How to Build an Arched Front Patio Bar

Build the Rectangular Base

• 1

  Attach a 60-inch by 2-inch by 4-inch pine board to each end, flush with the edge of an 18-inch by 2-inch by 4-inch pine board, using 3-inch wood screws and a cordless drill. Screw a second 18-inch by 2-inch by 4-inch pine board to the open ends of the 60-inch boards, using 3-inch wood screws and the cordless drill. This box makes one end of the patio bar. Repeat the process to make the second end of the bar.

• 2

  Screw a 3-inch by 2-inch by 2-inch board to each corner, on the same side, of one end box. Set the 3-inch boards 2 inches from the outside edges with the boards perpendicular to the 18-inch boards, using 3-inch wood screws and the cordless drill.

• 3

  Connect the two ends of the patio bar with 40-inch by 2-inch by 4-inch pine boards. Screw the 40-inch boards to the 3-inch boards, using 3-inch wood screws and a cordless drill. The 40-inch boards must be flush with the edges of the patio ends. You now have a rectangular patio bar base.

• 4

  Screw a 60-inch by 2-inch by 4-inch pine board to the inside middle of one 48-inch-long side of the rectangular base, using 3-inch wood screws and the cordless drill. Measure the outside of the 48-inch-long side with a tape measure. Mark the boards on the top and bottom of the base at the 24-inch spot with a pencil. Center the 60-inch board vertically and flat so the 4-inch edge is flush with the top and bottom of the base.

Finish the Patio Bar

• 5

  Clamp a 2-foot by 4-foot sheet of 1-inch-thick plywood to the work table, using table clamps. Set the plywood diagonally so a 4-foot-long edge of the board is hanging over the corner of the work table by 6 inches, leaving only 18 inches of the opposite edge of the board on the table.

• 6

  Mark both of the 2-foot-long edges of plywood, 18 inches from the end on the table, using a tape measure and pencil.

• 7

  Draw a semicircle from one of the two marks to the other mark with the arc of the semicircle, touching the middle of the free-floating 4-foot edge, using a pencil and a compass. The compass will guarantee the curve is correct from each point to make a perfect semicircle. Repeat this semicircle drawing process on three 2-foot by 4-foot sheets of plywood.

• 8

  Cut the semicircles out of the plywood with a circular saw. Sand the edges with sandpaper until smooth.

• 9

  Attach a cut plywood board to the base of the patio bar, using 2-inch wood screws and the cordless drill. Place the plywood on the base with the 18-inch-long edges flush along the top of the ends of the base. Place the 4-foot-long straight edge of the plywood flush with the side of the patio bar that has the vertical middle board.

• 10

  Flip the base over, with the plywood now on the floor, and attach a second plywood sheet to the bottom of the patio bar base, using the same dimensions as the first plywood sheet. Flip the patio bar back over to stand upright.

• 11

  Mark a 4-inch by 2-inch rectangle, parallel with the 18-inch edges of the third plywood sheet, at the square corners of the plywood sheet and 16 inches from the square corners. Mark a 4-inch by 2-inch rectangle centered on the straight 4-foot edge of the plywood sheet and another at the center of the arc. Cut these rectangles out with a jigsaw.

• 12

  Screw a 3-inch by 2-inch by 2-inch pine board, horizontally, to each corner board and the center board of the patio bar base at 30 inches from the bottom, using 3-inch wood screws and the cordless drill. Attach the third plywood sheet to the tops of these five boards, using 2-inch wood screws and the cordless drill.

• 13

  Attach a 60-inch by 2-inch by 4-inch pine board to the center of the arcs. Screw the plywood boards into the pine board, using 2-inch wood screws from the top and the bottom of the patio bar by flipping the bar over or laying it on its side. Attach a tenth 3-inch by 2-inch by 2-inch pine board to the last 60-inch board to attach the middle plywood to the board, using 3-inch wood screws and the cordless drill.

• 14

  Apply wood glue to the arched edges of the plywood sheets and the 18-inch edges on the ends, using a paintbrush.

• 15

  Clamp a 4 1/2-foot by 5-foot sheet of plywood, 1 inch thick, to the arched front of the patio bar. Screw the plywood to the arched plywood and the pine boards using 2-inch wood screws and the cordless drill at 2-inch intervals.

• 16

  Clamp a 18-inch by 60-inch by 1-inch sheet of plywood to each end of the patio bar. Screw the plywood to the pine boards, using 2-inch wood screws and the cordless drill at 2-inch intervals.