Basics of a Bar Rail for your home bar

1/31/2011
BASICS OF A BAR RAIL FOR YOUR HOME BAR
Tips for Choosing, Buying, and Installing a Home Bar Rail
www.glastenderhome.com
Phone: 800-748-0423
Table of Contents
How To Install A Bar Rail ........................................................................................ 3
Choosing A Bar Rail Profile..................................................................................... 4
Bar Rail Materials | Tips On How To Match The Bar Top ...................................... 4
Mitered vs. Radius Bar Rail Corners....................................................................... 5
Purchasing Bar Rail Corners ........................................................................... 6
Bar Rail End Caps | How To Finish the Ends Of The Bar Rail ................................. 6
Purchasing a Bar Rail.............................................................................................. 7
Bar Rail Picture Gallery .......................................................................................... 8
About Glastender ................................................................................................... 8
Resources ............................................................................................................... 9
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Copyright © 2011 Glastender, Inc
www.glastenderhome.com 800-748-0423
Basics Of A Bar Rail For Your
Home Bar
One of the most interesting
features of your home bar design is
the style of bar rail you choose as
part of your bar molding (or bar
moulding). The traditional bar rail,
often referred to as Chicago Bar
Rail, is made out of wood. Bar rails
allow your guests to rest their arms
comfortably at the bar and can help
keep spills contained on the bar top. They add the final touch to showcase your
unique home bar design and can help you achieve a true pub feeling.
How To Install A Bar Rail
Each picture is numbered.
All of the links to the
websites the pictures were
taken from are included at
the end of this article, so you
can find them if you would
like to see them closer or
learn more about them.
Most bar rails are a solid wood product molded from a single piece of wood;
and the bar rail profile (side view) shows the contour of the bar rail.
In order to achieve the downward slant of the traditional bar arm rest, the bar
rail has two offset cuts called rabbets. A rabbet (also known as rebate) is a
recess or groove cut into
Rabbet Joints
the edge of a piece of
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machineable material,
usually wood. The rabbets
are often used so that the
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bar rail becomes the
mechanism to join the top
of the cabinet to its sides,
and to attach the back of
the cabinet. The width and depth of the rabbet on a bar rail will vary depending
on the profile you choose.
To install the type of profile pictured above, you will need an unfinished
structural bar top underneath the finished top. The finished top needs to be
offset from the structural top to match the depth and width of your rabbet
joints. The lower rabbet of the bar rail adjoins the lower structural top, and the
upper rabbet of the bar rail adjoins the finished top.
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If the angle cut between the rabbet joints is long (as in wider arm rests), then
you will need to add a third support piece
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of wood, or shim, at the upper rabbet and
attach this third piece to the finished top
of the bar cabinet.
Shim
Choosing A Bar Rail Profile
When choosing your profile style, one important consideration is whether or
not you will be eating at the bar regularly. A profile with a lip where it joins with
the bar top is great for keeping drinks from spilling onto the laps of your guests,
but it can make eating at the bar uncomfortable. If you plan on eating at the
bar a lot, consider installing a bar rail that provides a flat surface across the
entire bar top.
The range of different styles for the bar rail profile is endless, and the width and
depth of the rabbet joints vary to change the contour of the bar rail. The Bull
Nose profile is a great choice if you want the bar top to be flat all the way
across.
Here are just a few examples.
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Bull Nose Profile
Bar Rail Materials | Tips On How To Match The Bar Top
Your bar rail should match the style and décor of your bar top. Your choices for
your bar top are vast, and include things like: granite, glass, laminate, ceramic
tile, copper, corian, marble, stainless steel, epoxy and resins, and custom
artwork.
Contrasting colors and materials can make your home bar look really sharp, so
don’t be afraid to mix and match. For
example, you could combine a granite bar top
with a wood bar rail, copper with stone, wood
with a brass bar rail, or tile with a vinyl bar rail
(like at the old Eagle’s Clubs). If you go with a wood bar rail, you could choose
to contrast a Red Mahogany stain with a lighter Cherry color. If you decide to
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www.glastenderhome.com 800-748-0423
go for a more modern look and use a material like glass or granite, you might
not even need a bar rail.
The vast majority of most bar railing is made out of wood. The bar rail can have
a dramatic effect on the whole look and feel of your home bar, so choosing the
highest quality of wood is important. It is perfectly acceptable to limit highergrade wood to the key focal points of your home bar, and use lesser grade for
the rest of the bar. Brazilian cherry is very popular right now, but mahogany,
maple, oak, poplar, and ash also make good choices (just to name a few).
If you can’t afford your desired material for the whole bar, consider using it just
for the bar top or bar rail only. These are the showpieces that will truly make
your home bar special.
Mitered vs. Radius Bar Rail Corners
How you want the corners of your bar rail to look is an important consideration
when choosing your bar rail material and profile style.
The most simple and least expensive way to handle the
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corners of your bar rail is to create miter joints by cutting
two parts of rail at an angle and joining them to form a
corner. Bar rail can be beveled to create either 90-degree joints or nonperpendicular joints.
Radius, or rounded, corners and curved bar rail definitely add beauty and style
to your home bar. The radius corner profile has to match the rest of the bar
rail. Not all millwork companies have the Large Shaper
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Cutter or CNC machines necessary to create the corner
pieces on hand, which can make them slightly more difficult
to find. Millwork companies that do create radius corners often have limited
bar rail profiles and materials they work with.
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Mitered Corners
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Rounded Corners
Some millwork
companies will do profile
matching for custom bar
radius pieces. As you
can imagine, this option
will increase your time
spent and the cost of
building your home bar.
It could be worth it if you
can swing it!
Copyright © 2011 Glastender, Inc
www.glastenderhome.com 800-748-0423
Purchasing Bar Rail Corners
Corner pieces can easily cost $80 to $200 each depending on the type of wood
you are using and the company you are working with. The following is a list of
some companies that sell bar rail corners based on a brief Internet search. It is
important to make sure that the corner bar rail profile matches the rest of your
bar. You might consider calling a couple of local millwork companies in your
area to see if they can help you as well.
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www.woodworksofperioria.com
www.curvedmouldings.com
www.cumberlandwoodcraft.com
www.bairdbrothers.com
www.hardwoodsincorporated.com
www.glumber.com
www.radiusmillwork.com
Bar Rail End Caps | How To Finish the Ends Of The Bar
Rail
An end cap is a piece of wood shaped to fit the end of the bar rail. Some
companies sell end caps for their particular bar rail molding, but not all.
The end cap should cover not only the unfinished end of the bar rail, but also
the unfinished ends of the construction pieces of the bar top (see unfinished
end pictures below). The end cap covers the unfinished straight end of the bar
top construction pieces up to the point of the bar rail.
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A piece of laminate or veneer to match your bar rail wood type can be glued to
the unfinished end, then routered or fine-cut to match your profile; then use a
matching straight piece of the laminate in place of the end cap to cover the bar
edge in the same way.
If your bar is not a cabinet, but is a straight line unit without end pieces, then,
rather than use bar rail end caps, a flat vertical panel of wood or other material
that matches or complements the front piece of your bar can be added to the
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www.glastenderhome.com 800-748-0423
ends. You will want to cut the end piece long enough to cover up to the edge of
the finished bar surface. A piece of corner or straight molding can then be glued
in place to cover the union where the end meets the bar top surface to achieve
that finished look. The addition of the end panel will also eliminate any wobble
that a straight-line bar top might have.
Purchasing a Bar Rail
You can find traditional bar rails for sale at Home Depot, Lowes, and Rockler, as
well as many millwork companies.
Price for bar rail from a millwork company will vary greatly depending on the
type of material you use, the profile style, and if it is standard or custom for
them. Here are some examples to help you estimate a cost for your project:
(price is per foot, as of January, 2011)

Barn Door Lumber, Hemlock, MI www.barndoorlumber.com
o Red oak: $13.75
o Cherry: $18.69
o Hard maple: $14.33
o Yellow poplar: $8.41
o Ash: $11.43

Specialty Woodworks of Peoria, Peoria, IL
www.woodworksofpeoria.com
o Red Oak - $16.41
o Poplar - $13.33
o Hard White Maple - $23.12
o Cherry - $27.36
o African Mahogany - $26.91
o Ash - $15.33
o Walnut - $24.12
o Alder - $17.56
o Hickory - $19.69
o Knotty Pine - $19.70
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Copyright © 2011 Glastender, Inc
www.glastenderhome.com 800-748-0423
Bar Rail Picture Gallery
The following is a Bar Arm Rail Gallery to get your creative juices flowing.
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Wood – single color
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Wood – contrasting colors
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22
Granite
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19
23
Copper counter
Stone bar rail
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29
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Copper counter
Wood bar rail
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25
Epoxy / resin
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26
Tile
32
No Bar Rail
How your bar top looks is limited only by your imagination. Look at stain color
guides to see what combinations of colors you like the best. Visit your local
kitchen and bath store to learn more about your options for countertop
materials; including their pros and cons, especially regarding upkeep and
durability. Peruse images on the web. You know yourself and your style, and it
won’t take long for you to pin point the look you want. Good luck!
About Glastender
Glastender, Inc. is a family-owned company established in 1969. We
manufacture a complete line of quality bar equipment for the bar and food
service industry, and also offer a line of commercial quality cocktail station
options for the home. Call 800-748-0423 or visit www.glastenderhome.com to
learn more.
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Copyright © 2011 Glastender, Inc
www.glastenderhome.com 800-748-0423
Resources
Picture Number
Website
1 - Installation
http://www.rinoswoodworking.com/blog/bar-rails/
2 - Installation
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=852476
3 - Installation
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1195928
4 - Profile
http://www.owlhardwood.com/products/lumberproducts/moldings/bar-rail
5 - Profile
http://www.realwoodproducts.net/bar_rail.html
6 - Profile
http://www.realwoodproducts.net/bar_rail.html
7 - Profile
http://www.trimbytim.com/Product.htm
8 - Corner
http://community.woodmagazine.com/t5/GeneralWoodworking/Wooden-Bar-Rail-Installation/m-p/95840
9 - Corner
http://www.craft-art.com/products/recreational-bar-tops/
10 – Mitered corner
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/how-do-i-make-bar-rail-851/
11 – Mitered corner
http://www.contractortalk.com/f13/bar-rail-granite-89269/
12 – Rounded corner http://arthurwoodworks.com/boren2.aspx
13 – Rounded corner http://www.curvedmouldings.com/bar_rails.html
14 – End cap
http://www.woodworksofpeoria.com/how-to-attach-bar-rail-endcap
15 – End cap
http://www.woodworksofpeoria.com/how-to-attach-bar-rail-endcap
16 - Style
http://www.eurocraftinteriors.com/bars.html
17 - Style
http://www.columbiacustombuilt.com/sample_room.php
18 - Style
http://www.hmwoodworks.com/bars
19 - Style
http://jazilexclusivehomedesign.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html
20 - Style
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26352554@N02/page2/
21 - Style
http://www.radiuscasings.com/photos.htm
22 - Style
http://www.coppercountertop.pro/copper_picture10.html
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www.glastenderhome.com 800-748-0423
23 - Style
http://www.colorcopper.com/pages/Copper-Bar-Top.html
24 - Style
http://www.timeforwaves.com/bar_top.htm
25 - Style
http://barsandtables.com/barsandtables.com_files/Page632.htm
26 - Style
http://www.getitdonehomeimprovements.com/projects/basementremodel.html
27 - Style
http://www.currentsnj.com/relax/choose-your-style-of-home-bar/
28 - Style
http://www.customrenovations.ca/id5.html
29 - Style
http://www.jdesigngroup.com/interior-design-gallery/bars1.php
30 - Style
http://www.southyorkshiremarble.co.uk/bar_and_counter_tops.htm
31 - Style
http://usglassworks.com/gallery.html
32 - Style
http://www.versital.co.uk/bartop.html
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Copyright © 2011 Glastender, Inc
www.glastenderhome.com 800-748-0423