In this video, I'll discuss the bar design tips and ideas to build your own
do-it-yourself LED backlit bar -- and how much it costs....coming up!
Hey Rick Uzubell again from Cabaret Design Group, where I share my ideas and
tips on bar design, draft beer system design and product reviews.
Later in this video, I'll give you "Today's Takeaway".
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Recognize the concept in this photo?
One of the top questions I'm asked is how to design and build an LED backlit bar.
People are fascinated by commercial lighting, especially when it comes to
backlighting a bar front. Backlit bars create major "WOW-factor" and therefore
the design concepts for doing this are tightly-held -- until now!
The first thing to know about LED backlit bar design is that it can be retrofitted to nearly any
existing bar. The critical design criteria are as follows:
1). Lighting mounting tracks -- as shown in this architectural drawing, the tracks
are mounted continuously along the top and bottom edges of the curtain wall
and provide a simple method of installing the LED lighting.
The KLUS 45-ALU series LED angular extrusion, shown here, is available through SuperBrightLEDS.com.
For those who are creative, a 3/4" x 3/4" PVC strip
will do the same job at a fraction of the cost;
2). The RGB LED strip lighting, as shown here, such as this model by
SuperBrightLEDs.com, the lighting is installed continuously along the top
and bottom edges of the curtain wall; the lighting should contain
30 SMD-type LED's per meter; 3). Lighting controls -- controllers, power supplies and
miscellaneous cables will be necessary and are
available also at SuperBrightLEDs.com;
4). Translucent curtain wall -- as shown here, in section
and here in elevation, this is the main ingredient of the "secret sauce"
that makes the lighting effective. The best value solution are the "Lumi-Onyx"
panels offered by Lumigraf, which consists of Makrolon sheets laminated
with thin layers of translucent film, designed to evenly-disperse the light.
I recommend 3/8" thick panels for all bar fronts;
5). Curtain wall mounting angles --
as shown on this plan, the curtain wall is mounted
to a simple 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/16" anodized aluminum
angle, mounted continuously along its top and bottom edges; mount the angles so
there is 2" of clearance to the inside face of the curtain wall;
6). Mounting tape -- shown here in section, hands-down, the best solution for
installing the curtain wall to the mounting angles is to use 3M VHB 4950
double-faced tape, 1/2" wide; the best place to buy this tape is at ULine.com,
and 7). Caulk -- apply clear silicon caulk to all vertical
butt joints, as shown in this elevation.
Lastly, the curtain wall should sit about
7" above the finished floor; for bars with solid foot rests, simply
install the bottom mounting angle to the top of the footrest; for bars without a
solid footrest -- such as this one, install a 7" x 2" toe kick before proceeding.
So how much does it cost to build an LED backlit bar? Here's a cost
summary of all the above hardware necessary to build your own backlit bar.
The best RGB LED lighting for backlighting bars is a 5050 waterproof strip,
with 30 SMD LED's per meter, rated at 900 lumens and 7.2 watts.
See you next time!