How to Make a Patio Bar Top

Beach mats provide a decorative touch.

A patio bar top must weather the elements. At the same time, it should be decorative, as well as functional. Completing your summer-friendly patio bar using a top fashioned with durable, marine plywood and decorated with beach mats makes a fun, functional piece of outdoor furniture.

Things You'll Need

• 3/4-inch marine plywood
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Sawhorse
• Circular saw
• 3-inch screws
• Drill and screw bit
• Raffia beach mats
• Staple gun

Instructions

1. Measure the length and width of the bar using the measuring tape.

2. Adding 4 inches to each of the measurements -- the length and width -- determines the dimensions for your patio bar top with appropriate overhang.

3. Measure the dimensions on the plywood and mark them using a pencil.

4. Place the plywood on a sawhorse and cut it with a circular saw to the dimensions that you marked.

5. Place the top on the bar and secure it into the base using 2-inch wood screws. Insert a minimum of one screw every 6 inches, using the drill.

6. Cover the top of the bar with the beach mats and staple them into place with the staple gun.

References

• Building more Classic Garen Furniture; Danny Proulx