New tiki bar being built in my yard! - Home Tiki Bars

F faztiki Tiki Centralite san jose, ca Joined: Jul 23, 2008 Posts: 38	F faztiki Posted posted on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 9:46 PM you've come to a great place for advice and encouragement. keep the pix coming! the bar i've built is great all 4 seasons (although in CA we really only have 3 seasons) so you may gain some ideas from these pictures. instead of using PT4x4's i built the frame using landscape timbers. these are sturdy enough for support, are pretty inexpensive, and still solid so drilling for bolts and nail holding capacity is very good. i didnt even have to stain them, the color was OK and has held up for several years. these posts are supported above by 2x4 PT boards although that structure is masked by the thatch and some redwood fence boards. from below, only the thatch can be seen. i doubled the thatch (cheap 6' reed fencing) to be more difficult to see through. in winter months i install 2x8 corrugated fiberglass to the top of the structure. the rain sheets off the lower edge, and the covering helps keep in heat. the thatch makes the fiberglass invisible as well. you'll get good advice here on hiding any modern hardware, so that is a good goal to have. speaking of heat. i've had BBQ's, firepits, and those mexican chimneys under the thatch, and come very close to setting the whole thing on fire several times. lucky so far, but the downside has always been the soot. you may end up with blackened thatch if it doesnt actually catch fire. keep a fire extinguisher handy while you experiment. i finally settled on radiant heaters on the roof. they work great. heres a couple old pix where you can see the structure i built. one benefit of not totally covering the roof with plywood is the light inside the bar. depending on your climate you may get away with this approach. ive got a lot of newer pix up on my bars thread. its unfortunately still called 'the tiki bar', but i'm working on that. have a blast and welcome to TC! Faztiki

you've come to a great place for advice and encouragement. keep the pix coming!
the bar i've built is great all 4 seasons (although in CA we really only have 3 seasons) so you may gain some ideas from these pictures. instead of using PT4x4's i built the frame using landscape timbers. these are sturdy enough for support, are pretty inexpensive, and still solid so drilling for bolts and nail holding capacity is very good. i didnt even have to stain them, the color was OK and has held up for several years. these posts are supported above by 2x4 PT boards although that structure is masked by the thatch and some redwood fence boards. from below, only the thatch can be seen. i doubled the thatch (cheap 6' reed fencing) to be more difficult to see through.
in winter months i install 2x8 corrugated fiberglass to the top of the structure. the rain sheets off the lower edge, and the covering helps keep in heat. the thatch makes the fiberglass invisible as well. you'll get good advice here on hiding any modern hardware, so that is a good goal to have.
speaking of heat. i've had BBQ's, firepits, and those mexican chimneys under the thatch, and come very close to setting the whole thing on fire several times. lucky so far, but the downside has always been the soot. you may end up with blackened thatch if it doesnt actually catch fire. keep a fire extinguisher handy while you experiment. i finally settled on radiant heaters on the roof. they work great.
heres a couple old pix where you can see the structure i built. one benefit of not totally covering the roof with plywood is the light inside the bar. depending on your climate you may get away with this approach. ive got a lot of newer pix up on my bars thread. its unfortunately still called 'the tiki bar', but i'm working on that.
have a blast and welcome to TC!
Faztiki

Post #539611 by faztiki on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 9:46 PM