A Guide to Building a Simple Wood Bar

Did you ever dream of having a home bar? You don’t even have to hire a professional to install it for you. You can easily build your own and build it the way you desire so you can fit all your drinks. Follow these steps for building the simplest wood bar and celebrate at the end.

Tools and materials

You will need a certain set of tools for this project. However, if you happen to be missing some of the tools, you don’t necessarily have to buy them. Instead visit your neighbor and borrow some of the tools to save some money. The tools are the following:

  •  Screw gun
  •  Table saw
  • Compound miter saw
  • 2 foot level
  • 3-inch outdoor screws
  • One-inch finish nails
  • 25’ tape measure and a pencil

As far as materials are concerned you are going to need the following:

  • 6 16’ 2x4s
  • 4’x8’ sheet of MDF Board
  • 1-1/2” trim
  • And another 4’x8’ wood material which will be nailed into the front of your bar.
  • Keep in mind that the dimensions of the materials may vary depending on the size and style you desire to have for your bar.

Groundwork

Plan out where you want to put your bar and take good measures of the wall and how far out the bar will come out. Cut two pieces of 2x4s of the desired length by using the miter saw. This will be the bottom and top plates of your bar.

Erect and secure the framework

With the two identical 2x4s ready, mark the bottom and top plates exactly the same. Use your pencil and mark the plates every sixteen inches. Next step is deciding how tall you want your bar to be. Consider everything: which bottles you plan on storing there and whether you will use shelves inside the bar. If so, make sure to measure carefully and keep in mind that not all bottles are of same height. Depending on what you’re going to keep in the bar, measure individually some wine bottles, beer bottles, vodka bottles and so on in order to figure out the exact height of your bar. After all the measuring is done, you can start cutting out the “studs”. After you have made enough “studs” you can screw them in between top and bottom plates and make sure they are in line.

After all has been put together you will need to stand up the frame. Make sure it is square and that all dimensions are correct. To fasten it, you can screw through the end stud into the wall and use the level to ensure that the frame is straight.

Support structure

In order to secure and add shelves you can create two or three block support structures. Determine the height of the shelves and make three pairs of 10” 2x4s that will be the top and bottom plates of the structure. Assemble rectangle structures out of 2x4s and screw them together and into the studs of the frame.

Install the bar top

Make cuts using the table saw and create a bar top. The dimensions should be big enough to cover the whole bar including stabilizers and shelves. Place the board and screw it in from underneath the stabilizers through the MDF board. When the top is secured the next step is installing the trim on the front. Use the 1-1/2 inch trim and cut the piece the same length as the MDF board top. Use the finish nails to secure the trim.

The front face

Use the material of your choice and finish your bar with installing the front face. Measure the dimensions you need to cover the whole framework and when the pieces have been cut with the table saw, secure the board on each stud with finish nails.

As you can see, you don’t need a professional in order to have a bar. Take your time, measure everything carefully and you will have your own wood bar to store all of your drinks and enjoy some classy home parties.


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