close freely. I'm terrible at putting this into words, but would be happy to take photos for you if you think they'd help you out. Don't be shy if you have any more questions, assuming my answer thus far hasn't destroyed any confidence you had in me

Sounds somewhat like my current setup. I've the weather striping on the bar itself instead of the door and haven't had any problems with the closed cell foam strip I used. I'm using a foam plug that I remove after opening the door and that seems to be working ok for me but is a hassle if I need to be in and out of the keg cooler section.

I've had up to nine 5G kegs in mine along with a carboy and temps hold at 40 using a Ranco ETC. I'm sure you'll be happy with the performance of your cooler.

Here's my cooler door, as it is currently. I use cabinet hardware to lock it closed without having anything on the outside of the door.

 

[D-Boss]

Thanks. I didn't make the chamber any larger because I don't want to put too much strain on the little fridge. Plus the back of the fridge needs to be exposed to the open air so it can exhaust and cool. I didn't necessarily need any more space and I'd like to keep the power cost down. The open side will probably just be used for placing a waste basket in, and I'll also be mounting a PC power supply in there which will power the lights and fans for the bar. I've wired 3 PC case fans: one blowing over the coils in the back, one inside the fridge blowing air from the chamber across the freezer plate of the fridge, and a third fan in the fridge blowing the now cooled air back out into the chamber. If that makes sense...again, steps to keep the strain on the fridge way down. I'm anxious to get the door to the chamber built so I can fire it up and see how well...or how poorly...it cools.

As for added value to the home...I doubt anything A realtor once told me that anything below ground level adds absolutely 0 to the price of your home...so I assume the bar I build in my finished basement, which in a realtor's eyes doesn't exist, is in fact worthless as well

Did u put the fans on a controller or did u wire them to the fridge? I totally copied your idea the minute I saw it. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/just-another-bar-build-124367/ I think we mave have even used the same fridge. My skills are good but anything beyond house wiring is limited.

 

[cabot]

D-Boss, I have a PC power supply setting behind the fridge. The PC fans are wired into that. Then I drilled a small hole through the fridge to run the wires for the fans through. Piece of cake!

 

[D-Boss]

D-Boss, I have a PC power supply setting behind the fridge. The PC fans are wired into that. Then I drilled a small hole through the fridge to run the wires for the fans through. Piece of cake!

Does that mean they run all the time?