Burnsville Basement Remodel with Barnwood Bar

Project Summary

Our client in Burnsville wanted their basement remodeled for entertaining: a lower-level bar at the existing rough-in, a sound system for the bar and viewing areas, and a place to host sports nights and Game of Thrones parties. The bar concept had to be fully custom, with a “throwback” look unlike any other bar.

• Date: 2018

• Project Type: Basement Remodel

• Location: Burnsville, MN

Getting the Project Started

Rick first went out to meet with the clients and put a bid together for them. Once we got the go-ahead, Dan took over as project manager. The first step was tearing out the existing carpet in the living room, which was turned into two 12’x12’ rugs for future use. The team also tore out the laminate flooring in the bathroom so the space could have wood-plank porcelain tile (from NST, over an uncoupling membrane) all throughout. The clients had pre-existing radiant in-floor heating, so tile over carpet allowed for better heat transfer and long-term durability.

Unique Local Materials

The bar top and floating shelves were made from barnwood salvaged from a torn-down barn near Faribault, MN, and custom made for the space. Galvanized corrugated steel panels from an old barn in St. Cloud, MN surround the outside of the bar, accented with lighting from under the bar top. Peppermill thin brick finishes the facade, a Brizo wall-mount bar faucet completes the plumbing, and an artisan 3D multi-color barnwood wall from Signature Woods surrounds the TV.

Challenges

The clients wanted speakers in the ceiling without the ceiling being replaced or retextured. We were able to fish the sound wiring from the basement’s mechanical space without affecting the ceiling.

The TV and front speaker channels needed to be recessed into the barnwood wall and stay easy to service. We built a faux wall to receive the recessed TV and speaker boxes, accessible from the mechanical room behind it for any future maintenance.