Building Materials for a Home Bar

Basic Building Materials

• The basic building materials start with standard 2-by-4 studs to build a strong frame and include the appropriate fasteners, nails or screws. After framing in the cabinet space, use a wainscoting finish wood to complete the “walls” of the bar, which is essentially cabinetry with a countertop. Plywood will serve as the base for the countertop overlaid with a solid surface or tile of choice. Purchase pre-made cabinet doors for the serving side of the bar, and leave room to insert a small refrigerator. Another option is to build a base and purchase pre-made cabinets to serve as the support for the bar. Bar heights are usually set at 42 inches, so you’ll need to add enough to the base to bring the cabinet height up when finished with a countertop.

Finish Wood

• Use birch, cherry or tongue-and-groove pine to cover the bar in line with the decor in your home. If your home has a western decor, using tongue-and-groove pine is a good choice. Another idea includes old barn wood. Recycling and using old barn wood adds a distinctive look and can serve as the foundation for your bar’s design theme. When using old wood, leave it as is, as this is part of its appeal. Stain or paint other wood finishes as desired.

Countertop

• You can decorate bar tops with solid surface granite, quartz or any number of choices, including a slab of rough wood or a cement surface. Other choices include tile, cork overlaid with resin or an engineered surface such as Corian, Silestone or Zodiaq, to name a few. Leave room for a bar overhang of approximately 12 inches, under which the bar stools will go. Reinforce a bar's finish countertop by adding a layer of thick plywood or steel as required by the surface.

Plumbing and Electricity

• When you build a wet bar with cabinetry underneath, find access to plumbing and electricity nearby to bring into the bar. Adding a sink to a bar makes it convenient and useful. This may require removing some wall surfaces to get at the plumbing and electricity, but the extra effort adds to the project. A good wet bar provides a dual-level countertop, one for patrons at the standard height, with the bartender’s side a tad lower to accommodate drinks, a sink and an under-counter refrigerator or beer keg.

Planning

• Like any building project, planning is the most important step when coming up with ideas for building a bar. Draw out your designs on paper, play around with ideas for decorations or themes, and don’t forget to add storage space behind the bar for glasses and drinks. Mirrors help to enlarge the space and give your home bar the feel of a real bar.