How tall should bar be? Dimension from top of stool to top of bar? What do you think of green walls? I need to camouflage a white dropped ceiling without damaging it & without reducing headroom very much. How do you split bamboo or can you buy it already split? Does anyone sell decent stools that don't look like they came from Swill-Mart? I'm not just a tiki guy but also very much into Kustom Kulture & Rods & Kustoms. The room will have to incorporate those items as well. It'll be more of a cross between Tiki & Kustom Kulture with the bar being exclusively Tiki. Any thoughts or advice will be greatly appreciated.
Mahalo,
Rick

Your milage may vary, but I've been using these dimensions:

Bartender side: 36"
Patron side (and bar top): 48"

It lets you have the 34" clearance you'll need if you want to purchase bar inserts, fridges, etc: these mostly have a height of 34". I've found that 4 feet on the patron side is perfect for chairs and standing.

Mine is 41" tall, 24" across the top with a 12" overhang--works great.

I've split many a stick o' boo using a machete with about a 95% rate of success. The longer the piece you're splitting, the more likely you are to have a 'mis-split'.

Hey all...Newbie here too needing advice!

Well, here is a little back-story (cut and paste from my 1st post in the intro section):

to fill you all in on how I discovered my love for tiki....we had a finished basement on our house...functional but VERY stale...brown paneling, brown indoor/outdoor carpet...lame paper-backed drop ceiling. Well, in September of 2006 there was a sizable flood and we had 3 feet of sewage in there...NICE! We gutted it and ins. covered nothing. We got a check from FEMA, but it paid for maybe 1/2 of the cleanup costs. long story short...it still remains unrepaired...carpet ripped up...walls only 2/3rds paneled (I cut off the bottom part during the gut)...and it has now turned into a dump-all storage area for junk and old toys my 3 year old has grown tired of.

I was looking for a little motivation to remodel the basement getting a start with the help of a check from Uncle Sam...but we decided to drywall this time as well as knock down a wall giving us more living space and thus shrinking the laundry room....I was not stoked to start this endeavor...until the epiphany...a tiki bar!!!..A little help from google and here I am!!!

I lurked for 2 weeks and saw all the totally amazing things you all have done and I am hooked!

I got clearance from the wifey and hopefully will start the big clean-up/frame up of the basement this weekend!

I have been drawing feverishly and have a bunch of ideas and a handy father living next door (insert your "Everybody Loves Raymond" jokes here)..we'll see what I end up with.

As far as the bar itself...I am going to place it in the back corner of the room forming a 7 sided hut (2 walls of the room and 5 angled from piece) does that make sense? Each piece will be built separately and assembled down there. I'll have to scan in my sketches so you all can get my drift...advance warning...I'm NO artist!:)
Have any of you had experience doing a built - in fridge and or kegerator into the bar? That is my hope...1 section will house the kegerator with the tap protruding from the bartender side, and another section housing the fridge. 2 more sides will be cabinets.

1 more question then I'll shut up (I know this is a long post!)...I have a pool table down there to work around. I was thinking of covering it in boo fencing...but as far as a table light...I was thinking of building a frame/fixture and covering it in thatch...but am scared I'll burn the place down...thoughts?

Mahalo~

[ Edited by: Spikey McSpikerson 2008-04-03 09:58 ]

Howland your place is awesome! How tall are your stools & where did you get them. What did you use for the bartop? Oh, and where does one go to procure a machete? With my coordination, you may end up calling me lefty when I'm done. Everyone else, thanks for the advice & keep it coming. I'm gonna need all the help I can get. When it comes to wrenches & cars, I'm pretty adept, but saws & hammers, I'm dangerous.
Spikey: Welcome aboard, & I admire your enthusiasm, but I fail to see how your post answers any of my questions.

Search around here for instructions on splitting bamboo. It's been discussed a good bit I think. I have used an ax to do it, but a machette is probably better/easier. That and a hammer is all you need.

Look here

[ Edited by: Swanky 2008-04-03 11:54 ]

On 2008-04-03 09:46, Howland wrote:
Mine is 41" tall, 24" across the top with a 12" overhang--works great.

I've split many a stick o' boo using a machete with about a 95% rate of success. The longer the piece you're splitting, the more likely you are to have a 'mis-split'.

Man Howland, every time I look at your bar it gives me the goosebumps. So damn nice! With some help from Swanky, I'm going to be setting up my backyard bar with a hodgepodge similar to yours...damn, I can't wait.