Let's Build A Bar - Part 5

Let's Build A Bar

Part 5

Last time I left off, we had finished the flooring and were waiting on our soda set-up to arrive. The only thing I thought I could do to make progress was start working on the stone walls. We decided we were going to use stacked stone on some of the walls to create a sort of "wine-cellar" vibe. We picked our stone after an exhaustive search and then when we bought the large amount we needed and got it home it seemed a lot more tan than the sample pieces we originally chose. We decided to stick with it anyway.

This was a step that I decided I was going to do myself (for some reason). I bought all the right equipment including a big wet-saw. I thought "Maybe a couple days - kinda fun". Not so much.

Just about every piece has to be cut to some degree. Some of them had about six dimensions to cut - length, height, beveled edge on one end...sometimes on both ends, angle, beveled along the top edge, etc. Some pieces had to be higher at one end than the other (walls aren't always level). I spent a number of days messing with this when I could.

About to cover my punch list. I decided to use Liquid Nails adhesive and it was the right call. Some people do this with thin set or mortar. That wouldn't have worked for me because I spent time cutting just about every piece as I went. With the Liquid Nails you could just sort of put it on the back of each piece and didn't have to worry about mortar drying out. It's not coming down either - the wall will come down with it if it does.

We finally got it all up and I'm okay with the results. I've got a few pieces that I've already cut that need to go up to fill spots around switches and plugs, but I need to space them first so they're flush with the wall.

We finished the stone a few weeks ago and were kind of just resigned to waiting on the soda system before we could do anything but I finally decided to go ahead with counter-tops. I called a guy and he came out that day and brought a bunch of samples. We looked at everything - granite, quarts, concrete - but I decided to go with my gut and pick my old favorite...Bianco Antico. Nel was on board...sort of. She wasn't convinced, but I don't think she had a strong favorite to put up against it so she let me run with it. 

The guys came out and did the job in a day. It was a long day, but they got it done. 

I like it. I think it has subtle browns in it that come out under the right lighting and look great.

Branelle does not like it. She may tell you she does, but she does not. She thinks it's too busy with the floor and she doesn't see the browns that I do. She says she's waiting to see the backsplash before passing judgement. My mother, who's the only other person that's seen it, also doesn't like it. I may be the only person that does, but at this point it's not going anywhere. 

The soda fountain unit also showed up yesterday - being held here by mom because it will fall over if you don't. I slid the ice maker in to see if it would fit....and it barely does. The soda dispenser will go somewhere near where it is in this picture, and all of the other stuff will go underneath.

Nel also isn't a fan of this unit. It's exactly what I was imagining, but I'm sorry she's disappointed. She's pretty chill though, so it's not like she'll dwell on it. Plus, every time she comes in here there's wine! She'll be fine.

The next step, I imagine, will be to install all of this stuff, which I have no idea how to do. The soda machine uses the ice maker as a cold plate, and there are tons of lines. I won't get to this until October though, so wish me luck.