Build your own garden bar

Celebrity builder Craig Phillips offers a step-bystep guide for how to build a DIY garden bar

Whether you are a seasoned DIYER or are only just getting started with your new hobby, this year is all about making the most of your outdoor space.

Here, celebrity builder Craig Phillips, pictured, who won the first series of Big Brother and is also a property developer, shares a quick and easy garden build.

The project – to make a back garden bar – will help you get the most out of your own backyard while enjoying some DIY downtime.

BUILD YOUR OWN BACK GARDEN BAR

What better way to unwind on a warm evening than enjoying a drink in your own garden?

This DIY bar could be the perfect place to host a small social gathering – and your new local just got closer! You’ll need: Recycled pallet wood (for sides of bar), OSB structural board (for bar top), screws, nails, glue, drill, hand saw, furniture wax, paint (you pick the colour).

HERE’S HOW YOU DO IT....

1. Measure your space and draw up a design to fit. The bar could be a simple, linear structure or an L shape, for example. Remember to include dimensions to ensure there is no confusion when you get underway. Take the pallets apart, de-nail them and sand them down so they are easy to work with.

2. Use the underside of the pallets for the frame of the bar structure. Measure and cut the four pieces of wood that make the legs of the structure using a saw.

3. Fix two of the legs together by cutting two more pieces from the underside wood, which match the width of your design. Using your drill and some screws, join the legs together at the top and bottom, so the finished shape resembles an outline of a rectangle.

4. Repeat the above two steps for the remaining two legs.

5. Cut six more pieces from the underside wood to the length of your bar design. These will be used to join the two sides together, with two lengths across the top, bottom and in the middle of the structure.

6. To clad the sides of the bar, use the slats of the pallets. Apply glue to the structure, place a slat down and then nail it. They may be too long, but once they are all secured down, you can cut them to the right size.

7. For the bar top, place the OSB on the cladded structure. Leaving a little bit of a hangover on each side, cut the board to size. Before you fix the top, paint the sides of the base structure in your chosen colour and apply one coat of furniture wax to the OSB board.

8. Screw the bar top into the base and apply another coat of wax. lthese are the instructions for a simple, linear bar, but if your design is more complex – an L shape – for example, repeat as necessary for each of the sections.

For more DIY builds, visit Craigphillips.co.uk