The Bar

In the interest if time and budget, we were originally going to leave the bar pretty much intact, but decided it just wasn't going to fit in with the decor. We also decided to get a soda machine, and so in the end, the bar had to be shortened, we removed all of the tile (with much thanks to Dale Francis who volunteered to help demo it) and we are adding solid bamboo and brushed metal facing as well as a poured concrete top which I am actually waiting to set up so I can trowel it some more. That has given me an opportunity to blog a little about what has been going on at Sol Restaurant.

Here are some pics:

What I worked on today- First, I had to cut all of these 1/8 inch strips and attach them to the edge of the plywood. The idea is that the form will then attach over these and when the form and these strips are removed, there will be a place to attach a decorative metal strip.







We'll see if that works: Then I added the form, which was made out of baseboards we removed, and added the wire reinforcement. (Just because it's reinforced, there will still be no dancing on the bar!) Then it was time to get serious and mix the concrete and coloring:




And finally, we filled the form.



I've never done a concrete countertop before, but neither have I tried to open a restaurant. It's 2:20 in the morning and I just finished troweling the top. After it has cured tomorrow I will take off the form and put a picture on the blog. Cross your fingers!