What are the guidelines for designing a
drink rail for a bar? In this video I'll discuss the architectural standards for
correct drink rail design for bars, restaurants, sports bars and man caves.
Coming up! Hey, Rick Uzubell again from Cabaret
Design Group, where I share my personal ideas and tips on bar design, draught beer system design and product reviews. Later in this video I'll give you 'Today's Takeaway.' If you're new here, please consider subscribing and check-out the show notes and links in the 'YouTube Description' below. Now let's jump into the show! Drink rails are popular in many settings. A drink rail is a mini-version of a bar
top, and is typically featured along walls, which is the type of drink rail
I'm going to discuss today. From a previous video of ours, you may recall the
restaurant bar which featured two seating areas along a wall, shown here.
The first approach showed three 2-top tables along the wall, which could yield
dining for six, or as a drink rail for 11. While drink rails can facilitate greater
occupancy, they aren't conducive to dining. However, even where food is being
featured, some owners prefer the profitability of selling more alcohol.
When space planning, we need to ensure proper circulation and interface
clearances in front of the bar and drink rail.
Use the following updated ADA
standards for ergonomic bar design, referenced in this downloadable sketch.
The height of the drink rail should match the bar top height, which is
between 42 and 45 inches. The drink rail should be between 10 to
12 inches in depth and should have a four inch backsplash. Plan 18 inches for the 'Customer Activity
Zone', or 24 inches if using barstools. Always include a 36 inch 'Activity Zone'
for ADA and waitstaff.
Our most popular DIY drink rail design
is shown here, reference the downloadable sketch. If you're unable to
afford the same material for your drink rail as the bar top, at least use a high
pressure laminate with a 3/4 inch particle board core, as shown in this photo.
All drink rails should have a continuous plywood underlayment, setback not more
than two inches from the outside edge of the drink rail. The key to this drink
rail design is that it doesn't need support brackets and it's wholly and
continuously supported by the plywood underlayment, which is fully-constrained
between two layers of 2×4 plates inside the wall.
Use three-and-a-half-inch
coarse threaded deck screws to fasten. The drink rail should be bonded to the
underlayment with construction adhesive and for commercial applications, all
materials should be fired-treated. Drink rails work best when the distance
from the edge of the bar top to the opposing wall is between 82 and 96
inches. See you next time!.
