Building your own tiki bar can be a rewarding experience in more ways than one. It is great fun for yourself and your friends, and is sure to draw large crowds to your house on Saturday night. Tiki bars can be built with basic materials you can find in your home and at a party store. So get ready to luau and enjoy the tropical life right in your own backyard! Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Locate a sturdy table or old bar.
2. Cut holes into the tabletop, just inside all four corners. Make the holes as wide as your bamboo poles. Slide a bamboo pole into each hole and secure them to the legs of the table using plastic zip ties or clamps. You can find these at discount stores, hardware stores and lumber stores.
3. Cut a section of plywood that is a little larger than the tabletop, then cut four more holes into the corners that are identical to the holes cut into the tabletop. The bamboo poles will go through these holes as well.
4. Screw two wood blocks, 1-by-2 inch and 3 inches long, into the bamboo posts on each side of the post. Attach them exactly 6 inches down from the top of the post, on the front two posts and 2 inches down from the top on the back posts. Be sure each post is the same height before you complete this step.
5. Lay the plywood sheet on top of the bamboo posts. It should rest at an angle on the blocks.
6. Glue palm fonds or tiki-style thatching to the plywood. You can also use wire and string it across the branches but under the leaves to secure them to the roof. A local garden store or plant store may have a few palm leaves hanging around (if palm trees are sold in your area). Party stores sell real tiki-style thatching in long skirts as well.
7. Attach two bamboo mosquito torches--which you can buy at a hardware or convenience store--to the back two bamboo posts, Use wire, wrapping it around several times.
8. Cut another bamboo post in half lengthwise, using a table saw. Cut it to the length and width of the bar top. Glue these to the edges of the bar top, or secure with screws, for an authentic look.
9. Drape a bamboo mat (which you can buy at a party store) across the front of your bar. Then add a few nautical decorations, like a life preserver and a stray bikini. You can also add leis, raffia skirts and flowers to your tiki bar.
Tags: bamboo posts, holes into, bamboo poles, down from, holes into tabletop, inches down