Can Wilsonart laminates and quartz deliver an attractive bar design? Tony Roma’s Steakhouse believes so. Learn how Wilsonart laminate and quartz was used for bar finishes and bar tops for Tony Roma’s Steakhouse.
WILSONART LAMINATE AND QUARTZ FOR TONY ROMAS BAR DESIGN
When we were contracted to design this bar for Tony Roma’s we’d been asked to replicate the look of this bar, which had been designed for their flagship store in Orlando, earlier. This was a new design that Tony Roma’s had adopted. Working only from a photograph, I was in disbelief when I was told that the inlaid panels had been fabricated from a laminate. At first glance I thought it was marble. In reality, the laminate and the countertops were creations of Wilsonart. I should have figured! Yep, the same Wilsonart samples you’ll see in the kitchen departments at your local Home Depot, Lowe’s and other big-box stores. I’m here to tell you, these Wilsonart products are perfectly legitimate for any bar design. The trick, of course, is in the details.Â
COMMON METHODS FOR FABRICATING LAMINATES
A common method for laminating is to use particleboard as a substrate. However, the use of MDF board as a substrate for laminates is a more durable and far superior solution nowadays. For this application a product was selected from the ‘Solicor’ series of the Wilsonart lineup. Wilsonart offers numerous choices of terrific, high pressure laminates. The product we used specifically for this application is the Wilsonart ‘Calcutta Marble‘, part number 4925 – 38, that has the fine velvet finish. Some do-it-yourselfers can choose to do their own laminating, but for those that want a ready-made solution, just go to a local cabinet shop, or even go to Home Depot or Lowe’s and I’m sure you can order these panels to your specifications and they’ll probably cost you about US$25 a square foot.
Now here’s a typical bar section and the laminated panel I’m showing here as items 19 and 20, which is mounted to a sheet of 3/8″ LP Smartside, shown here as item 18, that runs the upper portion of the bar die. Now if you look closely, here’s the sidng product I just mentioned, behind all this trim. This is a cedar textured panel, shown here, by LP Smartside, a residential siding product, which is available at all big-box stores. But I digress.
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WILSONART QUARTZ PRODUCTS FOR BAR TOPS
In addition to laminates, Wilsonart has a broad lineup of quartz products. We used quartz bar tops through this project throughout on the front bar, back bar and the supports for the ADA bar accommodation. The part number we used for this project was ‘Grey Lake Q1009’, shown in the sketch below. In terms of cost, 3CM quartz begins at about US$100 a square foot. The quartz used for this project is $130 a square foot, as shown, with a 3-inch dropped edge.
Now I don’t want to leave you without discussing all this trim. The lateral trim elements are called ‘rails’ and the elements that go vertically are called ‘stiles’. This is another product by LP Smartside – it’s their ‘Smartside Trim’. We used the 440 series and the 540 series. The 540 series is 5/4-board, the 440 series is 4/4-board. As we go back to the section view, I’ll zoom-in here and you’ll notice that the narrower components, shown here – item 15 for instance and at the bottom, those are the 4/4 boards and the two boards in the middle – here and here – these are the 5/4 boards and give you a little deeper reveal.
Getting back to our photo, you’ll notice the top board is narrower than the intermediate board, below it. This adds a little character to the design.
WILSONART IS A GLOBAL COMPANY
No matter your application, Wilsonart is a global company. When it comes to laminates and quartz applications, the Wilsonart customer service group will be happy to refer you to a distributor or fabricator in your area. I contact them frequently and they’re always helpful. See you next time!
RELATEDÂ DOWNLOADS:
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DISCLAIMER: The above video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for the support!
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