Hooray! The bar is seriously starting to shape up into the beautiful oak masterpiece that I envisioned it will be! On the right you can see a shot of the current bar progress. All the main cabinetry work is done, and the lower bar counter-top has been installed. The sink was fitted in for the picture, but not yet fastened down, to make sure I don’t mark it up before finishing the other pieces. The counter came out really nice, and I think this will definitely be a bar worthy of pouring some high-quality spirits on. To those ends, Jody even gave me an early Easter gift, a bottle of Tanqueray No. TEN, a top-shelf gin, since she knows me affinity towards gin. I now have nice top shelf Rum (various aged rums), Vodka (Grey Goose of course), Gin (Tanq. No. TEN) and Tequila (Cuervo Gold), not to mention a nice Single Malt. All these bottles, along with countless others, will no doubt grace the liquor shelf soon once the bar is completed.
The next steps sound pretty straightforward. Basically, mount the cabinet doors, and finish the top counter. I’ve already laid the laminate down on top, so I just have to trim the excess and mount the rails. They are the last tricky part, since there are a number of miter cuts which require extreme precision. Also, I haven’t sanded / stained / varnished the main arm rail, since it still needs routing. For that reason alone, the official opening will likely not be till after Easter, but perhaps I can have a limited seating if I feel up to it on the weekend. Of course, decorating is still on the to-do list, as well as building a proper glass rack for above the bar. I’d like to have them all suspended over the bar, like in fancy places. Of course, the name of the bar has already been chosen, “The Nanaimo Bar”, in honor of Jody’s geographic roots, and my fondness of a certain desert (what a delicious play on words, don’t you think?).
As usual, if you’d like to check out more pics of the bar building progress, they’re over on flickr. Stay tuned for more updates later this week as progress is happening due to my single-minded purpose while Jody is out on the wet coast.
