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I'm beating the winter blues by constructing a tiki bar for my deck. Wondering if anyone has any good outlets for bamboo or has developed an alternate design that looks exotic. I'd also love to see any pictutes of your bars to assist in idea generaton, thanks

I know that IKEA used to have lots of Bamboo fencing and bamboo poles, I'm not sure if they have it at this time of year but if you have one near you it might be worth it to check it out.

I'm not sure how to post pictures here other than to put in the signature. I covered the front of my bar with bamboo window shades that I bought at Lowes. I was really pleased with the end result.

<------ my strap-on version

Tiki Bar wrote:<------ my strap-on version

ROTFLMAO!!

Letter of Marque wrote:I'm beating the winter blues by constructing a tiki bar for my deck. Wondering if anyone has any good outlets for bamboo or has developed an alternate design that looks exotic. I'd also love to see any pictutes of your bars to assist in idea generaton, thanks

Last summer I constructed a 200sq ft. Tiki Bar in my backyard. It was not an easy task. It has railings as you see, and is constructed of redwood. We have a 20' Queen Palm growing out of the middle of the deck that protrudes through our thatched roof which covers 3/4 of the entire building. It can easily support over 30 people, a picinic table, an island style bbq island, and a bar with sink, ice bin, and refridgerator. As for the bamboo, there are many beetles and small boring insects that are very destructive to Giant Bamboo in North America. The wet cold winters in North America are also not kind to GiantBamboo. Even the treated stuff deteriorates over time. If you are planning on using bamboo as a primary source of construction, you might want to rethink. I did the research on this one. If you are using the bamboo for asthetic purposes only, be prepared to replace it every two to three years. The largest importer of treated Giant Bamboo is in Oakland Ca. If you want some information on my design, you can contact me by email. We love our backyard Tiki Bar!!! Good luck on the project.

A quick follow up, there is a company that sells Giant Bamboo Gazeebos and bars. A buddy of mine purchased the 12 x 12 version with bar insert. They told him that it would last for 15 - 20 years as there are no natural pests for bamboo in North America. (Partly a lie partly the truth. The pests are not native to bamboo growing regions but have adapted a liking to the fibrous wood of the Giant Bamboo) At the tune of $7000.00 he is having to trash the entire thing due to pest invasion. It is no longer structurally safe. It is only 4 years old. Litigation is in the works.

FFishstick wrote:

Letter of Marque wrote:I'm beating the winter blues by constructing a tiki bar for my deck. Wondering if anyone has any good outlets for bamboo or has developed an alternate design that looks exotic. I'd also love to see any pictutes of your bars to assist in idea generaton, thanks

Last summer I constructed a 200sq ft. Tiki Bar in my backyard. It was not an easy task. It has railings as you see, and is constructed of redwood. We have a 20' Queen Palm growing out of the middle of the deck that protrudes through our thatched roof which covers 3/4 of the entire building. It can easily support over 30 people, a picinic table, an island style bbq island, and a bar with sink, ice bin, and refridgerator. As for the bamboo, there are many beetles and small boring insects that are very destructive to Giant Bamboo in North America. The wet cold winters in North America are also not kind to GiantBamboo. Even the treated stuff deteriorates over time. If you are planning on using bamboo as a primary source of construction, you might want to rethink. I did the research on this one. If you are using the bamboo for asthetic purposes only, be prepared to replace it every two to three years. The largest importer of treated Giant Bamboo is in Oakland Ca. If you want some information on my design, you can contact me by email. We love our backyard Tiki Bar!!! Good luck on the project.

from what I can see in the small picture, you did a great job...sure sounds like it.

FFishstick wrote:A quick follow up, there is a company that sells Giant Bamboo Gazeebos and bars. A buddy of mine purchased the 12 x 12 version with bar insert. They told him that it would last for 15 - 20 years as there are no natural pests for bamboo in North America. (Partly a lie partly the truth. The pests are not native to bamboo growing regions but have adapted a liking to the fibrous wood of the Giant Bamboo) At the tune of $7000.00 he is having to trash the entire thing due to pest invasion. It is no longer structurally safe. It is only 4 years old. Litigation is in the works.

Can you email me a larger picture of the bar? I am thinking of doing the same thing...not quite as big though

FFishstick wrote:

Letter of Marque wrote:I'm beating the winter blues by constructing a tiki bar for my deck. Wondering if anyone has any good outlets for bamboo or has developed an alternate design that looks exotic. I'd also love to see any pictutes of your bars to assist in idea generaton, thanks

Last summer I constructed a 200sq ft. Tiki Bar in my backyard. It was not an easy task. It has railings as you see, and is constructed of redwood. We have a 20' Queen Palm growing out of the middle of the deck that protrudes through our thatched roof which covers 3/4 of the entire building. It can easily support over 30 people, a picinic table, an island style bbq island, and a bar with sink, ice bin, and refridgerator. As for the bamboo, there are many beetles and small boring insects that are very destructive to Giant Bamboo in North America. The wet cold winters in North America are also not kind to GiantBamboo. Even the treated stuff deteriorates over time. If you are planning on using bamboo as a primary source of construction, you might want to rethink. I did the research on this one. If you are using the bamboo for asthetic purposes only, be prepared to replace it every two to three years. The largest importer of treated Giant Bamboo is in Oakland Ca. If you want some information on my design, you can contact me by email. We love our backyard Tiki Bar!!! Good luck on the project.

FFishstick, that tiki bar looks incredible! Did you design yourself? I'm impressed

Yes, I designed and built it myself. A bored middle school teacher that took a summer off. I will upload and post a larger picture on tomorrow.