Post #784412 by kahalakruzer on Mon, Feb 26, 2018 3:00 PM

So here's the finished product. I knew I only had 3 days to finish the whole build, so this was gonna be the long day. I had coated everything with a water based spar varnish on night two, so all I had to do on day three was button up some loose ends with the trim, get all of the light switches and outlets covered in tapa, get a door built/installed/decorated, hang all of the thatch, fireproof everything and decorate. Obviously it took longer than expected, but after a 16 hour day, it all came together.



Here's the thatch all done up. I ended up making a last minute decision to cover the concrete wall over the trusses with thatch. It gave a nice look like being inside of a hut that I didn't think about prior. I'd love to say I planned everything to lay out as it did, but that would be a huge lie. My entire concept was scribbled on an Oceanic Arts notepad 5 minutes before the owner showed up to talk about the project. Once again, the reason I love tiki stuff. You can keep it real loose.

Here's the finished door. It was built (not by me,luckily) from old mill cut lumber that came out of the ceiling trusses. The contractor that built it got it looking so good from the start, that I didn't even finish the lumber with stain or varnish. It turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the bar just knowing how much work went into it. Finished it with some matting, bamboo trim and a PNG mask and door pull from OA, and called it a day.

Here's the finished bar. I ended up trimming out the shelves with some bamboo, but it basically looks the same as when it was at the warehouse. I even drew a real rough design of how I wanted the actual bar to look before I started construction, which was big for me. I wish a still had the drawings just to compare. I think they all ended up being used to clean glue off of my hands during construction. As you can see, my concept of shelving the front of the bar has been put to use as retail space.

Here's a cool piece that the owner had in his house. One of the old place-mats from the Royal Hawaiian that was given to him as a gift by the original owner Francis Cabang a few years before the restaurant's (first) closing in the early 2000's. This one's gotten pretty sun faded, but he's got a few more stashed away that we may swap out one day. This picture also shows my biggest mistake of the whole job. Before I put up all of the art, I fireproofed all of the walls and thatch with a flame retardant. The next day when it had all dried, there were hard white spots all over everything. It's most noticeable on the dark trim and A-frame beams, but if you look closely, it's everywhere. I have no idea why it ended up drying white and spotty...maybe because of the varnish I had done under it, or maybe I didn't shake it up. If anyone's ever had this happen to them, I'd be interested in hearing about it. I think it'll haunt me for a while.







Day time detail shots.




Night time vibe shots.

Well that's it. Unlike most home bars, you don't need an invitation to check this one out. It's in our Hobie store in downtown Laguna Beach, and can be seen any time the store is open. And for the surf history nerds, there's also a cool little museum exhibit in the store that was done in conjunction with the Surfing Heritage and Cultural Center out of San Clemente. It delves into local Laguna Surf History, the story of our founder Hobie Alter and all of his innovations in surfing and sailing, and a forefather of the retail surf shop, Dick Metz who was basically the first guy to ever think of selling merchandise besides surfboards in surf shops. If you come by to see it all in person, he's the guy who graces the top of the bar with his world travels and exploits.

As always, a tiki bar is never finished, so I'll post updates when I inevitably start tweaking things. I've already planned on adding a mug shelf somewhere at the insistence of my boss. Hey, working for a family run company definitely has it's benefits...

[ Edited by: kahalakruzer 2018-02-26 15:04 ]