Andy

Keep an eye on Ross's auction they quiet often have a few timber auctions which include burls and timber slabs from the mills you may be able to pick up a jarrah slab cheep. whats the length of the bar and how wide do you want it, cause i do now of a couple of slabs sitting around up here.

meggs

Thanks Meggs, the bar brickwork is 1560 on the sides x 2635 at the front so I would probably need a slab around 6.2 to 6.5m. Looking for a width on the top of around 400mm.

Andy i wouldnt be serving drinks while theres a dart game going on

I'd avoid using lacquer and instead use oil.

There are many good oils for outdoor and indoor woods and its much less work as a finish than laquer. It can't chip, you don't need to sand it to reapply and personally I think it looks better.

You can use something as cheap as a mix of gum turps, beeswax and linseed oil or something commercial like the Livos products. 

Might get nasty hey...

Nah, just a left over from what we had there before the bar went up. It'll be moved once the bar is operational. 

a work mate goes out cutting slabs with a mate of his i can get his phone number on monday if you wish

Hi Andy,

New bar area looks great!  Bet you'll be spending a fair bit of time out there now!

When Wade made our outdoor kitchen/bbq area, he decided on a granite benchtop.  It costs a bit more coin but is definately worth it as there is no ongoing maintenance as there is with wood (and it doesn't dent).  For us, the deciding factor was that it was heatproof (not issue for you) and weatherproof.  Believe it or not, our bbq area is 2.5 - 3m under our patio but even yesterday rain ended up on the granite, it gets the afternoon sun and of course dust.  All we need to do is wipe it down and she's as good as new.

If you want to go wood, there is a place on Gnangara road in between the two roundabouts around Wangara.

That was done a few years back. The guy we used was very good (does a lot of display homes). He built our water feature too. Jays landscaping is the business name I think, if you want him to give you a quote.

Hi Andy Mac your bar area is comming along well.

When we renovated our kitchen a couple of years ago hubby fitted marri wood tops.  We finished them with a hard burnishing oil. 

The oil is applied by rubbing in with steel wool and very fine grade sand paper for the finish. 

I do not use any chemicals on it and give it a wipe with the Organoil burnishing oil which is also food grade.  It has stood up to everything our family can dish out.

Hey Andy it looks great as a starter but really think about the width as you might regret making a bar top 400mm wide especially on the serving area i worked as a cabinet maker for 10 years and butil a few bars in my time so just make sure of your dimensions before you go ahead (my old saying measure 3 times and only make once) is it going to be like a breakfast bar where you can prop up and have a beer?

if you have any questions fire away and i will be only too happy to try to help

The bar will be a prop up type as you say (I will be building some bar stools though), but inside the bar at a lower bench top level will be a further 300mm wide bench top across the front and a 600mm wide one on the side with sink etc.

How wide do you suggest we make the top? 

Andy i knnow the Forrestry commission down at Harvey have auctions once a month..not sure how old the slabs are butt.

Andy, you want the top just wide enough to accomodate beer tap fittings, a few glasses and a bowl of peanuts.  So about 300-400mm.

Cheers Pete

Yep 350 - 400  is what I was looking at for the top, only because it will cover the double brick support in the middle. The inner bar top at a lower level will be where all the drinks get mixed etc,

I have water, drainage and power in that area so it will have all the mod cons. Eventually I will get some lockable cabinets made for it as well below the inner bench top.

Not sure about how to do the beer tap. If I simply use an esky with ice for parties, or go the full on bar fridge reconstruction deal. Its too tempting to be on tap all day long and not good with the kids around. 

hey andy with teh jarrah top for your bar are you wanting a natural look finish , or a straight cut ?? personally i love the natural look finish of a cut jarrah slab, with thick resin laka on it makes it look like glass. real classy finish.

I fitted a new ikea kitchen in my place, and used their oak benchtops, theyre hard wearing, we just oil them up every 3 or 4 months and they come up like new. Might be worth a look, also ikea sell the oil for oiling them, not sure what oil it is but it goes on milky white soaks in and looks a treat.

HI ANDY, IF U DECIDE U WOULD LIKE TO USE GRANITE FOR UR BAR TOP PM ME AS I MANUFACTURE AND INSTALL MARBLE AND GRANITE BENCH TOPS ECT.

looking good so far Andy. cant wait to see the final product. Xmas party at your place. i have seen a place out on west swan road that has a pile of hard wood slabs out the front of the house, dont know if they are for sale or not

Andy,
There is a place along Karrinyup Rd between Marmion Ave and the coast that does jarrah slabs. Don't know details as to whether they cut to size etc just seen them out the front. Could be an option.
Cheers,
David

Gday Andy

Its entirely up to you how wide you make it all im saying is to be sure that 400 is wide enough for your purpose as the brick work will be about 260 wide so it doesnt leave much over hang on either side. figure out what else you will have on the bar this will make your decision easier (bowl of chips or food)  and are you going to read a paper on the bar ect. Im sure you will get enough advice from here but its all up to your personal preference. when you build your bar stools here is some food for thought I built the bar at guilderton (moore River) country club a while back and the boss actually came and sat at the bar we built and made us cut the bar stools to suit the height the bar was to him while sitting at the bar having a beer.

Dont forget to upload some pics when you've installed it Andy. With the width you're looking for you can get lengths with the edges not finished which gives that rough unworked surfaces at the edge which can give an interesting look. Though neat trimmed lines also look good...

If you dont mind a bit of work, railway sleepers. I saw a bar made from these and it was very effective. You can get them in different thicknesses too.

We have a very similar setup for a pergola as you Andy except we have a pool outside.  The idea of a bar was canned as it was not movable after build. We settled for a nice outdoor setting and use eskies and ice buckets to keep the bogans happy LOL. There is no way my wine rack and spirits are going out there! We have a fairly quiet setup. Shit! If I installed beer taps etc I'd have to put guard dogs out there.

Good luck with the project mate. In my opinion, based on the brickwork, the bar top would need to be dark timber of some description (polished or oiled).