Planning & Putting in Bar Foot Rails

There may be nothing like pulling a stool as much as a well-designed and well-built bar. Few equipment can take your bar to the extent of authenticity and luxury that bar foot rails can. Whether or not you’re constructing a house bar or a business institution, foot rails add a contact of sophistication that makes an atypical bar extraordinary, and with KegWorks, they’re straightforward to order and set up.

What’s Bar Foot Rail?

A bar foot rail is a horizontal bar put in on the base of a bar counter. It offers a cushty place for patrons to relaxation their toes whereas standing on the bar or sitting on bar stools. Not solely does it add a component of consolation, but it surely additionally enhances the general aesthetic of the bar, giving it a elegant and welcoming look. 

Bar Foot Rail Parts

All bar foot rail initiatives would require three major elements (tubing, brackets & finish caps). Some installations could require as many as six elements to finish the bar foot rail system. The scale and form of your bar will dictate the elements you want:

Required Parts

• Tubing: The bones of your foot rail challenge; tubing is the steel rail that serves as your footrest. KegWorks provides 4 completely different types of tubing for bar foot rail. We stock customary 2” exterior diameter (OD) tubing in brass, completed stainless-steel, and wooden, in addition to 2″ internal diameter black iron pipe ultimate for business and residential bar rail use. 1.5” OD tubing can be utilized for residential bar rail, bar shelving, handrail, and ornamental high rail set up. KegWorks additionally carries 1.5” OD sq. tubing in Matte Black and Gunmetal Gray as in-stock choices for bar rail initiatives. Whereas we don’t usually inventory 1” OD tubing, it’s obtainable as a particular order choice for our prospects. 

  Foot rail tubing is out there in 2’, 4’, 6’ and eight’ sections that may be minimize all the way down to match the specs of your challenge. We additionally supply customized bending to roll exact foot rails for constructions of any dimension or form.

• Brackets: Bar foot rail brackets join your tubing to your bar and/or the ground. There are a number of choices to match the look and setup you’re making an attempt to attain. KegWorks additionally provides customized brackets for distinctive installations. Customized brackets are fabricated to fulfill your challenge’s specs, after which we apply the end of your selecting to them.
• Finish caps: Finish caps connect to the top of the foot rail tubing to offer a completed search for your challenge.

Professional Tip: Bar Foot Rail Kits include every part you want in case you’re planning a straight run of foot rail. Kits can be found in 6’ and eight’ lengths and embrace the required tubing, brackets, and finish caps.

Elective Parts

• Elbows: Elbows join foot rail sections at a nook joint. They’re obtainable in 90-degree and 45/135-degree angles and adjustable fittings.
• Splicing sleeves: Splicing sleeves go on the within of your bar rail tubing to attach two items if you want bar rail longer than 8 toes to suit your bar’s dimensions.
• Wall flanges: Wall flanges are wanted when the top of the foot rail tubing meets a wall or every other flat floor.

Further Bar Rail Touches for Your Bar

• Drink Rail: Drink rails connect to the inside of your bar and supply an space for servers to arrange drinks with out having to fret about spills amassing on the bar high. They’re primarily constructed from stainless-steel and may have a drain put in to dispel spilled liquids. This can be a should for business institutions and a pleasant add-on for dwelling bars.
• Service Bar Rail: An ideal addition for any business bar challenge, service bar rail clears an area alongside your bar for servers to position and decide up drink orders with out patrons’ interference. It mounts simply to your bar and is out there in finishes to match your challenge.
• Bar Rail Molding: Picket armrests, generally referred to as Chicago bar rail or bar rail molding, add consolation, fashion, and performance to your bar. They supply a completed look to your bar high and add further consolation. Bar rail molding may also maintain glassware and spills from falling off the bar high and onto the ground. Picket armrests can be found in 4 various kinds of wooden, and you’ll apply stains to match your challenge’s design.
• Handrails: Handrails are much like bar foot rails and can be found in a number of finishes. Like foot rails, steel armrests have three major elements: tubing, brackets, and finish caps. The handrail extends the size of the bar and provides folks one thing to lean on.

---

Ordering Bar Foot Rail

Planning is important to make sure you buy the proper elements to your foot rail. Bear in mind that you will want not less than three major elements: tubing, brackets, and finish caps. Relying in your bar’s format, you might also want splicing sleeves, elbows, or wall flanges.

Listed here are easy steps to take earlier than you order to make sure that you get exactly what you have to for the proper foot rail system.

 

How a lot bar rail tubing do you want?

It’s best to measure very rigorously earlier than ordering tubing to your foot rail challenge. First, make a easy sketch by measuring both sides of the bar that can have foot rail.

It’s useful to make a digital rail on the ground round your bar with string or painter’s tape; doing this may enable you to visualize how a lot area you’ll want to your foot rail.

After getting laid out your design on the ground, measure every part to calculate the tubing you want. Tubing is bought in 2’, 4’, 6’ and eight’ lengths. In case your bar is longer than 8’, you could be a part of two items of tubing collectively to make a rail that matches your bar. Connecting the items is simple with a splicing sleeve, an inside connector that you just insert into the top of every tube.

Professional Tip: Preserve your tubing sections symmetrical when splicing collectively for stronger assist and aesthetic enchantment.

Measuring for corners

In case your foot rail plans embrace turning a nook, you could think about brackets and elbow fittings. To precisely measure foot rail tubing that can flip a nook, add the depth of the bracket minus the scale of the elbow you may be utilizing. For instance, if you choose a bracket that holds the rail 6 inches from the face of the bar, that bracket will add practically 6 inches to the general size of the rail you have to. (6’ part of bar + 6” bracket depth – 3” elbow becoming dimension = 6’ 3” part of tubing wanted)

Spherical up your measurement

When ordering tubing, it’s all the time smart to spherical as much as the closest foot. In case your bar will not be a full foot increment (i.e., 6′, 7′) however relatively has some inch increment (i.e., 6’2″, 7’2″), you have to to order as much as the following foot. So in case your bar is 3’2″, you could order a 4-foot piece of tubing. In case your bar is 7’2″, you could order an 8-foot piece of tubing, and so forth. When putting in your tubing, you could minimize the rail with a noticed. It’s a lot simpler (and cheaper) to chop off extra tubing than it’s to attach extra.

What number of bar rail brackets do you want?

It’s essential to set up brackets to carry the tubing in place to assist your foot rail. To make sure your foot rail has the fitting assist, you’ll want a bracket 2-6 inches from the top of your tubing or elbow and a further bracket for each 3-4 toes of tubing. For instance, when you have 8 toes of tubing, you’ll want one bracket on every finish and one within the heart, for a complete of three brackets.

Selecting your bracket fashion

Now is a wonderful time to make sure your bar face and flooring floor can assist the brackets you need to your challenge. Mixture brackets are the preferred choice as a result of they’re comparatively straightforward to put in. A combo bracket is connected to the face of the bar, with the foot resting on the ground for assist.

For many who need to use bar-mounted brackets, be sure to can entry the again of the die face to safe it correctly. To make sure sufficient assist, you could want so as to add depth to the face of your bar to assist the burden of the rear bolt. It requires a strong backing not less than ¾” deep.

Flooring mounted brackets in addition to rounded heart publish brackets (each customary and tall) provide the choice to put in bar foot rail with out having to screw {hardware} into the face of the bar. Simply guarantee you’ll be able to safely drill into the floor beneath the bracket to safe it correctly.

Bracket Kinds:

• Bar mount brackets
• Mixture brackets
• Flooring mount brackets
• 90-degree brackets
• Heart publish brackets
• Rounded heart publish brackets
• Tall rounded heart publish brackets

Seek the advice of our Bar Foot Rail Brackets Information to study concerning the look, top, and performance of the numerous bracket types we provide. Choose brackets that greatest complement the feel and appear of your bar. Most prospects will order brackets in a end that matches their bar rail, however you too can select a contrasting end so as to add a singular contact to your challenge.

What top and distance do you put in bar foot rail brackets?

Bar foot rail sometimes sits 6-8” from the bottom, relying on the fashion of bar rail brackets used. You possibly can go greater to accommodate the peak of your bar stools or countertop. We advocate utilizing bar mounted brackets or ordering customized bar rail brackets for installations requiring a top higher than 8”.

Whereas brackets that mount to the bar face create a hard and fast distance away from the bar that your foot rail may be put in, there’s a bracket choice that enables you some flexibility. Rounded heart publish brackets mount strictly to the ground, which lets you select how removed from the bar you arrange your bar rail. We advocate putting in heart publish brackets 6” from the bar, however you’ll be able to set up them both farther away or nearer as wanted.

What different elements do I would like for my bar rail challenge?

After getting sketched out the format to your bar rail and decided how a lot tubing you have to, it is best to jot down the amount and magnificence of every other elements you have to to finish your challenge.

An in depth checklist of the variety of brackets, splicing sleeves, finish caps, flanges, and/or elbows you’ll want to your challenge, together with dimension, fashion, and/or end, might be an enormous assist when ordering.

Finish Caps & Flanges

For the standard bar rail set up, you have to two finish caps, one for every finish of the tubing. Relying in your style or challenge specs, you’ll be able to select from domed, flush, or ornamental finish caps.

In the event you’re wanting to make use of steel finish caps with a wood rail, simply make certain to pick finish caps marked as “exterior fittings.” Exterior fittings are elements that match across the outer diameter of the tubing, and since wood rails are strong, your finish caps want to suit across the wooden.

In case your bar space butts as much as an adjoining wall, you should utilize wall flanges as an alternative of finish caps to safe the ends of your foot rail.

Elbows

For bar areas which are L-shaped or have a number of corners, elbow fittings might be wanted to wrap the bar rail round a nook and join the separate runs of tubing. Relying on the format of your bar, you’ll be able to select from both 90 or 45/135-degree angle fittings or adjustable elbow fittings.

Choosing a bar foot rail end

That is probably the most enjoyable step. Select a end you want based mostly on its look and one you’re keen to carry out the required quantity of upkeep on. Some finishes are simpler to keep up than others. Try our Bar Rail Upkeep Information to study extra about caring for the completely different finishes we provide.

In the event you plan on putting in your bar foot rail outside, select a end designed to resist the weather. You can even select to have our different finishes protected by a transparent coat. This can help you preserve your bar rail’s shine over time, even whether it is used for an outside bar.

Along with our customary end choices, we additionally supply customized finishes. In the event you present us with a pattern of your required end or shade, we are able to end all your tubing and elements to match.

---

Instance Bar Foot Rail Layouts

Based mostly on the steps outlined above, let’s look at just a few frequent examples of what you’d want to put in foot rails on completely different bar layouts.

6’ Bar Foot Rail – Straight Bar

• (1) 6-foot bar rail tube
• (3) brackets
• (2) finish caps

10’ Bar Foot Rail – Straight Bar

• (3) 4-foot bar rail tubes (two tubes might be minimize down to three’)
• (2) splicing sleeves
• (4) brackets
• (2) finish caps

12’ Bar Foot Rail – Straight Bar

• (2) 6-foot bar rail tubes
• (1) splicing sleeve
• (5) brackets
• (2) finish caps

10’ x 4’ Bar Foot Rail – L-shaped Bar

• (4) 4-foot bar rail tubes (two tubes might be minimize down to three’)
• (2) – splicing sleeves
• (6) – brackets
• (1) – elbow becoming
• (2) – finish caps

4’ x 10 x 4’ Bar Foot Rail – U-shaped Bar

• (5) 4-foot bar rail tubes (two tubes might be minimize down to three’)
• (2) splicing sleeves
• (8) brackets
• (2) elbow fittings
• (2) finish caps

---

How To Set up Bar Foot Rail

Instruments Wanted For Putting in Bar Foot Rail

Professional Tip: Preparation is essential when putting in bar foot rails. Somewhat little bit of prep will eradicate waste and/or errors. Defend your tubing from scratches and dings throughout set up. In case your tubing arrives wrapped in a layer of plastic movie, maintain this masking in place so long as attainable to assist shield it.

Step 1: Reducing Tubing (non-compulsory)

You will have to regulate the size of the tubing you buy to make it the proper dimension to your bar. It’s essential to make these changes earlier than assembling your system. To do that, first, measure and mark the place you have to to chop your tubing. When figuring out tube minimize lengths, remember the fact that the splicing joints must be hidden inside a bracket. Preserve your sections of tubing symmetrical when splicing collectively for stronger assist and higher aesthetic enchantment. Just remember to double-check all your measurements earlier than you chop.

Reducing Brass Tubing:

• You should use both a hacksaw or a powered radial arm noticed to chop brass tubing.
• It is vitally vital that your cuts be sq. to the size of the tube.
• In the event you use a hacksaw, use a miter field to make certain your cuts are straight.
• In case you are utilizing a powered radial noticed arm, use a fine-toothed blade or an abrasive wheel.
• After chopping the rail, file it to easy the sting.

Reducing Stainless Metal Tubing:

• Chrome steel is a more durable alloy than brass, so that you’ll need to use a powered radial arm noticed with a carbide tip blade for stainless-steel tubing.
• It is vitally vital that your cuts be sq. to the size of the tube.
• After chopping the rail, file it to easy the sting.

Step 2: Loosely Assemble Foot Rail

As soon as your tubing is the best size, loosely assemble the foot rail by making use of a water-based lubricant and sliding the tubing by means of the brackets. It’s vital to do that earlier than splicing so you do not have to slip brackets down a protracted size of tubing.

Professional tip: Make certain the openings of your brackets are clear and easy to keep away from scratches when sliding them into place.

Don’t get too excited and get forward of your self, you don’t need to connect tubing to the brackets with set screws, or connect the brackets to the wall simply but.

Step 3: Splice Tubes Collectively (non-compulsory)

To affix two items of tubing collectively, you have to to insert inside connectors known as splicing sleeves. These steel items are inserted into the top of every tube. To insert a splice right into a tube, compress the splice with a pair of channel lock pliers and push it into the top of the primary piece of tubing. Then, do the identical with the opposite finish of the splice and insert it into the second piece of tubing that you just need to join.

A greatest follow is to position your brackets the place tubes are spliced collectively. This offers added stability and power to your foot rail and a neater look the place the joints are hid by your bracket.

Step 4: Mark The place Your Brackets Will Go

Use a pencil to mark the place your brackets will go on the bar face. To make sure a stage and steady foot rail, you’ll want a bracket 2-6 inches from the top of your tubing or elbow and a further bracket each 3-4 toes thereafter. For instance, if you’re putting in an 8’ run of bar rail, you’ll want one bracket on every finish and one within the heart, for a complete of three brackets.

To carry the screws in place, the bracket requires a strong backing not less than 3/4-inch deep. Now is an effective time to double-check that your bar can assist the brackets (in case you didn’t verify if you initially ordered them).

In case you are utilizing a wall to safe your bracket, discovering a wall stud for mounting is right. If studs aren’t attainable, you should utilize a wall anchor as an alternative; nevertheless, you will need to decide the proper dimension and sort that you just want.

Do you have to require wall anchors, we advise a visit to your native ironmongery store. Wall anchors are available in quite a lot of sizes and kinds. The professionals on the ironmongery store ought to be capable to reply any questions that you just may need concerning the most effective wall anchor to your job.

Step 5: Set up & Safe Brackets

As soon as you’re snug with the position of your brackets and rails, you’re prepared to connect them to your bar or wall. Begin by pre-drilling all of the holes in your bar and flooring (if relevant).

As soon as all your pilot holes are drilled, connect the brackets to the wall and flooring with mounting screws alongside the primary straight part of your bar, leaving a bit wiggle room to regulate as you go. As soon as all of the mounting screws are in place, tighten them to make sure your bar foot rail is correctly safe.

Professional Tip: In the event you’re utilizing a wall flange instead of a assist bracket, slide the flange onto the tube earlier than securing that part of foot rail to the bar. Bear in mind which you can solely exchange a assist bracket with a flange if the flange is mounted to a strong backing.

Step 6: Safe Tubing To Brackets

Safe the unfastened tubing to the brackets with set screws. We’re all about comfort right here at KegWorks, so if you purchase foot rail elements from us, the set screws that include them are self-drilling/self-tapping. For added comfort, you could need to pre-drill any crucial holes for set screws earlier than mounting brackets to the bar, relying on the quantity of room you need to work with.

Step 7: Set up Elbows

In the event you’re putting in your rail round a nook, you will want to connect the elbow to the put in foot rail securely. Then, connect the second loosely assembled foot rail part to the elbow.

Step 8: Connect Finish Caps

Bar foot rail finish caps are designed to suit loosely to permit room for error through the manufacturing course of. To connect them, merely slide the top cap into the top of the tubing. We advocate coating the within of the top of your tubing with an adhesive, comparable to Loctite Purple or JB Weld SuperWeld, earlier than inserting the top caps for a everlasting bond. You can even wrap the stem of the top cap with masking tape or electrical tape a number of instances earlier than sliding it into the tubing for a cosy match.

And there you’ve got it! Your bar now has a cultured and cozy foot rail put in so that you can take pleasure in. Now, take a step again, pour your self a drink, and admire your handiwork!

---

Sustaining Your Bar Foot Rail

Relying on the kind of steel and end, there are alternative ways to take care of and clear your foot rail. Utilizing improper cleansing strategies or merchandise could harm the end. To maintain your bar rail wanting pretty much as good because it did when first put in, learn our cleansing and sustaining bar rail for correct cleansing methods for each sort of bar rail end.