What Is The Best Material For an Outdoor Bar?

Outdoor entertainment is more popular than ever. Homeowners continue to invest in outdoor spaces with the goal of creating a welcoming and entertaining area for family and guests while enjoying the fresh air, warm sun, and night sky. Gazebos, pergolas, outdoor kitchens, and grills are all in high demand as they’re great ways to transform your backyard or patio.

Outdoor bars also continue to gain popularity. Have you been thinking about getting one for your space? If so, it’s a great investment and a wonderful addition as a focal point for entertaining.

Choosing the right material is essential to having a bar that not only looks good, but is weatherproof and lasts for years to come. Here are a few elements of an outdoor bar that you’ll want to consider, and the right material for each:

Structure

Perhaps the most important material to consider is the base structure of the outdoor bar. While a quick search will turn up various options, you’ll want to consider a few things before making a decision:

• Durability: If you’re going to invest in an outdoor bar, you want it to be strong. It’s outside after all, so you need to make sure it won’t warp or buckle during severe weather events.
  
  
• Longevity: Being durable is one thing, but that won’t matter much if the material wears down easily. Depending on your climate, your outdoor bar will get a fair amount of sun, rain, and snow on it. Ensuring you have a material that is resistant to those elements is important if you want the bar to last.
  
  
• Style: You have to look at your bar every day, and so do your guests when you’re entertaining. Choosing a material that’s stylish, classy, and fits with the surroundings adds to the elegance of your outdoor space.

Cedar and galvanized steel are two materials that check all three boxes.

Cedar wood is an extremely durable material that holds up against strong winds, allowing for peace of mind. It’s also naturally resistant to rot and decay, making it a great choice for combating intense sun in the summer, as well as rain or snow accumulation. This material will allow you to enjoy your outdoor bar for years to come.

And of course, cedar is stylish. Its natural beauty brings warmth and rustic charm to your outdoor space and blends naturally with outdoor surroundings, creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere.

Galvanized steel is also extremely durable. With a properly anchored steel structure, you won’t have to worry about strong winds or severe weather damaging it. Powder-coated galvanized steel is also virtually maintenance-free because of its natural resistance to corrosion. That means you don’t have to worry about rust or sun damage and can enjoy your bar for many years.

While cedar is certainly a great choice for blending in with outdoor surroundings, galvanized steel will give your bar a more contemporary look. The good news is, you can have both! If you like the rustic charm of cedar and the way it blends well in the outdoors but also want the practicality and stylish look of steel, a select few outdoor bars combine the best of both.

Bar Top and Shelving

While both cedar and steel are great choices for the structure of your outdoor bar, you’ll likely want to consider steel for your bar top and shelving, as these surfaces are more likely to get dirty or endure spills.

Steel is an ideal option for bar tops and shelving. If you have a cedar structure, the steel tops and shelving provide a sleek and modern contrast, while the natural blend of countertops with a galvanized steel bar structure are easy to fall in love with. In addition to being more practical for serving, steel is easy to clean. Many outdoor bar surfaces are wooden. Not only is wood much more difficult to clean than steel, but a spilled drink on a wooden countertop will likely leave a stain. With steel countertops, there are no stains, and cleanup is easy.

And again, steel is extremely durable, so you’ll never have to worry about it bending, warping, or rusting.

Roof

If you’ve made the decision to get an outdoor bar, chances are you’ll want a roof on it. Having a roof over your bar gives you shade during those hot summer days, allows you to use the bar in any weather, and provides protection for anything you want to leave on the shelves when the bar isn’t in use.

Much like the structure, you’ll want to make sure your roof is durable and long-lasting. This includes withstanding large snow loads.

Look for a roof made of galvanized steel. Steel is up to 200 times stronger than other metals such as aluminum and can withstand large amounts of snow. And if the steel is powder-coated it’s also rust-resistant, making it a safe choice to protect your bar from rain.

Other Features

While the basics of the structure are most important when talking about materials, there are several miscellaneous features that could be difference-makers as you contemplate a decision.

Some outdoor bars have a wall behind the bar. This comes in handy both as a privacy enhancement and to provide additional shade. And with a wall behind the bar, you can even mount a TV if you want to take your bar to the next level.

With an outdoor bar, an electrical plug-in option is usually necessary. After all, you may want to equip your bar with lights, music, a blender or the TV mentioned above. You’ll need a power source of some kind to plug all those appliances into, and not every bar is equipped with a port to do that.

Consider An Outdoor Bar From Backyard Discovery

Shopping for an outdoor bar, like any big purchase, can feel overwhelming. And trying to find something with specific features that looks good may seem impossible. Fortunately, Backyard Discovery has an option that fits all of the above criteria.

The new Cedar Springs Outdoor Bar is made of 100 percent cedar wood, providing durability and longevity as well as elevating the charm of your outdoor space. It comes with sturdy powder-coated steel bar tops and shelving, providing that stylish contrast to the cedar while allowing for easy cleaning and maintenance. The roof is black powder-coated steel, providing durability and protection from the elements. The bar is PRO-TECT™ Tested & Proven to withstand up to 2,400 pounds of snow load and winds up to 100 mph, and it’s backed by an industry-leading 5 Year Limited Warranty.

In addition to having the most durable materials, there are several features that make this outdoor bar special. A cedar privacy wall lines the back of the bar, allowing for a touch of seclusion and providing a perfect backdrop should you want to mount an outdoor TV. The bar also comes with an exclusive PowerPort™, so you can plug in that TV, charge devices, use a blender to whip up delicious drinks, string some lights under the roof, and much more.

See what the craze is all about. Order your Cedar Springs Outdoor Bar today!