The bar is near the entrance of many restaurants, making it one of the first things guests see when they enter. Its look can set the tone for the rest of the establishment. Using reclaimed wood for your bar adds character and personality. It’s strong, durable, and versatile. The wood comes from barns and old buildings and is often centuries old. Choosing reclaimed wood keeps the material out of landfills, and it lets you use as much wood in your restaurant as you want without cutting down a single tree.
Reclaimed wood doesn’t need regular maintenance or any specialized care. Just clean it with a damp cloth and ensure that the humidity in your restaurant isn’t too high or too low. Dry air can cause cracks in all types of wood, and too much moisture causes swelling. You can give your reclaimed wood bar some additional protection from scrapes or scratches with a clear coat of Epoxy or a plastic table cover. Installation is also quick, easy, and affordable. Here’s how to get your reclaimed wood bar ready for summer.
Decide on a Style
You can use reclaimed wood in the same way as new cut wood, and, in many cases, it looks even better. You can create a polished, traditional looking bar, or you can choose a more rustic bar top that shows knots in the wood and its natural grain. Long planks and lines of natural length can also give off the illusion of added length.
Thick countertops are popular in many contemporary restaurants. Using a reclaimed wood bar adds warmth to the room and looks more welcoming than metal or other materials.
Take Some Measurements
Before you start searching for a reclaimed wood bar top, you need to know what size to choose. Think about how many seats you want your new bar to have, and make sure that customers will have enough space to avoid feeling crowded. Measure the space where the bar will go and decide how tall it should be to accommodate bar stools. This makes ordering your reclaimed wood bar from Restaurant & Café Supplies Online much easier, and it helps keep you from getting a table top that’s too small or too large for your space.
Choose a Top and a Base
Restaurant & Café Supplies Online offers a wide selection of interchangeable reclaimed wood bar or table tops and bases. Match a top to a base and choose the size and the height you want. Or, just place the bartop on your existing bar for an updated look. Your new reclaimed bar will be shipped to you, and you or your employees can easily assemble it. For a large bar, use two or three bases to give the top enough stability.
Put Your Reclaimed Wood Bar Together
Here’s what you’ll need to assemble your reclaimed wood bar:
- Blankets
- A measuring tape
- Masking tape or a yardstick
- A pencil
- A drill with Phillips bits or a Phillips screwdriver
After you unpack your bar top, use blankets to help you pull it to the area where you plan to install it without scratching the floor. Place the unfinished side facing upward. Then, follow the instructions to assemble the bases. Most designs have a 3 or 4-inch column that you match to a marked part of the bottom of the bar top. You can point the legs on cross style bases to the sides or corners of the bar.
You can change the location of the bases to suit your restaurant’s style or make your bar more stable. However, you’ll need to drill new holes for the new placement. Just put the bases where you want them to go, use a pencil to mark the places where the screws should go, and drill the holes. Make sure the bases are at least a foot from the edges of the bar to ensure people can sit comfortably.
Disassembling and storing a reclaimed wood bar is just as easy as putting one together. You can add a second bar for busy times of the year such as summer or special events, and store it to replace with tables at other times. This gives your restaurant the flexibility to serve a variety of customers. If you want a low price and quick shipping and to have a reclaimed wood bar by summer, contact Restaurant and Café Supplies Online today.