The Wobbly Carpenter — DIY Build Plans
Rustic 5-Foot Folding Cedar Bar Plans
Build a real cedar bar from standard fence pickets — natural cedar, no finish required. The sides fold in, the shelf and countertop lift off, and it stores away between events. Instant PDF download.
Get the Plans — $14.99
Digital plans only — no finished bar, no materials included.
The Bar You'll Build
Real cedar, board-and-batten construction — the same bar we sell locally, from plans you can build in an afternoon.
✅ About 41 inches tall — standard bar height — with a countertop about 61 inches long and a 55-inch front.
✅ Folds for storage: the side panels fold in flat against the front on 3-inch strap hinges, and the shelf and countertop lift off.
✅ Open back with a full-width shelf inside, resting on the middle battens — room for bottles, tubs, and supplies.
✅ Natural cedar, no finish required. Sand it smooth and it's ready — seal or stain it only if you want to hold the color (more on that in the plans).
What's Inside the PDF
18 pages that take you from a stack of pickets to a finished bar.
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Buy List
Every picket, hinge, screw, and brad — quantities included, so one trip to the store covers it.
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Full Cut Lists
Every piece dimensioned — countertop, front, sides, and shelf — plus the cutting layout showing how the cuts nest off the pickets: 28 pickets by the layout, buy 30 to cover splits and knots.
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Step-by-Step Build
Assembly in build order, with the shelf built last and cut to fit your assembled bar — measured with the countertop on, the way it actually fits.
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Cedar Guidance
How to pick dry pickets (and how to sticker wet ones), plus what to expect as cedar weathers outdoors.
Dry pickets matter. The plans walk you through choosing dry cedar at the store — and how to sticker and dry wet or green pickets before assembly, so your panels don't shrink and gap after the build.
Left outdoors, cedar changes. Unsealed cedar mellows to a silvery gray over time — it's natural and does the bar no harm. Prefer the fresh cedar color? The plans cover sealing or staining to keep it.
Tools & Hardware
Basic shop tools cover this build: a saw for the cuts and rips, a drill/driver, a brad nailer, clamps, and a sander. The full tools list is in the plans.
The bar folds on 3-inch light strap hinges — four per bar, two per corner. The exact hinges we use are linked on our Tools and Supplies We Use page.
Straight Talk — What You're Buying
Digital plans only. You get the PDF plan files — no finished bar and no materials are included.
Personal use only. For personal use only; not for commercial builds or resale, not for building bars to sell, and please don't share or redistribute the files.
No warranty on plans. Plans are sold as-is with no warranty — once you've bought them, they're yours.
Good to Know
Is it hard to build? No — it's about a 2.5-hour build once your pickets are dry, with basic tools. If you can measure, cut straight, and drive screws, you can build this bar.
Does it come in other sizes? These plans are for the 5-foot bar. (Our bar build plans overview covers the collapsible MDF bars in 5-foot and 6-foot sizes.)
What do I get when I buy? An instant PDF download right after purchase — the full 18-page plan set. No shipping and no waiting.
Build the Cedar Bar
Buy list, cut lists, and step-by-step instructions — one instant download.
Get the Plans — $14.99