New tiki bar being built in my yard!

Ok, I'm new here and have read lots of articles, got lots of good ideas. Hopefully the picture of what I'm starting with will post ok. I'm going to use a preasure treated lumber frame, (6' x 10' area) I want thatch on the roof but I'm not sure if it's better to put down OSB sheeting, or just lay the thatch over the truss'. Also is there a good spot to get thatch?

Other plans include a bar top made from beer bottle tops. The fire pit will be near the bar so sitting at the bar will put you near the fire pit, matching thatch covered 10'x10' canopy across the fire pit from the bar... I have collected lots of lighted corona, etc signage. Trying to incorporate my BBQ under the bar, and a small college size fridge.

It will be incorporated into my new shed I'm building Where the stamped cement is, you can also see the brackets where my 4x4 posts will go to support the roof:

Thanks for the assistance!!
-Chris

Welcome To TC! I have a recommendation or two or three or... :).
If you want your roof to be waterproof, I recommend some sort of wood panel (like OSB) or plywood and cover it with thin asphalt like roof shingles. Then you can put the thatch on it (staple gun it every now and then so it won't blow off). You can also thatch UNDER it to get a hut like feel. OR, Skip the wood and shingles and get the wavy fiberglass panels and thatch over an under it.
Note-There are a few people on TC don't feel that Corona signage and lighting are 'appropriate' for a tiki bar. Don't let that bug you-if it is your bag, go for it. PLUS, as is often stated on Tiki Central "a home tiki bar is never finished", so you may someday find (OR MAKE- see the various Lamp making threads) a light to replace it. The home tiki bar thread has a wealth of info and ideas. Good luck and have fun!

thetmaxx- lucky you! Starting at the ground floor with what sounds like a great project. (I've got a side door on my garage to replace this summer-- NOT a great project! But I digress...) One piece of advice I've heard from others that I really like is, "If it's really a tiki bar, you don't want a sign that says, 'TIKI BAR'; better to actually have tikis." It's the difference between claiming something and actually being something. I like that.

I can see the bar would never really be finished. Well aside from the signage I am going to try to implement a lot of other tiki aspects I've found here.

And I like the Idea of not calling it a "Tiki Bar" just letting it be one. We'll see If it can be.

Thanks for the Idea to put thatch under the OSB... It seems so simple I don't know why I didn't think of that... Oh well, It will work and create the appearance of a nice thick thatch cover.

Thanks again!! Really enjoy the feed back and can't wait to start framing. I know materials like bamboo and stuff are common but can Preasure treated lumber fit in or will it never be quite right? I was even thinking of using the peeler core timbers for the posts and maybe later cover it with, (i guess it can be called this) the tiki totum pole things? or bamboo...

Welcome Thet!

Be careful about mixing fire (fire pit & BBQ) with thatch! There are spray on fire retardants but there is no substitute for plenty of distance between the fuel and the flame. :D

Chris,

Welcome to TC! It looks like you have ample space to work with and sounds like you have the ambition necessary to make it happen. I'm quite the rookie builder myself, so my advice may fall pretty low on the scales, but... what I will say is follow the old rule of measure twice, cut once. Planning phase is really important to how everything will fit together and look when you get done. As for the BBQ pit, I would say just plan to have a fire extinguisher or two handy, just-in-case. Best of luck and keep the pics coming!

Lots of potential - can't wait to see what you do with it!

I used a lot of pressure treated lumber on my tiki hut, because you work with what you have available. You can accessorize with bamboo trim, reed fencing, carving, staining, stamping, etc. My long-term goal is to make my pressure treated wood blend as much as possible, a bit at a time.

Hello and welcome!

On 2010-06-23 07:15, thetmaxx wrote:
I know materials like bamboo and stuff are common but can Preasure treated lumber fit in or will it never be quite right? I was even thinking of using the peeler core timbers for the posts and maybe later cover it with, (i guess it can be called this) the tiki totum pole things? or bamboo...

There's a couple of different routes you can go there, one is to frame it with carved posts. That's what I did for the patio cover next to our pool, here's a pic:

The columns were carved by Bosko and are redwood. He offers these as stock items on his site (http://www.tikibosko.com/index.htm). He carved the a-frame beam custom for me based on a sketch I sent him. The cover is framed in cedar 2x6's and sheathed in OSB. I had to do shingles on top per our association requirements. The outer edges of the beams are faced in redwood trim, also from Bosko. This pic is a couple of years old and was just the beginning, I've since done more work under it but still have a lot to do. Eventually the slab will get slate, the underside of the canopy will be clad in reed and there will be wall panels on the brick with woven grass mat covering.

I said there were a couple of options, another is to use 4x4's or even galv. steel pipes for your columns and then clad them in carved wood trim like this (pic from Bosko's site):

Good luck!

you've come to a great place for advice and encouragement. keep the pix coming!
the bar i've built is great all 4 seasons (although in CA we really only have 3 seasons) so you may gain some ideas from these pictures. instead of using PT4x4's i built the frame using landscape timbers. these are sturdy enough for support, are pretty inexpensive, and still solid so drilling for bolts and nail holding capacity is very good. i didnt even have to stain them, the color was OK and has held up for several years. these posts are supported above by 2x4 PT boards although that structure is masked by the thatch and some redwood fence boards. from below, only the thatch can be seen. i doubled the thatch (cheap 6' reed fencing) to be more difficult to see through.
in winter months i install 2x8 corrugated fiberglass to the top of the structure. the rain sheets off the lower edge, and the covering helps keep in heat. the thatch makes the fiberglass invisible as well. you'll get good advice here on hiding any modern hardware, so that is a good goal to have.
speaking of heat. i've had BBQ's, firepits, and those mexican chimneys under the thatch, and come very close to setting the whole thing on fire several times. lucky so far, but the downside has always been the soot. you may end up with blackened thatch if it doesnt actually catch fire. keep a fire extinguisher handy while you experiment. i finally settled on radiant heaters on the roof. they work great.
heres a couple old pix where you can see the structure i built. one benefit of not totally covering the roof with plywood is the light inside the bar. depending on your climate you may get away with this approach. ive got a lot of newer pix up on my bars thread. its unfortunately still called 'the tiki bar', but i'm working on that.
have a blast and welcome to TC!
Faztiki

Love the landscape timer idea. I completely missed out on that. Well, I put down the basic frame yesterday, Pics on that... And I never mentioned I am in Sacramento, CA Area and yes we have less seasons than most... I like the idea of the open thatch allowing a little light through. Too many options grr. It's hard to pick one and go with it.

Well now I'm needing to frame up the actual Bar area. This is an area the PT 2x4's are undoubtedly going to be used. Then I can start the fun of adding bamboo, etc... Need to keep browsing for ideas on that.

BTW... Since it is very far from being tiki, My GF added a sign that does say tiki bar. Hopefully it wont be needed for long.

OK, Update!!

I got the bar area framed today, and the OSB up. UPS was supposed to have my thatch on friday but it's been delayed til monday. SO I kept working at it. We also went to a few craft stores today just to see what the selection was like and found one closing out summer decorations so I grabbed a little shark guy drinking a Margareta, some fish netting, a coconut carved guy, and I think that was it.

So we got a little excited playing with decoration ideas, and it's so much nicer just having basic framing in place. I have the plywood to cover the sides as well as the reed material, just need to get on it!!

Here I was adjusting the bar height, took a few tries but I got it :wink:

Here it is framed up, The plywood is temparary, I found craftsman has a nice butcher block top just the right size for 160$ and in bamboo for 210$ I'm so tempted to get bamboo, but $$$...

Here is later tonight with the decor added... Defiantly going to be moved but it's fun for now, and keeps spirits high!!

One Final thought, we are thinking of a Shark theme, like the Shark Oasis, or Shark Bite Cove (we also live very near the river.) Any input?

Great start!!!

Now comes the long hard part... the never ending decorating...

Got the Thatch today and installed it. So it is OSB, Asphalt paper then thatch.

And you can see the big sheet of plywood I painted will have reed fencing and that will go on the front and sides of the bar.

This weekend I'm heading to a guy that deals bamboo in sacramento area to pick up some poles for the edges of my bar, and trim around the reed fence.

Really looking nice! Good space to work with and the thatch is a great start!

Thanks for the comments!
I installed the reed fence to the outside of the bar and test fit my refrigerator. I think the reed really added to the feel of the bar. I will be adding a bamboo border to it this weekend. As well as finally beginning constructing the actual bar top.

OK, sorry it's been so long since I've updated on my bar. I do have to admit it has kind of a cantina feel, less of a tiki feel, but It is what it is. A good friend of mine is a Corona dealer soo...

In one pic you can see where I tried to use the extra thatch to cover a back yard patio cover we had. Still working on it.

Also you can see the joe's crab shack drink that has been inspirational to the bar, friends have helped name it the shark shack.

You can see the Bar top was kind of the center piece, all bottle tops I've drank, and covered in epoxy resin. I also sealed the whole thing in UV sealer.

I'm sure I could ramble on and on, but please post suggestions, and comments or questions.

That bar top is awesome. Very cool. Definitly is the center peice!