YMC ConstructionBasement finishing · Chicago
Wet bars and wine rooms
A bar is a small kitchen you do not have to plumb like a kitchen. The sink still needs a drain, and below the sewer line that drain goes to a pump. We place the bar where the plumbing is easiest, then make it look right.
What is involved
The look of a bar is cabinets, a counter, shelves and light. The work is the drain, the water line and the circuits. A beverage fridge and an under counter ice maker each want their own outlet, and an ice maker wants a water line and a drain too.
A dry bar skips the sink and most of the plumbing, which makes it quicker and cheaper. A wet bar is worth it if you will rinse glasses down there. A wine room is its own small cold room, and it has to be built like one.
Basement ideas
Design examples for Chicago area basements. Open any photo for a closer look.
Planning notes
Below the sewer line, the bar sink drains to the ejector or to its own small pump. Put the bar near the bathroom and they can share. Put it across the room and you pay for the run under the floor.
We place the bar where the plumbing is easiest, not where it looks best on a blank floor plan, and then we make it look right. Lighting under the shelves and over the counter does most of the work.
A wine room is a small cold room inside a warm basement. It needs insulation in the walls and ceiling, a vapour barrier on the warm side, a door that seals, and a cooling unit sized for the room. Basement air alone changes too much with the seasons to hold a steady temperature.
Glass walls look the part and lose more cold than insulated walls, so the cooling unit is sized for the glass as well as the space. The unit also needs somewhere to put its heat, which is a question we answer before the room is framed.
Common questions
If it adds plumbing or new circuits, yes, in Chicago and in the suburbs we work in. A dry bar with cabinets and a counter on existing outlets is a lighter job. We pull whatever is needed in our name.
Often, if the bar sits near the bathroom. The sink drains to the same pit and the run under the floor stays short. Across the room, the bar may need its own small pump.
To hold a steady temperature, yes. A basement is cooler than the house, but it still swings with the seasons. The unit is sized for the room and its glass, and it needs a place to put its heat.
Free estimate
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