Ki'o wai Lounge (bar construction page 3)

On 2015-06-29 04:27, Will carve wrote:
Looks good there.
That fence could make a great canvas.
Ask LLT to paint it up for you.

I'm sure LLT could do some cool stuff on there for sure! If you look back on Page 1, I had a few mock ups of murals. I ultimately decided not to go forward because I felt like it would only last a couple years before looking bad in the elements. I didn't want to keep a muralist on the permanent payroll.

More work on the bar...building shelves in the back this week.

[ Edited by: jimsflies 2015-06-30 03:41 ]

Big week coming up...my son's graduation party is this Saturday. Been working double time to get as much done as possible. We're expecting over 150. We've got a band that will be setting up next to the bar. Its an evening event so I've been working a lot on lighting.

I'll post some updates tomorrow. Wished I could take better night shots to show the lights.

Some updated photos...mostly progress on the back bar shelving.

Need to add some rum...

A night shot showing the illuminated fence. Its RGB led strips, so the color can be changed. I think red looks the best although photo shows blue.

Here are a few shots showing the entire area:

Jim,

Looking good! On the back bar what's up with the lighted tikis/moai? They look very cool but I can't tell if they're plastic over lights or what. My curious mind wants to know, lol.

On 2015-07-08 16:08, LoriLovesTiki wrote:
Jim,

Looking good! On the back bar what's up with the lighted tikis/moai? They look very cool but I can't tell if they're plastic over lights or what. My curious mind wants to know, lol.

thanks Lori.

The lighted Moai are resin lamps that Spencer's sold 15-20 years ago. I picked them up online over time. They ship incredibly poorly. Out of four lamps I purchased from different sellers, 3 of them showed up broken. I was able to glue two of them back together and the other was a total loss.

What I like about them in the spot I put them is they cast just the right amount of light up on the ceiling in the bar which highlights the rafters and roof architecture.

[ Edited by: jimsflies 2015-07-09 08:55 ]

I'm only a decade or two late! Figures.....

On 2015-07-09 09:51, LoriLovesTiki wrote:
I'm only a decade or two late! Figures.....

I'll keep an eye out and send you a pm if I see any available if you'd like.

Another cool piece I picked up from Will Carve last November...finally got it painted and hung:

We had our big party on Saturday night...while not a tiki band, this band was serving up some great tunes on Saturday.

And the bar seemed to be a hit with our guests...

Looks like a great time!

Looks like a fantastic time to me!

Hay,
Invite me next time.

Thanks everyone.

Will you're invited for sure! You might need to wear a jacket up here though.

I realize my latest addition is tiki sacrilege, but with the TV in the bar I don't miss any of the game while making another drink.

I will likely follow the lead of others here on TC and make a facade to cover it when not in use and/or trim it out to make it blend a little better with the other decor.

I also moved an old stereo and a pair of speakers to the bar. After buying a couple different outdoor speakers and being unhappy with how they sounded I returned them and re-purposed some existing stereo equipment I had in storage. This included a powered sub-woofer which really filled in the outdoor speakers which are sorely lacking in the low end. These additions combined with the existing speakers mounted under the deck which is opposite the bar really fills the entire area with good sound without being too loud. The stereo is connected to the TV and also an Air Port Express so that I can stream music from the computer. It was nice to find another use for everything and clean out a closet in the house.

[ Edited by: jimsflies 2015-09-23 06:24 ]

I thought I was going to be a "Debbie Downer" posting my snowy tiki bar photo.

But clearly my snowy photo has nothing on the tone of this thread.

Anyways...just checking in as the fleeting thoughts of warmer times run through my head.

btw - you can almost see the bar stools I built last fall around the bar. If I had more inclination to hang out in the cold, I'd put some snowmen on the stools...maybe another time. Fortunately, its supposed to be in the 40's and the snow should be gone in a few days.

[ Edited by: jimsflies 2016-02-26 11:26 ]

Nice winter shot!
Take a snow shot with the lights on as well.

There is a thread a tiki in winter or something like that.
You should add this photo.

Hope I found the right thread...I posted it here:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=39045

I'll try to get one with lights too...looks like more snow coming mid-week.

Looks good!
Got to 65 today.

You keep that snow crap up there.

This is the thread I was talking about more winter tiki here....
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=47195&forum=1&start=15

Today was 55...snows almost gone.

I spend a lot of time thinking warm thoughts while staring at my aquarium in the winter...

Got the bar spiffed up for some company last weekend. Thought I would share a few photos...the new cell phone definitely takes better pics in lower light.

In an effort to break up the white fence, I've decided that I'm going to leave the bananas in their pots this year and put them in front of the fence as opposed to transferring them to planter. In their place in the planter, I'm going to grow some mint so I have it when I want to make a cocktail. I also planted some flower pouches and hung them on the fence to also breakup the white fence. Not sure how well the pouches work for growing plants...but thought I would try it. They were cheap enough at $2 each.

As far as things not going right...here are a couple pics of pests and pest damage I'm dealing with:

A woodpecker went nuts on my sail shade posts! These are cedar and I hate thinking about the $30+ per board price tag to replace. I think I'm going to carve some trim to cover the damage and tiki-fy these posts a bit. Maybe they'll look better than original. But that damn woodpecker has to go!!!!

This is a carpenter bee....they look like a bumblebee except they are making swiss cheese out of the cedar beams in the bar. They chew a perfect circle that is about 3/8-inch diameter into the bottom of the beams and purlins. I've been whacking them when I can. I'm wondering if I sprayed some pledge or something on the wood if that would keep them away?

I also had to replace the tiki torches because the metal cans had rusted on my old ones. I almost burned my fence and deck down the other night after installing one of the new torches. I lit it and turned around to sit my tools down, when I looked back a minute later the entire wicker housing was on fire. I had to put it out with the hose. Afterwards I did a little forensic analysis on the torch and it seems like the wick is allowing oil to escape on top of the torch somehow. So now I don't trust these new torches at all. I'm looking for a better solution that isn't made of combustable materials. If I had been away another minute, I think the oil can would have fallen onto the deck and most likely created a massive fire. :(

[ Edited by: jimsflies 2016-06-01 11:17 ]

Those carpenter bees are contemptible. We've had an explosion of them in this area over the last couple years. Only thing to do is spray the holes at dusk and invest in a butterfly net to snag the slow-flying little jerks.

On 2016-05-31 20:54, Bam Bam wrote:
Those carpenter bees are contemptible. We've had an explosion of them in this area over the last couple years. Only thing to do is spray the holes at dusk and invest in a butterfly net to snag the slow-flying little jerks.

They do make pretty easy targets I usually swat them with a beach towel when I see them.

I built several carpenter bee traps last weekend. Here's hoping they work. I think the traps might work I have watched the bees fly around and they are constantly probing holes they find to make a nest. I also plugged all the holes I could find with a 7/16-inch dowel. Most holes were about 2-inches deep before making a turn.

Your whole backyard/pool space looks spectacular – you’ve done an awesome job. I’d like to build a permanent tiki bar, but the wife says no; as it is, I just use one of those large offset umbrellas for shade, which works pretty well over the 6’ bar I built. During the winter, most everything gets covered with a tarp or moved into the garage/shed.

It is nice to have mint growing nearby; I have a bunch of it poking through my hostas at the foot of my deck steps – and it’s come in handy a couple of times to make mojitos!

Thankfully, not too many problems with pests where I live – although (based on some small muddy footprints) I DO think I had a raccoon checking out the top of my bar, one night a couple of weeks ago…

Thanks AkronTiki. My wife wasn't too keen on the bar either. I think she likes it more now.

I started a new project....adding a sink to the bar. To deal with drainage I dug a dry well. I'm going to use NSF approved drinking water hose to get from the house to the bar with the water supply. I will only have cold water but at least there will be functional sink in the bar.

Hope to have this project finished up this weekend. Then I think its time to get the cabinet fronts and doors on the backbar.

I really like how your area has turned out. These progression threads are great. I personally don't mind the white fence, understanding many times not everything can be changed. We have a BBQ island pergola that is white, although our dining pergola is a brown stain, and I've been trying to think of ways to decorate to distract the eye from the white. That concrete mask on the fence turned out to be a commanding piece. Really nice. And I think the greenery on the fence was a great idea and softens the look, less stark.

You've got carpenter bees there and we have black widow spiders to look out for here. Never want to have anyone sit on a bar stool and brush up against a web at night. Kind of freaks me out thinking about it. Nighttime used to be so much more fun. I assume your bees are only an issue during the day (apart from those nasty holes they make)?

Hey I have an idea for your TV when you are entertaining and not watching a game. If you can add a cheap DVD player to it you could run an animated scene from an aquarium or ocean with fish swimming. Frame the TV as an aquarium.

On 2016-06-28 00:07, Polly_Nesia wrote:
I really like how your area has turned out. These progression threads are great. I personally don't mind the white fence, understanding many times not everything can be changed. We have a BBQ island pergola that is white, although our dining pergola is a brown stain, and I've been trying to think of ways to decorate to distract the eye from the white. That concrete mask on the fence turned out to be a commanding piece. Really nice. And I think the greenery on the fence was a great idea and softens the look, less stark.

You've got carpenter bees there and we have black widow spiders to look out for here. Never want to have anyone sit on a bar stool and brush up against a web at night. Kind of freaks me out thinking about it. Nighttime used to be so much more fun. I assume your bees are only an issue during the day (apart from those nasty holes they make)?

Hey I have an idea for your TV when you are entertaining and not watching a game. If you can add a cheap DVD player to it you could run an animated scene from an aquarium or ocean with fish swimming. Frame the TV as an aquarium.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my build and reply. I like your idea about the TV/aquarium. I may be able to hook up my old apple TV to it and stream various clips.

Carpenter bees don't seem to be very aggressive and not an issue at night. Its a tough call between black widows and carpenter bees. At least people can heal... lol. The holes the carpenter bees last forever. (But yeah I'm not a fan of any spider, especially ones that actually do bite.)

Running water! At least temporarily, the real water hose should get here by the end of the week. I hooked it up to test the dry well capacity.

I timed it out and it took about 5 mintues to fill the dry well using a garden hose in the sink. But then after connecting the hose to the faucet, what I realized is that the sink can't handle that much flow. So I haven't re-timed it yet with the faucet flows, but I have a feeling it's going to take at least 15 minutes with the actual flows.

After filling, the drywell takes about 15 minutes to empty. I dug down about 28-inches for the plastic barrel which I cut the bottom out of. Then I used a post hole digger and when another 4-feet in the center of the barrel. There's a lot of clay in the ground but I hit a couple layers where the clay is less consolidated and has some sand and fine gravel. I summary, I think what I have constructed will work. :)

The next projects on the list is to lay pavers over the dry well to finish the grade on the right side of the bar. I've also started to face the cabinets and trim out the lower portion of the bar. I've got another big party planned for Aug. 20 so I'm trying to hustle to get as much completed as possible.

Love the faucet spout!

Trying to knock out a ton of bar projects. Made some headway this weekend.

This weekend, I built a small a deck on the right side of the bar where the dry well is for the sink. I used reclaimed wood from a co-worker who replaced their decking. I'll likely put some brown stain on it to help it last. But now its a lot nicer on the right side of the bar for sitting and standing. Going to build two more bar stools for that side of the bar. I need a tall tiki for next to the fence post there to help "hide" the electrical conduit.

Saturday evening, I relaxed with a mojito made with home grown Yerba Buena.

Started carving new boards for the sail shade posts on the deck.

I know the white isn't a fan favorite around here. I'm planning to use dark stain on the routed out portion. I think it will look better than previously with no carving and all white. Thoughts?

I like the way it looks now.
That wood part will go grey all by it's self.

The white will flake like a mofo with the weather we get though.

Your place looks great!

On 2016-07-13 13:19, tikiskip wrote:
I like the way it looks now.
That wood part will go grey all by it's self.

The white will flake like a mofo with the weather we get though.

Your place looks great!

The white stain has held up pretty well on the existing poles. But you're right on horizontal surfaces (our house deck railings), the white stain flakes off. I think vertical surfaces tend to fair better since the water doesn't pond on them.

Thanks for the feedback and word of caution. I enjoy doing this stuff the first time, but needing to do it again because it didn't last isn't nearly as much fun.

Got any tricks for keeping the woodpeckers off from the poles?

[ Edited by: jimsflies 2016-07-13 13:42 ]

General woodpecker deterrents
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/wp_about/control.html

keeping woodpeckers off house
https://www.google.com/search?q=keeping+woodpeckers+off+house&oq=keeping+the+woodpeckers+off&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.5610j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Looks like people like this stuff.

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/194449843680910929?q=keeping+woodpeckers+off+house&biw=1280&bih=633&bav=on.2,or.&bvm=bv.126993452,d.eWE&tch=1&ech=1&psi=qMuGV5u9NMHemwHDs7XQCA.1468451966305.3&prds=hsec:reviews,paur:ClkAsKraXwWMfWdAJY4rYj6q8FLnGf3hPUzoazVxlE6FvdAGAn2SDMbX5VqdpJf0XXFa6rse1gGX_nR4ETm6mcreu3vCmOPaTjJzpClAEbzR91iuH2ddeqBM9hIZAFPVH72S9hKrHR9VRoy5EJhEyBp99QN5QQ&ved=0ahUKEwigncjmyfHNAhVCYiYKHWrvDPsQqisIuwE&ei=bcyGV-CyH8LEmQHq3rPYDw

Too bad the shinny tape doesn't come in a tapa version. :wink:

That Cornel one up top did say you need to get rid of the bees to get rid of the birds.
Read that one, it had some good stuff.

I would wrap that post in white metal flashing.
Those bees go to the same spot every year, when they get done they
totally mess that wood up.
NOW the birds want the bees and or larvae of the bees.

I had this problem and put metal flashing up and the bees STILL try like heck to
drill into that same spot where I put the flashing.

They will run you ragged.

Yeah I read that about the carpenter bees. I didn't see any holes from bees in the posts. I will be taking the old cedar off soon and can do forensics to look for signs of insects. (This is likely the same woodpecker that pecked the hole in the tiki mask's forehead ...and I know there weren't bug in there.)

Your place is looking fabulous. CHEERS

On 2016-07-17 19:56, VampiressRN wrote:
Your place is looking fabulous. CHEERS

Thanks Vamp!

I spent more time on the router this weekend. Looking forward to having these posts completed!

I'm doing three pairs of posts. 3.5 are complete...2.5 to go.

Looking forward to seeing more pictures, nice carve.

On 2016-07-18 09:30, hiltiki wrote:
Looking forward to seeing more pictures, nice carve.

Thanks Hiltiki.

A few progress photos... taking longer than I anticipated to finish the posts.

Finished carving all of them:

Started staining (should have taken TikiSkips advice and not stain...could be done already if I did. Need to touch up the white on these still:

"should have taken TikiSkips advice and not stain"

No, What you did looks great!
Wonder if a clear coat will help keep it looking good.

THAT"S the rub, KEEPING it looking good for years in our climate.

Love all the routing. Your place is looking great!!!

Thanks!

Here's one last photo of the painted boards together. Hoping to have them installed soon.

looks great.

Making some progress...

Here's the before photo:

Here it is now:

I've got to get another sail shade or two for the right side to attach to the additional post.

Those routed boards make all the difference! Great job!!!