Wayne Lennox and Brian Halbot will be appearing at our first ever virtual Cottage Life show on Nov. 20-22, 2020. Register for the show here for free access to show activities all weekend long.
Spring is here (though you might not know it by looking out the window), and summer is on its way. Now’s the time to plan what might be your DIY project for the season.
Wayne Lennox is no stranger to DIY builds. Each year at our consumer shows, Wayne and his co-pilot, Brian Halbot, build one of Home Hardware’s latest projects designed specifically for the cottage, such as the deck bar cart that they built at our Spring 2018 show.
“It was probably the most fun we’ve ever had with a build,” says Wayne. “When we first built it, the roof was the nice part because it would keep you out of the sun and the rain, but we kept coming up with neat ways to add to it.”
First, it was adding lights under the bar, then it was a rack for beer glasses, then wine glasses, and then wine bottles (obviously). Then, what about hooking it up to electricity, to water, and adding a cooler underneath? “The evolution of this thing was so much fun,” says Wayne.
But the project has practical applications for life at the cottage too. “We adapted the roof design for the bar from the canoe kayak rack that we did for the magazine years ago,” says Wayne. “It’s a louvered design so it sheds rain and also allows wind to pass through it instead of trapping it.” Translation: no need to worry about the wind picking up your bar and tossing it into the lake on a windy day. “Plus, it looks neat,” he says.
With the roof design and sculpted rafters underneath, Wayne gives this a 7.5 or eight out of ten on the difficulty scale. “It’s probably not the project you want to start out with if it’s your first time doing a build,” he says. “But if you’ve got a bit of experience with a reasonably good tool collection, you’ll be fine.”
You could make this project out of pine, but cedar really is best for outdoor projects and “it’s got a real wow factor,” says Wayne.
If you’re thinking of taking any shortcuts, Wayne recommends being patient with the roof. And don’t add wheels. (Trust him, they tried that too.) “If people are leaning on the elevated bar, it might tip over”
Overall, Wayne says this is a great cottage project. “It’s reasonably compact, but it still incorporates all those things you need for outdoor entertaining at the lake.”
Check out Home Hardware’s website for the plans for this project and many others. Pro tip: the plans are free if you purchase the materials through their stores.
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