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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Building My Outdoor Bar

These aren't the best pictures....
I built my outdoor bar mainly because someone gave me a bunch of used lumber. :)
I have never built a bar before and am not sure how they are supposed to be built...but this is how I did mine.

I started by building the frame out of 2x4s and added castors to the bottom so it would be easy for me to move around.



I coated everything with a weather sealant.....


I covered the frame with exterior grade plywood, added a cement backerboard top. Covered the wood with more weather sealant....



I covered the front and sides with house siding. I could only find it in grey, so I painted it with a light brown coat of paint, then used a maple stain to make it darker.



Tiled the top...


Added the trim board on the edges and seams...



I covered the whole bar with a marine varnish....







The bar is 8'x5'....it sits outside year round.
I need to take pictures of the back. I added sliding doors to access the inside of the bar in the back. I've gotten a lot of use out of this thing and it's handling the weather great!





Ok...not everything went smooth. :)
After building the bar in my shop and rolling it out onto the gravel driveway, it wouldn't budge.
It was too heavy for me to roll down the gravel driveway to my patio. The castors sank in the gravel.
I had to place a piece of plywood in front of it, roll it up onto the plywood...then place a second sheet of plywood in front of it and roll it onto that.
Then repeated with the two sheets of plywood until I reached the patio.
Had to stop half way there for a break. :)

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks real good Cowgirl. You should have PM'd me, I'd have helped you move it. hahaha

cowgirl said...

lol...Thanks fastball!

Anonymous said...

I understand independence and all but couldn't you have called SOMEBODY to help you move it? Dang!

One day you can teach me to build stuff...

cowgirl said...

:)...it was definately quicker to move it myself...lol The plywood worked like a charm. :)

Anonymous said...

Geez girl, is there anything you can't do? Well other than move that by yourself I guess. But you did figure out a way to get it done, so kudos to you!

cowgirl said...

lol Mike,
There are a LOT of things I can't do...but it's never stopped me from trying. :)

Thanks for the kudos. :)

Cliff said...

hey I came across this on google and it looks great!!!!!!!!!!


How high did you make it?

cowgirl said...

Thanks Cliff!

It's 43" tall...just right for me to lean on with my elbow. lol

I've really enjoyed the bar, it's not the prettiest bar I've seen but it's handling the weather well.

Thanks again Cliff!

Pierce said...

Great Bar! I was wonder what abrasive you used between the backerboard top and plywood?

cowgirl said...

Thank you Pierce!

I used exterior grade plywood for the top, covered it with a weather sealant.
Then screwed the cement backerboard right onto the plywood.
Then I tiled the cement backerboard with natural stone tiles.


I'm not sure how one is supposed to be built, but this one has lasted me for several years sitting out in the weather year round. lol
I've gotten a lot of use out of it.

Thanks again Pierce!

Paul said...

Very nice, Jeanie..you did your homework for the tile installation, using screws to attach the backer board is exactly right..it's a beauty, you have a right to be very proud.

cowgirl said...

Thank you Paul!
That was my first attempt at building a bar and laying tile. Glad to hear I did that part right! :)

Thanks. :)

cowgirl said...

Austin 1340, I sent an e-mail to ya. :)

Happy_Cowboy said...

Dear Cowgirl,
Found this blog today as I was just messing around and then I started reading other ones and I have to tell ya I am enjoyin the hell out of it. Thanks for sharing this with all of your readers. Great ideas here. I especially like this bar. Just bought a new place and I think I'm gonna try this out. Thanks again for sharin and may your ride always be the best!

J

Happy_Cowboy said...

Dear Cowgirl,
Thanks for sharing this. After reading it I kept reading other ones and I absolutely love all of them. Great ideas here and a return to the Cowboy Way. I will have to try this one on for size because I just bought a new place miles from anyone. My compadres will love it! Have a great day and keep posting!
May God ride with ya!

cowgirl said...

Thanks so much Happy Cowboy! I appreciate you stopping by.
Good luck with your new place. Living in the country is hard to beat. imo :)