Post #782694 by progrocktv on Wed, Dec 27, 2017 11:26 PM

Hey guys, I know it's been a while so I wanted to update you on the progress of the bar :) First order of business was to get rid of all the white walls (Hi Ben! :)

I wanted to do this for a couple of reasons. First, since it's going to be a home theater as well, the walls are better dark. Second, after installing my bamboo walls any gaps would be black instead of white (which would blend in with the white bamboo too much), so with the black the bamboo would pop a bit more.

I had started ripping up the carpet around May because I wanted to paint the floor My original intention was to rent a floor buffer and remove the glue that was under the carpet since they originally had asbestos tiles which the previous owners removed. To my shock I learned that the mastic adhesive ALSO has asbestos and can only be removed using liquid solvents. So the scraping work began.

During all the scraping and mopping I learned one thing. Once dried mastic adhesive becomes active again, IT NEVER LEAVES! I found this stuff ALL OVER the house for months. After learning the floor would also need to have about 1/4 to 1/2 inches of the concrete grinded down after that to be able to paint without the mastic remains seeping through, I decided to go for wood floors! We have a GREAT reclaimed lumber place here in Colorado so I thought that would be a good plan to sand, stain and seal a floating floor in the basement.

At first I thought $45 a bundle of boards wasn't bad, however it was actually $45-$65 a SQUARE FOOT! Completely unaffordable with all of the work involved, it just wasn't worth it! It was the guy at Home Depot who suggested treated laminate which would give me the same effect at $2 a square foot.

Also another problem was discovered that due to settling, my basement floor was not level around the edges of the walls. This is where I learned about automatic leveler. This stuff is BRILLIANT, just pour and gravity takes over and does the rest.

Next were the cabinets for the back bar. I wanted something "tiki-ish" and not too modern or light. Our local Habitat for Humanity had some of those dark wood cabinets from the 70's which I thouglt would be a nice "clean slate" to add some nice tiki touches to. I also found a lazy Susan for the corner which is PERFECT for extra bottle storage

They also threw in a sink, which will clean up nicely

One thing I have to say, I REALLY lucked out with the basement where I want to put the back bar, is on the opposite side of the wall is the drain from the upstairs sink with an access point I can tap into for the bar sink as well as capped off hot and cold water leads which I just need to remove, add a Shark Bite and route through the wall to the sink.

It will take some drilling through the wall, but nothing TOO complicated (I Hope!)

Next I bought a counter top for the back bar. Since my bar funds are dwindling, I decided to go the inexpensive route and buy them from Home Depot. I found one I was quite happy with and I think will work well with the cabinetry.

One issue was these things were WAY too big, so after a few good tips from You Tube videos I spent an entire day measuring, vicing on guide beams, (praying) and cutting. They turned out pretty good and are a much better fit.

In the mean time I set up a "temporary" Tiki bar on then other side of the room since I had to keep the bar someplace, I thought I might as well make it functional (I certainly won't miss banging my head on the bottom of those stairs on the left though!)

Next up was adding an additional outlet for the refrigerator and additional lights. I had really NEVER done much more than replacing a light bulb or adding a light fixture, but found out it was pretty simple because I could tap into an existing outlet.

Also found some really great light switch and outlet covers (sorry for some reason the pictures keep turning sideways)

I also wanted to add a "glowing shelf" behind the backsplash to keep bottles on. So I mounted some LED tape lights with changing colors, you can select the colors or have them change at random.

Also cut some plexi glass for the bottles to sit on.

Here's the "test", I think he effect turned out REALLY cool

And of course the basement is becoming a real mess!

Next was cutting the counter for the sink.

And finally adding a faucet which I found at Home Depot on clearance for $30 :)

Next up will be cutting a hole in the wall, attaching to the drain and running the hot and cold water leads and I'm HOPING to get the floor in over New Year's weekend. After that it's creating some decorative floor boards, bambooing the walls with lauhala matting and finally the fireplace! It's been a TON of work but I decided to take my time and do it right. It's also been quite a learning experience and thanks to the help at my local Home Depot, I've been doing things I never DREAMED I'd be doing 3 years ago! I'll keep you posted with more updates as I go :)

[ Edited by: progrocktv 2017-12-28 09:09 ]

[ Edited by: progrocktv 2018-01-02 13:23 ]