Good durable bar top?[Completed - Pic added!]

Hello all.. after googling for hours on end. this seem to be the place to ask about anything tiki (or outdoor bar building)

I live in Rochester, NY. We have hot summers and cold nasty winters. I need suggestions on what to build my outdoor bar top out of?
The location is minimally covered (Below the back part of a deck). so it will get rained and snowed on... sun will beat on it as well :)

sooo, what should I use? Teak? ceramic? I tried a tounge-n-groove board with heavy poly coating... nope.. warped after a few rains.

Also, what should be used as a base for the new top? I think plywood is out.. even thick. too absorbant.

Thanks all!!

[ Edited by: Static 2008-04-26 16:00 ]

Graphite!

Titanium

Majic!!

At one point I was president of the painting and decorating contractors of America (PDCA). They have or at least had a site where you can ask questions. I would start there http://www.pdca.org/. Another place you can try is http://www.paintstore.com/ or just ask your local paint store. Do not go to Home Depot or any place that does not specialize in painting. Try to reach the manager and not the $6.00 an hour employee. I always say you ask a $6.00 an hour employee you get a $6.00 answer.

Good luck!

two part epoxy resin

its not that hard to work with, it dries clear, you can position stuff underneath it.. (postcards etc)

its very durable

It's kind of like plants.
If you look around and see what grows in your area plant it.
same is true with building materials.
I have a small cheap plastic bar out by the pool for that reason.

On 2008-04-04 23:03, Monkeyman wrote:
two part epoxy resin

its not that hard to work with, it dries clear, you can position stuff underneath it.. (postcards etc)

its very durable

I used a 2 part epoxy resin for my indoor bar but the label stated that it was not suitable for outdoor use, other brands may be different. Read your labels carefully if you use this stuff for your outdoor bar. The brand I used was Envirotex-Lite, I beleive.

I've never seen any resin, either epoxy or polyresin stay clear outdoors. Unfortunatelly they all seem to yellow and cloud. What about 2" thick wood and use Man O War SparVarnish Marine Varnish (Home Depot)

Otherwise ceramic, stone, or concrete might be your only options.

..make your bar top removable, by attaching it with a few screws.....when winter rolls around, remove the top and stow it in your garage or attic or wherever......now you can make the top out of whatevermaterial you want and not have to worry about it....never let lousy weather stand between you and a good bar top design..

I'm gonna give the epoxy resin a shot as well since I'll be adding menu clips, match book covers and other tiki paper stuff...hope it comes out nice :wink:

I just bought bamboo bartops for a new project 240cm long by60cm wide 4cm thick they are great!

http://www.westsystem.com/

Marine Varnish will work much better than poly because the marine varnish will flex with the temperature, wheras the poly will just crack. I'd go for the resin, I've got one that we use outside occasionally and it's pretty durable. Don't know about full time, but it's worth a shot. I've also seen a lot of restaurants use the laminate bamboo flooring as a counter top and it looks nice, but again, don't know how it would do outdoors.
Good Luck, I'd love to see pictures of what ever you decide!!

On 2008-04-05 17:19, mieko wrote:
Marine Varnish will work much better than poly because the marine varnish will flex with the temperature, wheras the poly will just crack. I'd go for the resin, I've got one that we use outside occasionally and it's pretty durable. Don't know about full time, but it's worth a shot. I've also seen a lot of restaurants use the laminate bamboo flooring as a counter top and it looks nice, but again, don't know how it would do outdoors.
Good Luck, I'd love to see pictures of what ever you decide!!

What brand resin do you use? I'm out in TX, so its pretty humid.

I have to second TikiTony's response after Meiko's. The SparVarnish is the way to go for inclement weather. If it is slathered on boats that go from Tahiti to New Zealand then it should be good for a bar top.
Ace has it, Home Dump, and Dixieline if they are out there.

Home Dump does have a resin that is "designed" for bar tops. It is called Glaze Coat I believe. $30 though. The SparV should be about the same, but you get a gallon and you are not pressured by a fast cure while applying it.

Erik the Red

Thanks all...

Ok, so If u se use marine/spar varnish.. what about the wood?

Ipe is great for year round outdoor use.
http://www.ipedepot.com/

On 2008-04-07 16:23, tikihai wrote:
Ipe is great for year round outdoor use.
http://www.ipedepot.com/

I'll agree with that. A good friend of mine has a dock building business and they use alot of ipe on high end projects, meaning peeps w/ the big $$ want the ipe decks. "ipe" rhymes with 'he pay' and that's been a joke between us- 'Ipe', cause 'he pay' alot for it". I have access to plenty of ipe scraps from my dock bro but don't have a real need for it. When I say scraps I mean like 5/4 x 2 feet. not much for me to do with that--it's ridiculously hard to carve too. They leave it natural (unfinished) on the decking/docks. It looks awesome though when it's wet or when it has a nice spar/marine/poly finish on it. Don't know how convenient it would be for me to send you scraps but PM me if your interested. I've turned down alot of scraps I've been offered.

If you use Ipe, you need no finishes. Ironwood will not rot and bug won't eat it. It's too hard for either. It won't absorb water. It is likely heavy as hell. I've held a 70 year old ironwood stone carved club in my hand and was shocked. I have lifted 70 year old lodge poles, 3" X 3" X 12' that sat in the water for over a decade, and looked weathered, but no rot from Papua New Guinea. Tough stuff.

ok, update.

I got some nice large panels of wood (1: 2x6x3/4 & 2x4x3/4) joined them and put a layer of stain/poly and 3 coats of Sparvarnish. I will add probably 2 more coats soon. but its holding up really well.

Latest is that I found a tiki bar set (build it yourself) at the christmas tree shopps. $200!! so I am using the bamboo stools, the roof is not an overhang. and assorted pieces for decoration. it looks FANTASTIC! I was about to take some pics to post, but the sky opened up... will post pics soon.

Thanks Everyone!

click for the full size image ... let me know what u think.

Very nice...the overhang turned out really great. Look forward to more pictures. :)

I have acquired these granite counter tops and will be using them to build an out door tiki bar. I would imagine they would be durable enough. Each piece weighs 250-300 pounds. My wife thinks I will enjoy such a project. The pieces are 7 ft long and 18 inched wide. There are four of them. The best part is they were free!!. I will probably start designing and building after next weekend. I will be using pictures and ideas here on TC for a basic direction.

In the background is the entire speaki tiki speaker factory.

Static yous looks great. I am going to try and make mine portable as I do not have much back patio or yard space and will need to move it in and out for use.

"There is hardly anything in the world some man can not
make a little worse and sell a little cheaper and the
people who consider price alone, are this mans lawful prey"

[ Edited by: TikiRick 2008-05-01 18:11 ]

[ Edited by: TikiRick 2008-05-01 18:12 ]