Materials
Quality Matters
The previous bar was Exhibit A for what to expect when you use inferior materials. You can be a Michelin chef but, if you start with Round Steak, you can't serve Porterhouse.
Home Depot is the go-to place for studs for the subframe. However, you will not find the exterior finishing or trim components there-- and I had no idea where to go.
I put a message out on the Facebook page for our HOA group to see if anyone could point me in the right direction. Turns out one of my neighbors does woodworking projects, told me about Suwanee Lumber Company It's a place where professional cabinet makers get their materials.
It is an amazing place, with an incredible selection of different types of high-quality wood, including the White Oak I decided to use.
One challenge: they do not work with standard dimensions (with the exception of plywood). Everything has to be ordered in "board feet" and calculated to include a certain percentage of waste. One edge will be straight. You have to rip the board to size on a table saw.
Suwanee Lumber did have some trim wood but not a large selection. Fortunately, they told me their source: Pierce & Pierce Millwork. Again, marvelous selection of every type of molding imaginable-- and it's literally a mile from my home.
I bought all kinds of trim. In fact, I originally thought to do something creative with the bar rail using the leftover branches from the crepe myrtle I had cut down. Fortunately, the Sales counter at Pierce & Pierce has traditional bar rail. I was sold. I went with Red Oak molding to contrast with the White Oak.
Serendipity
Not only did my neighbor and new best friend point me to Suwanee Lumber, he also happened to have stacks of tongue and groove wood in his garage that had been recovered from a Victorian-style home in the 1960s. Paneling the walls was not in my original plans, but you can never have too much wood in an Irish pub. Like I said, be flexible with the design!
Another lucky find. There is a historic home in Norcross, GA called the Buchanan House, built in 1907, which was having an estate sale. I stopped by to see what I might find.
When I told them I was building an Irish pub in my basement, one of the ladies took me around the house to where they had a brass rail. Real brass. Even the brackets. It was covered in decades of filth but that would clean up. Best of all, it was the right size to incorporate into my design.