This project was next on the list of projects my daughter wanted me to make for her new home.   They are very spoilt and have a large spa in their back garden where they spend a lot of time.  They ask if I could make them a Pallet Wall bar that they can mount on the wall next to the spa for drink and snacks while chilling in the spa.  No more balancing that wine glass on the side of the spa only to be knocked over and good wine gets wasted.

They have an agreement that she can decorate the house but the entertainment and garden areas are his.  So I gave the wall bar a theme after his favourite sports team, The Canberra Raiders.  This wall bar was made from an old pallet and recycled wood.  The dropdown counter can be opened while entertaining and closed back up when you are finished.

How to make a themed pallet wall bar

Find a pallet

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For this project, you will need a pallet wall bar in reasonably good condition.  Because this wall bar will be sitting outside in the elements all the time you want to be able to close it in as much as possible. A little warning if you are going to try and make the perfect box, don’t use pallet wood.  I found that the slats were not all cut to the same size or even straight in some cases.

Start by cutting the pallet in half using a jigsaw or a suitable saw.

To prevent spiders and other insects from making a home inside the bar, you can add a backing board to the back.  I recycled the backing board from an old piece of furniture and cut it to the size of the gaps.

To secure the backing board I used offcuts of plywood which will be used to hold the board in place.

You can secure these using wood glue and nails or a nail gun if you have one.

Sealing up the ends of the wall bar

To get pallet wood for the top and the bottom edges you can harvest some from the leftover pallet. The slats can be very hard to remove but some persistence with a crowbar and you can get them off. The idea is to seal up the top to prevent as much water as you can from coming in. The bottom slat is added to support the bottles inside the bar. Glue the slats in place and add nails or screws to secure them. (I did all 3)

No matter how careful I was I did crack some of the wood while I was removing it.  You can now glue any wood and clamped it while the glue dries.

Adding drainage to the wall bar

If your bar is going to be sitting out in the rain it is a good idea to add some drainage holes so the water can run out.  For this, you can use a hole saw or a spade bit to cut random holes along the bottom slat.

The bottom slat can now be glued and screwed into place.

Making the shelves

I used some scrap wood from my scrap heap to make the shelves.  Measure the gaps to get the size you need for the shelves and cut the wood to size. When you measure where you would like to place the shelves it is a good idea to place a large bottle in the bottom so you know how much room you need to leave for the bottle shelf.

You can use a spirit level to level the shelves and mark the correct position so you know where to mount them. Cut any excess wood away that is sticking out so that the lid will sit flush on the box.

Because my shelves were level with each other I could not screw them in place through the wood. So I had to make small supports.

You can cut small pieces of wood that can be screwed into the sides and glued in place under each shelf to support the shelf. Make sure you also cut a small square into the shelf to fit over the wood supporting the back.  (As seen below in the image)

Making the drop-down bar counter

Next, you need to cut a piece of wood to the size of the front opening.  I used formply because I had some given to me, but it was not suitable, as I will show you later on.

If you are using plywood it is a good idea to add some masking tape to the cut line to prevent the wood from splintering.  I would recommend using real wood because it will last longer outside.

To keep my cuts straight I clamped a straight piece of wood to the plywood, which serves as a fence while cutting the wood.

This is where I noticed the pallets are not straight because the wood did not fit properly.  I had to go back with a sander and sand some areas for the wood would fit properly.

Painting the counter

It was at this stage I regretted using the formply because it is not suitable for painting even with a primer.

To fix this, I sanded the protective surface off the formply and added a primer and painted the counter.

I painted both sides of the counter and sealed the paint with 2 coats of exterior varnish.  I also sealed the whole bar with the exterior varnish. This is where I made another mistake, the formply was given to me because the surface was damaged but I was happy to put the damaged surface inside. Check that you have the good side facing out.  I did not do this, and thanks to COVID 19 I could not go buy more paint.  So the outside surface on mine is a little crappy.

Adding the hardware

Add hinges to the dropdown counter, Mine was placed about 30 cm from the end of each side.

To secure the dropdown bar when not in use, I added a roller latch inside the box to hold the door closed.

You can add handles to help open the dropdown counter.

To support the counter when in use you will need to add some chain to prevent the counter from dropping.  The small hooks I used in this image were not suitable, I had to replace them with stronger ones, the same with the chain.

You need to buy a chain with sealed links to prevent them from opening once the weight is applied to the counter. I only discovered this problem once I tested it.

Decorating the box

Because my Son in law is a huge Canberra Raider fan I decorated the box with their logo and chant song. I made a vinyl decal using a Cricut Explore vinyl cutting machine.  If you have not heard of these machines they are incredible, the projects you can make with them is limited only by your imagination. Here are a few of mine. 

Finished pallet wall bar

I really loved the outcome apart from the damaged surface on the lid. I could post photos of this wall bar mounted on the wall because I am unable to deliver it because of COVID 19 restrictions. But these will give you an idea of how it will look.

More great projects

An old piano recycled into a bar.

This wine barrel was repurposed into a table with a built-in wine bucket.  You lift off the lid and fill the bucket with ice to keep your drinks cold while sitting around chatting.

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