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Nothing epitomizes the island vacation feeling like a Tiki Bar in your own backyard, or anywhere you feel like adding some island magic. Building you own Tiki Bar gives you the ultimate freedom to design is exactly the way you want it. You can alter the size and shape allowing your Tiki Bar to fit in the area you have allocated Tiki Bar will not last longer than one weekend.
Plan
You first need to plan your Tiki Bar. Draw your Tiki Bar on a sheet of paper and make notes of how high, wide, long and deep you want it to be. This drawing does not need to be a work of art; it is only a guideline for you to work form.
The average measurement for a bar is: height – 42 inches (excluding roof), depth – 26 inches, and width is 6 feet.
Supplies and materials
Make sure you have all the material you need before you start building your Tiki bar. Here are some of the basics that you will need: Nails or screws, 2x4's for the frame, sheet of wood for the bar top, and thatching for the roof.
The frame
Build the frame of your Tiki bar from the 2x4's. Two to four of the 2x4's can be cut to match the full length of the Tiki bar and an additional two needs to be cut to match the height of the bar top.
Continue by making a frame that matches the front measurements of your Tiki bar, and the sides.
When you have finished with all the smaller frames you can start to fix them to the main frame. Start by attaching the small frames to the main frame as close to the ground as possible.
You can make your Tiki bar sturdier by inserting L-brackets to all the inside corners.
The roof
You will need two posts to support the roof. The posts need to be placed on the sides of your Tiki bar in the middle. Once you are sure they are level, you can fix them to the main frame of your Tiki bar.
Next, you need to place a beam on top of your two posts and attach it there. To complete the A-frame of your Tiki bar roof you need to attach two pieces of 2x4's to either side of the beam at both ends (you should have two A-lines on both sides now). Finally, you need to attach another piece of 2x4's to the bottom of you “A”, leaving you with two triangles on both sides.
Finish off your roof by placing the thatch or palm leaves over the roof frame.
Bar top
Cut the sheet of wood to fit the area designated for the bar counter. Once it is cut to precision, you can attach it to the Tiki bar.
To finish off you Tiki bar you can cover the outside with bamboo sticks woven together with twine.
Now all you need it to stock your Tiki bar and you are all set to enjoy your own backyard island dream.
Adding a Tiki bar to your backyard is much less expensive that a vacation and you will continue to benefit form it years later!
If you are interested in building your own Tiki bar, keep on reading.
Before you start building you need to put your ideas down on paper. Planning your Tiki bar is essential and will ensure a perfect end product. Consider the purpose of your Tiki bar, is it only for a once-off party or is it going to be your permanent bar? Budget is also very important, the bigger the bar the bigger the budget needs to be. If you do not have a very big budget you can always cut costs by using reclaimed wood.
We suggest that you purchase a Tiki Bar Guide that has been written by a professional builder. Ideally the book should include diagrams or photographs which are easy to follow and top prize will be if you have access to the author should you have and queries during the making of your Tiki Bar.
Besides a proper guide or plan for your Tiki Bar it is recommended that you ensure that you either have, or have access to, all the proper equipment that one would need for a building venture of this nature. There are few things in life more frustrating than not having the proper tools to do a job. Make sure that all your tools are in good working order and are electrically sound.
Make sure you have all your building material beforehand. Supplies are readily available from pool stores, nurseries, hardware stores and building yards. The basic height for a bar is 42 inches. According to the height of your bar and the space available, you can start building the frame of your Tiki bar with 2x4's. You need to bear in mind that you want to be able to prepare drinks on the one side of the bar counter and have bar stools on the other side for your guests to sit on.
Once you have your Tiki bar frame in place you can start filling the gaps. Attach the bar counter and put the palm leaves or thatch on the roof. Buying quality, pre-treated palm leave can last you up to 7 to 10 years before you need to do any maintenance work on it. The roof of a Tiki bar is specially designed to withstand heavy rain.
You can finish of your Tiki bar by covering the outside with Bamboo Fence to give it a real authentic look. If you want to make your Tiki bar more classy you can add a bar sink, shelving and glass racks, and even a bar fridge for keeping your supplies cold.
Add some nice bar stools for your guests, and decorate your Tiki bar with some shells, tropical flowers and a Tiki statue of two.
Now you just need to stock the bar and invite your friends over for some Tiki bar fun!