5-Foot Folding Cedar Bar Build Plans — DIY PDF

FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR COMMERCIAL OR RESALE

5-Foot Folding Cedar Bar Plans — Digital PDF

Build your own 5-foot folding cedar bar with these step-by-step plans. The finished bar stands about 41" tall with a countertop about 61" long, and it's built entirely from standard 6-foot cedar fence pickets — natural cedar, no finish required. The two side panels fold flat against the front on 3" light strap hinges, and the shelf and countertop lift off and set back on by hand, so the bar folds up for storage and hauling and sets back up fast.

The countertop is the longest piece at about 61 inches, so a truck bed or an SUV with the seats down hauls the folded bar easily, and folded flat it stores against a garage wall between events.

Build It as a Coffee Cart, Too

Plenty of people use these plans to build a mobile coffee cart. The flat cedar counter holds an espresso machine, a grinder, and a pour-over setup with room to work; the shelf inside keeps beans, cups, and syrups out of sight and within reach. It folds flat on strap hinges — sides fold in, shelf and countertop lift off — so it loads into an SUV or truck for markets, weddings, and events, and stores flat between them. Coffee, matcha, or tea — if you're building a cart business, these plans build the cart. See how it works as a cart: the coffee cart that folds flat.

Build time: roughly 2.5 hours, once the pickets are dry.

Skill level: Beginner to intermediate. Every cut is a straight crosscut or rip on a fence picket, and every joint is glue, brad nails, and screws — no sheet goods to wrestle.

Before you buy — materials you'll need for one bar:

• 30 cedar fence pickets, 6 ft (72") x 5.5" x 5/8" — 28 go into the bar, plus 2 spare for splits, knots, and warp. Choose DRY pickets (see the dry-picket note below)
• Four 3" light strap hinges, black, with screws — sold in 6-packs, so one pack covers the bar and leaves 2 spare
• 1" wood screws — about 150
• 1" 18-gauge brad nails — about 200
• Titebond III wood glue — 1 bottle

Tools needed: miter saw or circular saw (crosscuts), table saw (ripping the 1.75" strips), drill/driver, 18-gauge brad nailer, tape measure, square, clamps, and a sander (120–220 grit).

What's included in the plans (18-page PDF):

• Materials / buy list
• Full cut lists for every part — countertop, front panel, both side panels, and shelf
• Step-by-step build instructions in build order — the shelf is built last and cut to fit your bar
• Dry-picket guidance — how to choose dry stock, and how to dry wet or green pickets before assembly
• Smoothing and finishing notes

Instant PDF download after purchase.

Start with dry pickets: pickets are often sold wet or green. The plans walk you through choosing dry stock — and if yours are wet, how to stack them with airflow and dry them for about a week before assembly, so the finished panels don't shrink and open gaps.

Weathering: left outdoors unsealed, natural cedar slowly mellows to a silvery gray. That's natural weathering — it does the bar no harm. If you'd rather keep the fresh cedar color, apply an exterior sealer or stain and reapply as it wears.

The exact hinges we use are linked on our Tools and Supplies We Use page.

Please note: this is a digital plan only — no finished bar and no materials are included. Plans are sold as-is with no warranty — once you've bought them, they're yours. 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.

Comparing the plans first? See the bar build plans overview for all our bar build plans side by side.