Outdoor Bar Top Options?

I built a nice bar last year and used plywood (3/4" ) which I put a lot of exterior polyurethane on. However, it started to check last year, it is warping and the finish is shot. I am looking for ideas for a new top this year and needed some inspiration or just plain old sage advice. I am a carpenter by trade and don't mind some labor in order to have a durable top. Some ideas that have crossed my mind are concrete (might be too heavy), left-over Mangaris decking (sort of like teak/), or a new plywood top with a different/better finish. Can you help me out? And pics are always appreciated!

Tom

Just a few ideas off the top of my head.. No "sage" experience here..

Is the top of your bar exposed or do you have a canopy of some sort? Teak is always nice.. Naturally oily and resistant, but can get expensive. I've seen alot of tile, as well.. What about that new decking material?

It is a tradition "tiki bar" with a thatch roof, but the roof only can do so much. Rain does get on the top and the sun in maryland during the summer is powerful.

Why not try tile?

I am in the trades as well-

I have had good luck using almost anything except ply products- the nature of that material makes them drink water and swell regardless of the top coat.

I have had good success salvaging large Doug Fir planks/ Beams and then sanding them/staining, and them applying MARINE VARNISH -- As this is boat stuff, it has UV protection and good waterproofing qualities.

If you have a job that yield some old petrified joists or something, they would be ideal to sand and stain. I come across so much awesome throw away wood like this it drives me nuts.

Any tropical deck hardwood will genarally do too, and Ipe or Palupe is now easy to get and sustainably farmed if you are green minded-- but not cheap--currently 2.40/leneal foot (6" plank)

[ Edited by: Bincho 2007-04-01 19:21 ]

Tile mosaic top

I saw a couple cool things in the last few days. One was in a sailing magazine, they were talking about maintainance of the teak deck. The finish they were using (Cetol I think they said) required sanding and refinishing every year. They switched to something else and now they just have to coat the wood, they don't have to sand, and there's no weathering. This stuff is designed specifically for marine teak applications. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the stuff, but in general, just about any kind of surface finish like Polyurethane or Acrylic will weather and have to be redone. However, if you want to use wood for your surface, some kind of finish that soaks in, oil or stain (as in for fences or decks, not the stuff used to color unfinished wood) will protect the wood from weathering and refinishing it is as easy as recoating it, no sanding is necessary. I've used Danish oil a lot but only on things like furniture or instruments, not and kind of outdoor use.

The other cool thing I saw was in an HGTV show about outdoor kitchens. One of these outdoor kitchens had a roof made of that bamboo mat made of small sticks wired together so that some light came through. Since that obviously offers no protection from the elements, they covered it with transparent corrugated plastic. I thought that was a neat compromise between form and function.

I built a cabinet/counter on my patio and I used some laminate flooring that was on clearance for the counter top. When I was shopping for that, I saw several kinds of hardwood flooring made from bamboo. That might work pretty good for what you're doing.

(edited for dumb typos that rendered the text completely senseless, I swear I was sober!)

Rev. Griz
Dissolute Missionary, Church of Jim Beam Orthodox
Spreading good news by the bottle in the jungles of Utah

[ Edited by: Rev. Griz 2007-04-04 12:14 ]

I vote for tile. You must make sure that the bartop is supported sufficiently. We made that mistake and had to retile 2 corners that sagged. We have had our bar for three years now & we just now are having to sand the edges and re-poly them. Not too bad.

Here is our bartop.

I'd also like to suggest a mosaic if you have the time...

Here is an 8 foot by 1 foot bar we did...

And inside the bar...

Good Luck on your choice!!

Whoa, the moai mosaic is SWEET!