Residential Bar Tops

We craft custom wooden bars for homeowners and businesses in a wide variety of styles and finishes

Including bigger bar tops for larger rooms that will require commercial use.

Some prefer the contemporary, side-grain bar with a glossy finish. Others like the classic, hand-crafted Chicago bar-rail style.

Commonly found as well as more exotic woods are available, helping ensure that the style of your bar compliments the room.

In the scoping process, we’ll tailor your bar to custom dimensions and will take note of all other stylistic requirements that need to be integrated.

Bar Style Options

Here are some popular bar style options to choose from. If you have something else in mind, please let us know, and it will help us if you provide pictures of the style you’re interested in. As long as we have a clear idea of what you want, we can integrate as much customizability as desired.

Chicago Bar Rail

Chicago Bar rails are historically used in commercial settings, but in recent years have grown in popularity in homes as well, as they recreate a familiar, old-timey style.

This bar rail’s gently shaped profile adds a classic tavern feel while keeping spills contained to the bar top.

We can provide these surfaces pre-installed as part of a custom bar or separately for installation on an existing bar top.

Our bar rails are all hand-crafted.

They can be provided in any of our stock wood species and are stained and finished upon request to match existing decor. Mitered and radial corners are available to accommodate any potential design.

Additional Specs: our Chicago Bar Rail is 3 ⅛ inches total in total height and 5 3/16 inches deep. Once attached to the bar top, the profile rises 1 ⅝ inches above the bar top. Below are several examples of our bar rail. Here, you can also view a PDF rendering of the bar rail profile.

Design Considerations

At Grothouse, each bar top is custom constructed to your specifications. When designing your bar, there are several generally accepted guidelines that can help you ensure that the finished product will meet your expectations:

  • Typical home and commercial bar height is 42 inches from the floor to the bar surface. Bar stool average height is 30 inches.
  • A section of the bar should be 30 inches above the finished floor to accommodate wheelchairs if desired. Back bar tops are generally the same height as the front bar but can vary.
  • Home bar tops are usually from 12 to 16 inches wide. Commercial bar tops vary from 20 to 28 inches in width, including a drink rail (or trough) on the server’s side of the bar. Drink rails are typically ¾ inch deep by 4 inches wide.
  • The minimum bar top thickness is 1 ¾, inches utilizing a flat grain wood. Increased thicknesses are available using a built-up assembly or other construction styles, such as edge grain.
  • The front overhang for the patron side of the bar is typically 6 to 12 inches if you intend to have bar stools. For a standing-only bar, 6 or 9-inch overhangs are comfortable.
  • It is best to allow 22 to 24 inches of space per person.