Itsy Bitsy, Teenie Weenie Bar Build Thread

[b-boy]

Even though I don't have it setup as a kegerator yet, I'm loving this Kegco kegerator.

I'm using it as a beer fridge for now.

It's very well built, and keeps stuff really cold.

It easily holds 3 cornys. I have the option of mounting the CO2 inside or outside the until. This will allow me to have a stout tank external to the unit, and my regular CO2 tank inside. I can't wait to get it all hooked up.

 

[b-boy]

Made some progress with the framing.

I will be adding the skin tonight. Then I need to add trim and stain the bottom part of the bar. Once that's done, I'll add the bar top and stain that.

 

[Stillraining]

love the lid.

 

[b-boy]

The ceiling is rough sawn cedar. It smells fantastic. It will darken as it ages. It's my favorite wood to work with.

If anyone has to do a kitchen with a lot of cabinets, I highly recommend EZ-Level cabinet levelers.

I used them for my kitchen and for these cabinets.

My kitchen had some waves in the floor, and these things really helped get my 12 ' island nice and straight.

You can level a block of cabinets in just a few minutes. They hold over 700lbs each.

http://www.ez-level.com/

 

[Stillraining]

Wow thats a new one for me thanks! for posting that..I'm redoing and possibly building the abinets myself for my my Kitchen in a couple years. Regardless I will make sure I have these.

 

[Stillraining]

I used 3/4 hardwood plywood and some 1x4 pine to bridge the bigger spans between cabinets. But I also have legs on the front side to help with the balance/ flex. The 2 large slabs weight enough to just about tip the whole thing over with out legs.

I really like your stained concrete floor.:rockin:

 

[mj1angier]

I really like your stained concrete floor.:rockin:

Thanks, but it is colored epoxy. Pretty much resistant to most things. We Like it a lot

http://www.carolinafloorproject.com/the-carolina-floor-project.html

 

[Stillraining]

Thanks, but it is colored epoxy. Pretty much resistant to most things. We Like it a lot

http://www.carolinafloorproject.com/the-carolina-floor-project.html

I thought that was pretty darn shiny for a stained floor..but I'm still impressed.. Can you have in floor heat with that system?

 

[mj1angier]

Sure but not really needed in my part North Carolina. Getting things cool is tougher than warm, lol

 

[b-boy]

A few more pictures. It's beginning to look like a bar.

It's all maple. The counter tops are 1/2" plywood. They will be glued/screwed to the cabinets. A a final 3/4" layer of maple plywood will be glued/screwed to them from underneath. I'm still trying to figure out how to finish the edges. I might just run a strip of 1" maple along the edge, attach using my Kreig jig, and route both edges so it's rounded.

I had to attach a lot of 2x4s to the walls and cabinets to create areas to screw into. I also used 2x4s to block around the area where my tower will go. This will hopefully provide some extra rigidity and strength.

I still have a lot of nail holes to fill. Some of the wood I got at Lowes was not the best. I had to use extra nails to overcome several slightly warped boards.

Stupid me - I built the entire thing, then realized I forgot to add my outlet for the fridge. It's not a huge deal since I ran electric right behind the wall, but I'll have to drill a hole and mount an outlet box .

I should have the top done by the end of the week.

 

[b-boy]

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the results so far.

I was worried that the area would be too small. There's plenty of room behind the bar. I built in a 32" clearance between back and front cabinets. The base bar length is 64". With the bar top and rail, it will be about 68". That's good for 3 bar stools. It gives me a little less than a 2-ft opening to get behind the bar.

My biggest concern was leaving enough room to get my kegerator and fridge out of there. I want to avoid having to hoist them over the bar if I need to replace them for some reason. They are both just under 24"x24". I wanted to make the base 66", but it would have put me at less than 24" clearance.

The top will hang out about 10" into the main room. I can live with that, though my wife is not happy about it (Actually, she's not happy about any of it). Although, now that she's seeing it come together, she's mellowed a little. I could have saved some space by just building the bar as a stand-alone, without using the kitchen cabinet as the base.

 

[Stillraining]

Looking great..your moving right along...kudos!

 

[b-boy]

I haven't posted anything for a while. I'm still working on finishing the lower half of the bar.

My wife didn't want me to stain the entire bar. She said she didn't want a 'giant brown turd' in the basement. I personally prefer all wood, but to keep the peace, I agreed to paint the lower part of the bar and stain the bar top and counters. She wanted to paint, then stain the paint, to give it an antiqued look. She showed me a sample, and it looked pretty good, so I agreed.

Well - apparently there is some skill involved in antiquing furniture. I discovered that I do not possess this skill. Nor do I possess any artistic flair.

Now it looks like a 3 year old has been finger painting all over my bar. My wife is attempting to fix it. She seems to have the proper skills, and I probably should have let her do it from the start. Hopefully it's fixable, otherwise I'm repainting the entire thing.

 

[bkboiler]

if somebody you know has a toddler, just give them a stick to hit the wood with really hard. they'll have a blast and you'll have "distressed" wood! win-win!!

 

[akpingel]

haha, post a pic. What is the plan now?

 

[b-boy]

Here are some additional pictures. I've pretty much completed the bar part of the build. Here is what the top looks like pre-stained.

 

[b-boy]

Stained and poly'd. Those curved bar rails look nice, but man were they expensive. I was extremely nervous making the cuts to get this assembled. One slip and I'd be out a few hundred bucks.

I used high gloss poly to finish the bar, but I'm planning on adding a few coats of satin poly to tone it down a bit. It's a little too shiny for my taste.

 

[b-boy]

Now...onto the BEAST. This is my tap tower. I'm in the process of assembling it and getting it all hooked up.

 

[kecclest]

Looking great! Keep it up!

 

[b-boy]

So I finished the bar with 3 extra coats of Satin Poly. Looks great. I let it setup for a few days. Took a closer look, and there's an embedded brush bristle right in the middle of the bar top from the last coat. Not sure how I missed it.

Now I have to cut it out, sand, and put on another coat or 2.

I hate when that happens!

 

[mj1angier]

So I finished the bar with 3 extra coats of Satin Poly. Looks great. I let it setup for a few days. Took a closer look, and there's an embedded brush bristle right in the middle of the bar top from the last coat. Not sure how I missed it.

Now I have to cut it out, sand, and put on another coat or 2.

I hate when that happens!

I would wait. I had done a great job on my bar top with the epoxy. Then when putting in my taps I had a slip. Nice scratch. I just left it and will recoat in a year. Because I know I will be add some other things and I am sure Murphy will strike again.