whatsleftofyou's Bar Build

[whatsleftofyou]

I know you guys hate bar build threads as much as I do, so here's another one for you. We bought this house last October and I've slowly been building up the cash/hardware/etc to get this thing going.
DISCLAIMER: I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, no experience whatsoever, etc.

On to the pics....

Here's the space. It definitely needed some work!!! The water stains on the floor are ancient. We've lived here almost a year and there's been absolutely zero moisture down there.

Another angle

That's better...walls painted and floor epoxied. Still some touch-ups to do here

Frame is almost done. I've got a 10.6cu Sunbeam freezer that's getting the keezer treatment as part of this.

That's where I'm at so far. I should have this done in a month or two, but definitely before the holidays when all of my friends come to visit. Stay tuned! :rockin:

 

[HOPCousin]

Looks like a great space and fun build man. Keep us posted on your progress! Any plans to what your first brews are going to be?

 

[whatsleftofyou]

Yesterday I brewed a rye porter and an all-munich ale, plus I have a RIS kegged already. Not sure what else - this will be a 6-tap system but I've promised 2 to my girlfriend for soda to use in mixed drinks.

 

[Dhruv6911]

get some drywall on that ceiling

 

[shafferpilot]

so far so good. I have a suggestion. in the 5th pic I see that there is a lower rail in front of the kegerator. There should be a jack stud under the end of it. Otherwise you are depending on the fastener to hold it up, and that doesn't last the test of time. Here's a pic of what I mean:

 

[whatsleftofyou]

get some drywall on that ceiling

Definitely not...not right now anyway. A lot of the electrical in the house is a nightmare and I don't want to cover up the old crap that's there until I get it all replaced.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

so far so good. I have a suggestion. in the 5th pic I see that there is a lower rail in front of the kegerator. There should be a jack stud under the end of it. Otherwise you are depending on the fastener to hold it up, and that doesn't last the test of time. Here's a pic of what I mean:

Thanks. I was planning on doing that (didn't know what it was called though). That was the last piece I worked on and the pieces aren't actually fastened together right now, just standing there.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

OK I haven't had much time to work on this since almost all of my "beer time" has gone to helping to run a homebrew club and beer festival, brewing here and there, etc etc. Anyway, I have made a bit of progress:

Frame is almost complete and hinges test-mounted. I just have to attach the one part of the frame to the rest of it, basically.

I'm just using the stock hinges, but they seem pretty stout. Good thing, because they're going to have to take a fair amount of weight. If I have to change them later I will, but I don't think it'll be necessary.

I built a quick collar out of 2x8s, insulated it with R-30, and caulked it. I just used deck screws for the collar and glued it all together with Liquid Nails. I'm not worried about it being all that pretty since you won't be able to see it much anyway.

Collar sitting on the freezer, waiting to be attached to the bar top.

That's all for now. I have all of the oak veneer, trim, and pre-fabbed base cabinet all stained as well, so I'm getting there. The current goal is to be pouring beer out of this thing by Thanksgiving weekend, even if it's not 100% done.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

Did some more work on this yesterday

Frame is complete with mini-fridge in place.

Another angle

Oak veneer attached to one side

Oak trim attached

 

[kklowell]

Jealous. Also impatient to see it "done".

 

[whatsleftofyou]

I've gotten a fair amount more done over the last few weeks, just haven't gotten around to posting pics. I'm still shooting to have my first beer poured by Thanksgiving.

Bar top is on, wiring done, and one lighting fixture up.

Another view of the top and you can see the base cabinet for the back bar. I still have some trim to do to cover up some of my crappy cuts!

View behind the bar.

Another view. This turned out to be much bigger than I had pictured!

Keezer lid attached and the hinges are holding the weight just fine.

 

[lorglath]

Looking good!

 

[GlenF]

How hard can you lean on the edge of the hinged part before it flips up? Don't want a drunken buddy tipping the whole bar/lid over.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

I can put all of my 200 pounds on it and it only moves a little. The lip sticks out 12" and the whole top is 40" so you're not getting much leverage.

 

[GlenF]

Great! Cannot wait to see the final piece. I've got plans to renovate my basement bar, and this is motivation.

 

[HexKrak]

I love watching bar build threads. I can't wait till I have enough space to build something like this.

 

[Srceenplay]

How hard can you lean on the edge of the hinged part before it flips up? Don't want a drunken buddy tipping the whole bar/lid over.

Even if it does tip. Couldn't a nice latch/lock be mounted on the front side?

 

[whatsleftofyou]

Even if it does tip. Couldn't a nice latch/lock be mounted on the front side?

You easily could, on the right side there where I have the 2x4 mounted to the top. I really can't see it being an issue with how heavy it already is, and I still have to put the Irish Coffin on top.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Looks fantastic so far! Only one concern that I can see....forgive me if someone else brought this up and I didn't see any posts about it. Have you thought about heat discipation for the cooling coils on the back of your big 'ole freezer? I noticed that it has cooling coils on the back (I assume it's a Sunbeam?) and it's pushed up against the framing then boxed it in with oak veneer. Are you sure that there is enough ventilation to allow the heat to escape properly? You just don't want this thing to burn itself up.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

I have thought about that. There's considerable room on the sides (even though in the pics it looks like it's snug to the right side), but not much in the back like you said. It's not entirely closed in like some that I've seen, but I'm going to keep an eye on it and put a small fan back there to push some air if necessary.

 

[Yooper]

It's looking good! I'm so jealous. I can't wait to see pictures when it's done.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

It's looking good! I'm so jealous. I can't wait to see pictures when it's done.

Thanks. You'll have to come over for a beer the next time you're in Esky!

 

[Yooper]

Thanks. You'll have to come over for a beer the next time you're in Esky!

I would be honored to- I'll take you up on that!

 

[whatsleftofyou]

I got quite a bit more done this weekend.

Trim is totally done and started to put the top on

Another view of the trim. My helper is making an inspection.

Got the TV mounted and the Dish Network guy came to run their line and install the new HD DVR.

Top is done and caulked, bar stools all put together. Got these at Big Lots for only $35 a piece!

Back trim is on.

Another view of the top.

TV area cleaned up a bit with panduit installed. This is going to be our "old school gaming station" with NES, Sega/SegaCD, Dreamcast, and Gamecube. I don't have any of it wired together yet, but Toad is holding down the fort.

Now I just have to get working on the draft system...

 

[Jota21]

Looking good, but I'm not sure I'd want to sit in front of those hinges... they look like they're perfect height for slamming knees.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

Yeah I had realized that might be an issue but I don't think there's anything I can do about it unfortunately.

 

[Jota21]

What about some sort of rubberized/padded box to go around the hinges, but only fastened with another hinge on top so that the bottom can swing freely as the lid opens?

Does that make any sense?

 

[whatsleftofyou]

Maybe...once I get the bar rail on there's going to be a good 13-14" between the end of the top and the base, so I'm not sure how much of an issue it's going to be. We'll see.

 

[Sippin37]

Just came across this thread, definitely subscribed, can't wait to see the end result! Oh, and the only problem I could see is that Red Wings poster, haha!

 

[whatsleftofyou]

Just came across this thread, definitely subscribed, can't wait to see the end result! Oh, and the only problem I could see is that Red Wings poster, haha!

You have no problem with the Winter Classic plaque in the last pic? I was at that game and I'm pretty sure the Wings won that one.

Just bustin' chops....Chicago is looking scary this year and Detroit is playing very very inconsistently.