Things You'll Need

Instructions

1

Find a location in your house where you can add a wet bar. Usually the basement, family room, TV room or game rooms are great places to add a wet bar. Make sure that location is close to a water line so that you do not have to worry about additional costs of adding one. Water line locations would be next to a bathroom or laundry room.
2

Design a plan on how you will build your wet bar. Lay out, accessibility and flow of traffic should be considered.
3

Purchase ready-made kitchen counter height bottom cabinet from your home improvement store. Ensure to buy one that has space underneath to hide plumbing fixtures like drain pipes and hot and cold water connections. Purchasing ready-made cabinets will save you considerable amount of time and money instead of having one custom-built. If you are handy and if you have advanced carpentry skills you can also make your own cabinet using inexpensive materials.
4

Purchase your countertop. You can choose granite slabs, tiles, wood, Formica, concrete slabs or any material you can find that can withstand use and getting wet.
5

Purchase your sink and faucet, as well as, plumbing fixtures.
6

Make your water connection from the nearest water line. Ensure that you also address the hot and cold water, as well as drainage. Sometimes it is best to leave this part to a professional, especially if you need to do quite a bit of demolition just to get through the walls.
7

Once your water connections are ready, you can now install your cabinet. Draw a parallel line, using a pencil and level, across the wall about 3 inches up from the floor.

Measure down from this line to the floor to find the floor's high point and mark a line it.

Then, measure up 34 1/2 inches and draw a level line across the wall. This will be used to designate the top of the base cabinets
8

Locate a stud and mark their locations with a pencil. Screw using four 2-inch screws, a 1-by-3 lumber wood on the wall to use as temporary support rail. Make sure to go through the rail and the studs.
9

Put shims underneath the cabinet to raise it up to the high point of the floor, aligning top part of the base cabinet to the line on the wall. Check if the cabinet is level.

Screw the back of the cabinet into the wall studs. Trim the shims with a knife of chisel to have a clean finish.
10

Install countertop. Measure the top of your counter. If you are using granite slab, use a paper template and mark off holes for your sink.

If using tiles, cut a backer board for your counter where you will then install your tiles.

Then install your countertop.
11

Before installing the countertop, ensure that the correct measurement and location for your sink and faucet had been marked and cut.

Then install the sink and faucet as per manufacturer's guide. Test the water flow and temperature if they work. Adjust temperature as needed and fix any leaks if there are any,
12

Paint or stain your cabinet if you ordered an unfinished type. Clean the counter, sink and faucet of any grime, dust and fingerprints.

Add your items for your bar, like decorative items, glasses, bottle opener, champagne crate and other bar essentials.

Add barstools if needed. You can also add a small wine cooler either on top of the counter or underneath it.