Kiki's Tiki Village

Muskrat,

Than I would just stick with the DG. It always holds it shape and plays nice.

-Longboard

on to the barrels.
i had two barrels that would anchor the bar and they take up a lotta space so i figured i'd utilize that space by cutting openings in the back where i could build storage.
in order to do this you have to stabilize the boards cause if ya just start cutting, the barrel will fall apart.
first up i figured out what boards would need to be cut. once that's figured out mark where you'll cut. it's easiest if you use the hoops as a guide as you'll want to keep the top and bottom hoops structurally intact.
once that was done it was time to drill a pilot hole through each hoop for each board (except the sections to be removed).
this will take a while. get a good metal drill bit, trust me it will make your life much easier.
next is driving screws into each of the holes you've drilled. i highly recommend using a power driver for this.
once that's done, drill a hole in one of the boards to be removed, big enough to fit a jigsaw/sawzall blade in and then using whatever reciprocating saw you choose, cut along your cut line.
if you've taken advantage of the natural lines of the barrel you should only be making 2 cuts as the barrel staves will just fall out once cut top and bottom.
the opening i cut was large, almost top to bottom so this left 2 hoops running across my opening. in order to make the opening unobstructed i had to cut the hoops. had the hoops not been screwed everywhere else this wouldn't be possible so don't skip that step.
i measured the thickness of the barrel stave's and used that measurement to figure out where to cut the hoops. you could just cut them flush with the opening but that would be unfinished and leave sharp edges. i added the thickness of the stave plus an 1/8" to make up for the bending and marked the hoops. i then cut with a sawzall with a bi-metal blade leaving a small tail at the end of each hoop.
next i got my hammer and beat the ends of the hoops over so they wrapped around the stave.

once that was all done mrs. muskrat stained the barrels and painted the hoops black. she also painted on the "rum" lettering in an old font we found.

with that done it was time to start putting it together.

next up, framing the bar.

HOLY BAMBOO BATMAN!

Keith I am humbled. Beautiful place and story behind it. Great meeting you and looking forward to a lot of time hanging out as Ohana - between Tiki, Steampunk, Doxies, Bocce, (we got into Bocce because of Tiki friends in Oakland - there are courts at our dog park in Elk Grove), just to name a few.
I hope we can collaborate on a few projects.
I've been looking to gather some Tiki items for you but now that I know more of what you're into we'll have to PM to find out what sort of items you'd be most interested in. :tiki:

So now you know my TC handle,

Dave & Eva

why thank you Dr..
it was good meetin ya the other day.

now back to the business at hand.

i got the basic structure for the bar built and put some baca mat on it then it was time for the bar top.
we wanted to do concrete but didn't have time as we we're on a deadline to get ready for our daughters graduation party so i made one out of some OSB i had leftover from another project.

after test fitting to make sure it was right i cut and installed some engineered flooring material as a temporary top.
i used paneling adhesive to stick it to the OSB base.

after that was done we tried a couple different ideas for how to finish out the edge.
what i ended up doing was taking 1 1/4" pvc and making faux bamboo.
i cut grooves that didn't cut through, every 12" then heated the pipe with a heat gun at the groove. once it became pliable i pushed from both ends causing the pipe to bulge slightly giving the appearance of nodes.
once that was done i did some decorative burning with a torch then cut a channel the length of the pvc, using a table saw, just wide enough to slip onto the bar top edge.
unfortunately for me i had four 90 deg round corners to deal with. i built a jig in the shape of the corners and went to work with the heat gun, shaping the pipe into the right shape. once that was done i heated and bulged the ends then burned them.
now came the part that i will advise-

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME

i had to get a channel cut out of these bent pieces and i couldn't run them through the table saw due to there shape. i tried an angle grinder, a dremmel, a hacksaw blade, drilling multiple holes to perforate the pvc but nothing was working.
i ended up using a sliding compound miter saw. needless to say this was not the safest thing i've done in my life and i'm not gonna tell you how i did it because i don't want anyone else to try it.
if you want to try to replicate this, you're on your own for that step.
once that was done it was test fitted and it came out perfect.

next up was cleaning the pvc and getting rid of all the markings. i was smart enough to cut the channels where the markings we're but got thrown off when using the jig. i kept placing the markings where i couldn't see them, but that's where they show up.
learn from my mistake.

once that was done they were replaced and nailed in place. i nailed my first 2 pieces to close to the edge and cracked them. i was going to replace them but decided to repair them with wood putty as they would give some interesting characteristics like real bamboo.
once that was done we taped of the bar and gave the pvc a coupla coats of amber shellac.

once there were two coats of shellac on there, most people couldn't tell it wasn't bamboo, even after telling them it was pvc.

next up trimming the bar and the bar-back.

Holy Smokes, that's awesome, muskrat...setting the (tiki) bar ever higher for us noobs!

Rob

[ Edited by: Ghostsoldier 2014-08-12 13:59 ]

Very nice work, I love the wood blind/shutters and the roof. I was wondering about bending some pipe like that but didn't know if it would work, yours looks great.

NICE!!!!

Love the PVC Bamboo and storm shutters!
It sure helps to have a good collection of tools from the sounds of this project.

On 2014-08-14 14:31, Dr.TikiMojo wrote:
Love the PVC Bamboo and storm shutters!
It sure helps to have a good collection of tools from the sounds of this project.

thanks, and yes it does.

On 2014-08-12 15:04, dtel wrote:
Very nice work, I love the wood blind/shutters and the roof. I was wondering about bending some pipe like that but didn't know if it would work, yours looks great.

thanks detl.
i wish i had seen your links on how to do the pvc bamboo, yours looks much better (and here i thought i'd come up with something new).

alrighty, i'm gonna jump around a-bit.
the bar back and sink.
we didn't have a whole lotta room behind the bar to fit everything so i had to come up with something functional and cool looking.
i built a floating shelf unit with a 3 tiered top with LED uplighting.
it'll hold about 30 bottles up top with plenty of room for fruit juices, syrups and mixers bellow.
it's attached to the wall with lag bolts and sits about a 1/2" off the ground(keeps from having to deal with the odd angle and uneven surface of the pavers).

i routered a channel in each of the top shelves to put in LED color changing light strips. once installed i put a plexiglass cover on each shelf.

i finished it off with a piece of 1/2 round bamboo, some curtains and a "rum locker" plaque.

one thing we wanted was a sink but there was no way to get plumbing where the bar was without some seriously expensive work happening so i rigged up a system that works pretty darn fine.
what i did was use a rv water pump hooked up to a small 12 volt battery with two 6 gallon water cans, one with fresh water going to the pump, the other for grey water coming from the sink drain.
i got the pump, sink and trap from a used rv parts distributor, cans from rei, hoses and fittings from the local hdw store and the faucet from ebay (china).
the battery is one i use on my bike to power a small stereo and lights but you can pick them up at most hardware stores as well.
all in i've got less than $150 in it and it works great.

the grey water tank has yellow and black warning tape on it so you don't mix them up, also the openings are different sizes.

the battery is wired permanently now with a battery tender plugged into it to keep it charged (this isn't needed but its nice and i had a tender that i used for that battery already

there ya go...water without plumbing.

i doubt you could go through the tanks in on evening but i suggest filling your fresh tank with 1 gallons less than your grey water tank can hold for any extra fluid getting poured down the drain.

next up, putting it all together.

[ Edited by: muskrat 2014-08-14 17:48 ]

WOW! I was fortunate enough to get to visit in person yesterday and it's even more impressive in real life....I sat there looking at the PVC Bamboo and it looks great....then there's the outdoor lounge area or Lanai, beautifully furnished by the late Steve Soto's bamboo living room set and other items....just fantastic.

Cheers to the Muskrat Ohana!

What a great idea and build on the RV sink. You are doing a great job!!!

I'm interested in any techniques you used to bend the pvc. I have a similar bend on my bar top and tried to trim it doing the same thing, but the pvc was deforming (bulging/pinching) and didn't look very good.

Wow you are so creative and inventive. We are looking forward to seeing it all on the crawl. Wendy and Dan

The natives are getting restless! How goes the build?

I think WOW is just the best word to use here. Wendy

I'm stealing two of your ideas.

Bad ass job! Really enjoy the progress.

-Longboard

I was just on "other crafts" looking at your bamboo rain gutters. Professional quality work all around. Wendy

Sorry for neglecting this post. My computers been down for longer than I can remember.
Lets get some pix up here

Here's the finished bar before decorating.

And the same view at night.

Here's a view from the lounge.

Here's a great shot taken by Dr.TikiMojo showing the fire pit and bocce court.

Thanks for looking, More to come tomorrow.

You had me at "Bocce Court"! Nice vibe.

All I can say is "WOW"!!! A whole lotta hard work, and it really paid off!

Oof! That fireplace is awesome! Seriously muskrat this is better than I ever expected!

Looks great. Thanks for the photos.

What a great bar and backyard!!! Fantastic craftsmanship. That bamboo trim on the bar is amazing!

Sorry for bringing this back from the dead...but WOW!!!, this is great and really similar to what I'm hoping to do with my patio, (but mine will be on a much less grand scale). It has provided a ton of inspiration.

First time viewing and wow turned out great. Love the vibe.

This is why I prefer TC to other places; people’s great ideas and hard work can be (re)discovered and enjoyed.

That sink is a great idea. I’ve imaginerd that’s the best way to get water in a place without plumbing, so it’s nice to see it in action.

Curious. I'm about to start something very similar and was wondering how the wood/gloss urethane has held up over the last couple years.