Post #635299 by LoriLovesTiki on Sun, May 6, 2012 5:56 PM

Since putting a built-in pool in last summer my husband & I have been transforming our backyard into a tropical paradise. Last year we got the pool, added a big carved tiki and started adding cold hardy tropicals. In preparation for our build I scoured hundreds of posts here on Tiki central and got tons of inspiration. Please note that New Jersey is pretty much devoid of anything tiki so almost everything has been mail ordered. We're kind of going for a beach shack/ tiki bar theme but we're not truly tiki in all aspects, for that I apologize.

But since I really enjoy all of your builds I thought I'd share what we've been up to.

We started in the fall framing the hut, which has since been named the Gator Hut. "Gator" is the nickname of one of my sons. My husband named the bar he's going to build me "Lori's Tiki Bar" which so uninspired at least the hut's name is cool. We've begun with the hut and will hopefully build the bar next.

My husband, Jeff is the brains behind our build and I am his assistant. We started by digging and pouring footers then put the base frame (which we framed and built from scratch on our basketball court) on top of the footers with the help of our teenage boys. That thing was HEAVY!

Then we did the same thing with the walls and got those standing up, adding extra horizontal pieces for stability once it was up.

After the frame was complete we sided it with some exterior panels, I think they're called T-111 from Lowe's. It's already primed and when the weather gets a little warmer I'll be painting it almost the same color. Speaking of weather, the winter was really mild this year so we were able to work on the hut in December! Although you can't see it from below, the roof is just regular shingles.

In March we trimmed it out with vinyl fake wood and added a door faced in bamboo slats which I marine varnished.

Next up we brought electricity to the hut. We added a small scale palm weave to the ceiling which was WAY harder than I anticipated then hooked up a ceiling fan. The bronze sconce on the outside went up too.


We ordered a cedar Bahama shutter for ventilation and got that up. (It got marine varnished too.)

The last two weekends have been spent working on the walls. First we put up thin plywood (luan) as a backer then darker, wide palm weave on the top part of the walls and bamboo reed fencing on the bottom.

Next up is installing the homemade french doors my husband and I build for the side of the hut and get some bamboo trim up. I need to trim around the top of the walls, as a chair rail and around the doors etc. as well as figure out what to build and how exactly to construct a grid on the ceiling. I'll post more pictures as we progress but your suggestions and advice are always welcomed. :)
Thanks for looking!

:)
Lori
Tiki Newbie

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