We Lowered Our Bar to Countertop Height!

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We had this bar top that just acted as a catch all. We had bar stools there but it wasn’t even a great bar because the countertop didn’t stick out enough so you couldn’t put your legs under it like you would at a table or a regular bar top.

We decided to lower it to countertop height since I was planning on painting and epoxying the counters for a quick fix and then saving up to replace the counters one day. Our friends lowered their bar top when replacing their countertops and it turned out amazing and so much more open! Here’s a quick video on the whole process.

I started by just removing a little bit of the drywall to see how the bar countertop was held on and to see where the wiring and water line was behind it. The plan was to unscrew it, trim down the 2×4 studs and only have to replace a little bit of the drywall.

Turns out, the countertop was screwed into place from the top and the brown laminate was put on over the screws. My next door neighbor came over to see how it was going and ended up having to just pry it off for me. I wasn’t strong enough to get it off myself. Luckily, the bar top wasn’t damaged at all. I was planning on just putting it back on at the lower height.

When we looked behind the drywall we could tell the water line was right at countertop level, so we decided to just remove all the drywall to make it easier to work on. Plus drywall is inexpensive to replace and I planned on doing a wall treatment here anyways.

Tyler cut down the 2×4 studs with his circular saw. Then we had to lower the water line and put the outlets In different locations because there were 3 outlets on the front of the bar and a switch to the garbage disposal. We turned the garbage disposal switch into a button that is now next to the faucet on our new sink. We like it so much better than the switch! That red tube is the hot water line and the blue is the cold water line.

Once all that was done we put the bar top back on and I filled the seam with joint compound to get it ready for paint and epoxy. Looking back, I’d probably try to fill the seam with Bondo instead, it’s way stronger.

I would have made the end of the countertop even but the drywall below it stuck out and I couldn’t remove that because there is no tile flooring under the drywall. And if I did I’d have to replace the whole floor and I’m just not ready for that. But when we replace these counters one day we plan on making this end even.

Kitchen links here.

Sorry, no pretty “after” photos here, you’ll have to wait till the next post when it’s all painted and epoxied!