Designing And Building an Outdoor Bar

 

Like everything else with this project this was another torturous project. I wanted the same masons that did the stone work on the pool to do the stone work on the bar. Which means I would have to find someone to design the bar and give the layout to the masons. First off I couldn't find anyone that was able to design the bar layout. The only option Pebble Pools gave me was a guy who used a poly wood type of material. So since I wanted the natural stone look Branch wasn't able to help me design the bar. That was a little disappointing, but I understood. So I started looking around for someone that would be willing to design the bar because I still wanted to use the same masons Pebble Pools uses. After a week of researching and getting nowhere I finally found a kitchen company that would be willing to look at the area. The designer explained that they have never designed on outdoor kitchen so they couldn't promise anything and it would have cost $1000 for them to draw up plans. Yeah, that wasn't going to happen when all I was getting was a "This should work". So I broke down and called Brad, the guy who did all the hardscaping. I had no doubt in my mind that Brad's guys would do a good job, but I wanted everything as uniform as possible. Regardless, I called Brad and in Brad fashion he told me to stop worrying and "He's got this". Brad works a lot like me, lets through crap against the wall and see if it sticks. If it doesn't stick I am talented enough to make it work! So Brad and I sat down and started going over the bar layout. I ordered all my appliances online and had them shipped to me. Once everything came in I gave Brad a call and he sent Neil down to start the block work. As the bar build progressed we had to move a few appliances because they wouldn't fit where Brad initially put them. But again, in typical Brad fashion he said no problem and made a few adjustments and got everything to fit. After the adjustments were made the plumber was unable to get to the drain of one of the ice chests. I called Brad and he jumped into action. He was at my house the next morning doing the plumbing himself and making it work. And this is why I use Sal's Landscaping. It was the ONLY contractor I dealt with that didn't have me second guessing myself. Of course I am happy I chose Pebble Pools, but I am even happier I found Sal. I will be using him for years to come! Actually Brad from Poolside Plastering is the one who put me in contact with Sal. If you remember from earlier Brad is the guy who did the Pebble Sheen in the pool with the hidden Mickey. He is another great guy. I was fortunate to work with a lot of good people on this project.