The Fourth Wave

Hi from the UK. So my current bar is the Fourth Wave, a knod to "Tiki with Ray" as he has asked are we in the Fourth Wave of Tiki a couple of times on his Vlogs.

So Initially this was my Bar that I built in the Pandemic. I built it in the back garden in a new but unused Summer House. It was tiny only 7' x 7'. But I loved it. It was my escape and also sanctuary for my increasing collection of Tiki. This bar was called J & T's a spin on G & T's but its my kids initials. Back when they were tiny (2015) this was the site of their Little Tikes Log Cabin, which I transformed into a Tiki Bar, and it had a path which was the Pirate path, Which ran hidden through all the old established plants in the back garden.

Sadly that went as they got bigger and the Wife always wanted a summer house.

Come the Pandemic I had already panned to build a bar but the vacant Summer house seemed the obvious place. It could accommodate 4 at a squeeze. But it was fun. We had a huge party one Xmas and we got so many folk in it , through it etc. But it showed it's limitations. I needed a bigger bar for more drinks, glass wear mugs etc and Tiki wants/needs. By 2021 2 winters had shown how damp this cheap summer house got. It was time for a change. We had the money so it was time to dig up the patio, old beds etc and build a bigger garden room. I had a month off work owed to me so it all came to a head and I got digging etc. I put the old summer house on trolleys and pushed it out of the way and then to the other side of the property. Once the patio was layed, the kit of parts arrived.

In the UK we are limited to a certain size of out house before we need planning permission. There are other rules, such as where on your property you can or cant put it. Luckily we had researched this as we did get complaints.

So if you are in the UK bare in mind you cant go over 2.5m high. It must be 3mx 5m max in floor space too. More pics to come.

The original.Tiki Bar Circa 2015 i was never very good at DIY so I bottled it. I did what any self respecting bloke woukd do and bought an old book case Once repainted and with a new top Shazam the bar was born. This was the Progression of the J&T Bar but alas all though I loved it it wasn't fit for purpose. I

[ Edited by Fourth Wave on 2023-10-02 00:44:57 ]

[ Edited by Fourth Wave on 2023-10-02 00:47:28 ]

[ Edited by Fourth Wave on 2023-10-02 01:13:15 ]

Here is the new build bar the Fourth Wave. It has had a load of names in these pastv2 years from the Fez and Monkey, the Old Crow and even T &J'. Its about 4-5 times the size of the old bar. So as you can imagine I needed a lot and I was on a budget. ! FB_IMG_1696232927895

Need to take some decent photos of what and where I'm up to with the Bar. Got to also photograph all my Hawaiian Tikis and all the other Island Tikis I have amassed. What have I learnt with all this. Well initially after the buzz of starting it, was the realisation of how many rabbit holes there are in the land of Tiki. There seemed to be a whole lot off got to have type mile stones to acquire. There were a whole load of Lucky finds and tacky mistakes. I think I've got through alll the ine fields of Clichés pretty unscathed so far. Well mostly. I've developed a few strategies on how to find stuff. I have had a passion for Easter Island since I saw it in a book when I was about 12. So as an adult I've read up and colllected books on the subject. I've developed a love for Maori carvings as well as French Polynesia. The Bar is always evolving. I'm in the process of selling off some of my early finds that are either too tacky for my taste now or not Tiki. Still loving the journey and discovering new things.

Great work - am in awe of everyone who's taken it upon themselves to build something from scratch to further this hobby!

Great Job on your space. Looks like a fun place for a cocktail. BTW, love the Maori bust, that's some treasure right there.

Thanks that was a FB find a few years back. The owner hated his eyes because they follow you around the room so he was destined for the tip. He'd painted the eyes wit shoe polish. I stripped him back and found some original paint etc. I had pointed out to the UK Tiki site on FB that he was available but no one wanted it so I cheekily put in an offer of £60 when they asked £100.

Well the thought of having a lounge area or snug was too tempting. But needed a bigger space. It's a great place to escape mentally. But as you probably know it's always being added too so spends a lot of the time with tools and incomplete tasks on the go.

Great to see it taking shape

[ Edited by TIKIWAGON on 2023-10-09 07:41:38 ]