Why a Home Bar?

The question is oftern asked, "Why would anyone want a Home Bar"? Well, the answer is rather obvious, but for those of you who don't get it, here are a few great reasons:

• Having a bar in your home creates a fun space where everyone can meet to relax for holiday or birthday entertaining or to watch your favorite sporting event on TV.
• It can turn useless basement or other living space into a useful entertaining space.
• Keeps the guys out of the kitchen on game day.
• Does NOT require that you become a drinker. Many Home Bars can be alcohol free.
• Adds value to your home!

Places to build your bar can include: Basement, Living Room, Excercise Room (Juice Bar), Outdoors, Poolside or on your Patio.

The last concern would be whether to build a bar or buy a pre made bar. More information on this Home Bars topic can be found here.

Home Bar Plans Reviewed

We have searched the web for bar plans and found a few websites that offer them. You usually are required to buy them, but there are a few free plans sites. The free sites usually offer their plans in an attempt to get you to buy a lot of custom wood working tools and shop items or expensive wood trim like oak arm rest molding or brass rail that can set you back at least $10 per linear foot!

We looked at the paid bar plans sites and found the good, the bad and the ugly!
Three sites stand out.
1. www.barplan.com
2. bar-gear.com
3. precision-images.com

The first site, titled The Easy Home Bar Plans is a membership based site that requires a one time payment for access to all their plans, plus a photo gallery of bar that were built by members using the plans and variation thereof. There is also a members only Forum where members share ideas and can assist each other during construction. The site also offers some cool downloads like a video from one of those old Hamm's Sceanerama Beer Signs from the mid 70's. Recently it looks like the site added a Live Help feature to improve communication with customers. The best value of the bunch, you won't be dissappointed when you join.
Keep in mind, all plans from this site are in PDF download form only. No paper plans.
The site is a member of the BBB and BBB Online Reliability Program.

The next site, bar gear, looks to have several plans, but they are individually priced and offer no other services. The price seemed high, but in the spirt of reviewing the site, I purchased one plan. I must say the quality was not as advertised. Lot's of text and few drawings. IMHO, not worth the money spent.

Finally, precision images offers plans that are strikingly similar to those on barplan.com but by doing a little research on www.Alexa.com , I found that barplan.com was offering plans prior to the other site, particulary the Easy or Speedy versions. The p-i plans are very nicely done, we bought a few to see for this review. However, you had better be an accomplished woodworker to build most of their highly priced plans. One look at a drawing and you'll be scratching your head at the number of indiviual parts required. Once word, complicated.

As far as the ugly?
The bar tenders bar and home wet bar ranked low. bobs plans was the free site, but again, luring you in to buy other stuff required to build the free plan.

Thanks all for now, stay tuned for more Home Bar Information.
Rick Page

Home Bar Design

Have you always wanted to build a bar in your home?
Well it's easier than you think and you can certainly do it yourself.
There are many websites that offer home bar plans and we'll tell you the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to what you get with these sites.

Once you build your bar, you will probably get caught up in a new hobby of bar decor.
It starts with which bar stools to choose. A few people out there maywant to build their own bar stools, but that's not a project for the novice craftsman or woman.
It is highly recommended that you purchase your bar stools, either locally or from an online e-tailer that offers FREE SHIPPING.