Updated pics of my bar the Pi-Yi Grotto - Tiki Carving

J johntiki Member MD Joined: Mar 31, 2002 Posts: 1528	J johntiki Posted posted on Sun, Aug 22, 2004 11:20 PM After 2 1/2 months of intermittent hard work, brainstorming, a bunch of sheets of luan plywood, and a couple gallon cans of Liquid Nails I'm proud to announce I have completed the ceiling remodel in my bar! Below is my tale of rebuilding the Pi-Yi Grotto, if you don't want to hear my bitching just go to the photos below... My bar is exactly 12'x 18' and I thought it would be no problem buying the 6'x 9' sheets of lauhala matting from O.A., installing a bunch of furring strips and stapling the stuff right to the existing ceiling but it didn't quite work out that way! First I was delayed starting the project because Oceanic Arts didn't have the 6x9 sheets in stock, I had to wait for a new shipment. While I waited for the matting to ship I bought split 5" diameter bamboo poles in 12' lengths from a bamboo suppliers in New Jersey. Here is a link...I can't say enough about the pleasant experience I had buying from these people! http://www.bambooandrattan.com/ Luckily my Dad who is in sales, picked the stuff up after a sales call elsewhere in New Jersey so I didn't have to pay for shipping! Finally I got the four sheets of lauhala and I falsely assumed that I'd spent a weekend hanging the matting and spend the third evening sipping Mai Tai's in my new and improved bar. Boy was I wrong. Before I started the ceiling I made the decision to remove the 4 shitty looking, harsh, noisy fluorescent light fixtures. My father and I proceeded to rip them down, which was a chore in itself, and transfer them to the local landfill where they belonged! I just wanted to install 2 incandescent light fixtures cattycorner from each other. So after a couple days of installing junction boxes, capping off unused wires inside other boxes and installing 2 ceiling fixtures in the gaping holes created by the vacant fluorescents, it was time to get started on the ceiling itself. Let me preface the details of the installation by saying this...do not think you can install matting without mounting it on plywood! I read all the posts about gluing the matting to wood before trying to hang it but I falsely assumed that I could just install some strips, attach it to the strips and everything would be simple! After spending a few more days installing the 1/2" boards to the ceiling joists the entire length and width of the room, we were ready to hang the matting. I never bothered to take into account that natural products like matting are not square. Needless to see it was a disaster and I had to rethink how to hang this stuff! Finally my Dad suggested we get a few sheets of luan plywood (1/4"), glue the matting to the 4'x8' sheets; squaring up the sides that would come into contact with the walls, hanging them tight in the corners and allowing the excess to flap over and attaching that later. It was a major pain in the ass! First, we measured and cut the holes we needed for light fixtures, AC vents, etc. Second, we had to glue the matting to the plywood and then we could install it using a pneumatic staple gun with 1 1/2" staples and a few screws! Once all the pieces were hung tight in the four corners, we cut pieces to fit in the gaps, installed them and attached the matting in the middle with the lovely pneumatic stapler! Finally, after what felt like an eternity, which was actually only about 2 weeks, the ceiling was matted! Installing the bamboo poles was uneventful thanks to the handy dandy chop saw and we had the task completed in about 4 hours on Friday. We also re-hung the thatched roofs and re-installed the air vents! I think by Friday both my father and I had enough - we weren't stopping until the hard work was done! Friday night I spent a good 2 hours installing the homemade "fish float" fixtures. Saturday I spent 5 hours, until 3 AM getting the bar cleaned up, the ceiling clutter installed, vacuuming, dusting, putting mugs and other stuff back in their places and re-hanging wall decor that had to be removed during construction! Tonight, I had my first Mai Tai while listening to the soothing sounds of exotica in the new Pi Yi Grotto! Thank God it's finished! Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, friends and colleagues...I present Johntiki's Pi Yi Grotto! The overview... The bar... Bar detail... Left wall... Back wall... JohnTiki Aloha from the enchanted Pi Yi Grotto in exotic Bel Air Maryland! [ Edited by: Johntiki on 2004-08-22 23:54 ]

After 2 1/2 months of intermittent hard work, brainstorming, a bunch of sheets of luan plywood, and a couple gallon cans of Liquid Nails I'm proud to announce I have completed the ceiling remodel in my bar! Below is my tale of rebuilding the Pi-Yi Grotto, if you don't want to hear my bitching just go to the photos below...

My bar is exactly 12'x 18' and I thought it would be no problem buying the 6'x 9' sheets of lauhala matting from O.A., installing a bunch of furring strips and stapling the stuff right to the existing ceiling but it didn't quite work out that way! First I was delayed starting the project because Oceanic Arts didn't have the 6x9 sheets in stock, I had to wait for a new shipment. While I waited for the matting to ship I bought split 5" diameter bamboo poles in 12' lengths from a bamboo suppliers in New Jersey. Here is a link...I can't say enough about the pleasant experience I had buying from these people!

http://www.bambooandrattan.com/

Luckily my Dad who is in sales, picked the stuff up after a sales call elsewhere in New Jersey so I didn't have to pay for shipping!

Finally I got the four sheets of lauhala and I falsely assumed that I'd spent a weekend hanging the matting and spend the third evening sipping Mai Tai's in my new and improved bar. Boy was I wrong.

Before I started the ceiling I made the decision to remove the 4 shitty looking, harsh, noisy fluorescent light fixtures. My father and I proceeded to rip them down, which was a chore in itself, and transfer them to the local landfill where they belonged! I just wanted to install 2 incandescent light fixtures cattycorner from each other. So after a couple days of installing junction boxes, capping off unused wires inside other boxes and installing 2 ceiling fixtures in the gaping holes created by the vacant fluorescents, it was time to get started on the ceiling itself.

Let me preface the details of the installation by saying this...do not think you can install matting without mounting it on plywood! I read all the posts about gluing the matting to wood before trying to hang it but I falsely assumed that I could just install some strips, attach it to the strips and everything would be simple! After spending a few more days installing the 1/2" boards to the ceiling joists the entire length and width of the room, we were ready to hang the matting. I never bothered to take into account that natural products like matting are not square. Needless to see it was a disaster and I had to rethink how to hang this stuff!

Finally my Dad suggested we get a few sheets of luan plywood (1/4"), glue the matting to the 4'x8' sheets; squaring up the sides that would come into contact with the walls, hanging them tight in the corners and allowing the excess to flap over and attaching that later. It was a major pain in the ass! First, we measured and cut the holes we needed for light fixtures, AC vents, etc. Second, we had to glue the matting to the plywood and then we could install it using a pneumatic staple gun with 1 1/2" staples and a few screws!

Once all the pieces were hung tight in the four corners, we cut pieces to fit in the gaps, installed them and attached the matting in the middle with the lovely pneumatic stapler! Finally, after what felt like an eternity, which was actually only about 2 weeks, the ceiling was matted!

Installing the bamboo poles was uneventful thanks to the handy dandy chop saw and we had the task completed in about 4 hours on Friday. We also re-hung the thatched roofs and re-installed the air vents! I think by Friday both my father and I had enough - we weren't stopping until the hard work was done!

Friday night I spent a good 2 hours installing the homemade "fish float" fixtures. Saturday I spent 5 hours, until 3 AM getting the bar cleaned up, the ceiling clutter installed, vacuuming, dusting, putting mugs and other stuff back in their places and re-hanging wall decor that had to be removed during construction! Tonight, I had my first Mai Tai while listening to the soothing sounds of exotica in the new Pi Yi Grotto! Thank God it's finished!

Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, friends and colleagues...I present Johntiki's Pi Yi Grotto!

The overview...

The bar...

Bar detail...

Left wall...

Back wall...

JohnTiki

Aloha from the enchanted Pi Yi Grotto in exotic Bel Air Maryland!

[ Edited by: Johntiki on 2004-08-22 23:54 ]

Post #109717 by johntiki on Sun, Aug 22, 2004 11:20 PM