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This fully plumbed poolside bar features a gazebo lounge area with retractable shadecloth.
The project
This is my outdoor bar. The idea for this started when I was a bartender and thought it would be cool if I owned one. I had read enough bar magazines and worked and drank in some awesome venues, so I had everything pretty much planned out in my head years before even starting.
I built it in 2020, starting in September, with some money had I stashed away to travel with before COVID happened. I tore out an old, overgrown garden bed at the end of my pool, next to a large paved area that used to have a dining table and chairs.
The frame has six 90mm x 90mm 3.6m Pine posts, giving it a height of about 2.3m at the tallest point and a width of about 3.6m. The headboards are 140mm x45mm MGP10 Pine. The rafters and joists and bottom framing are 90mm x 45mm MGP10 and the framing for the walls is 70mm x 45mm MGP10.
The bench frames are all 70mm x 45mm MGP10 with benchtops from Ikea.
The decking boards are 90mm x 22mm Merbau, finished with Cabot’s Merbau stain, which I also used on the posts and framework. The bar front is 140mm x 45mm MGP10 that I cut and angled.
The cladding is melamine sheeting in Driftwood on the bottom half and some basic lattice on the top half that I found at the end of a Bunnings aisle. The bar back is painted MDF. On the outside marine Pine is used all around the bottom half of the bar, painted to match.
The roof is Colorbond steel sheeting that I had left over from a carport kit that provided a few extra sheets, and the underside is painted in Dulux Duramax Copper Rose with matte black rafters. The roof is slanted to let rainwater flow into the garden behind it.
The bar top is a Kaboodle benchtop in Squid Ink. There is a full sink with a wash area and mixer tap, fully plumbed thanks to my little brother. The waste pipe flows into the garden behind the bar.
There are four coach lights on the bar, three outside on each post and one inside on the back bar to illuminate the sign. The bar also has a pendant light over the work area. The lights are operated by a Grid Connect Wi-Fi powerboard connected to an app on my phone by Arlec.
There are also clear cafe blinds on the front, back and both sides.
I used Porter's Paints Squid Ink and it is by far the best paint I have ever used. The colour was exactly like the pictures, and after nearly two years and countless storms it still looks new.
The lounge area is a Marquee gazebo with retractable shadecloth and solar string lights plus Marquee outdoor furniture. There is also a Jumbuck gas pizza oven next to the lounge area.
All up the project took about 11 weeks. I spent about seven full days on the framework while I was on holidays and then only worked on it at weekends.
The bar is called The Alfred after my grandfather, who was a carpenter, and his face is used in the bar’s logo in the centre of the back bar.
Everything except the benchtops, bottle shelves, sinks, taps and stools was purchased at Bunnings.
I had zero building experience before taking this on, hence why one end is about 100mm narrower than the other, and I had only a rough sketch and my imagination guiding me. But it gets plenty of use by my family and friends and didn’t fall down in the storms, so I must have done something right.
More bar project inspiration
Bunnings Workshop member LePallet built this gorgeous recycled hardwood bar with decorative coins embedded in epoxy.
Workshop member Starkers_17 combined a love of timber and steel in this outdoor bar project with clever stool design.
Workshop member Marty made this portable bar with plenty of space to serve and store drinks, including a built-in drinks cooler and wine rack.
Workshop member Rob has also shared a step-by-step guide how to build a bar using recycled pallet timber. The project is suitable for beginners to tackle.
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