Throughout history, bars for man caves have always been banished to the basement. Then, from the depths, a brilliant idea emerged. Why not break free from your house’s puny footprint, and build a man cave completely separate from the house?
The centerpiece of any happy man cave is the bar. From here inspiration, libations and poor betting decisions flow. But bars for man caves are only as good as their surroundings. And we’re sorry, but a basement just won’t cut it anymore.
In this post, we’ll share an uplifting new approach for man cave bars: Building exterior buildings for man caves — specifically, post-frame structures (pole barns as they’re commonly known).
It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for the entire man cave movement.
The Benefits of Building Your Man Cave in a Separate Building
We’ll share some man cave bar ideas with you, sure. But we’re also going to open your eyes to see what happens when they’re placed in an exterior building. Check out what you get when you move out of the basement!
1. A Place to Park Your Bikes
The flexibility of the exterior building allows for multi-purpose use. Note plenty of room to park the bikes, then put the kickstand down and pour yourself a cold one!
2. A Place to Park Your Planes
Do more than park your bike in the bar. Park the plane! Note the man cave sectional couch and bar to the left, plane to the right in the picture below. And check out our post on airplane hangars with living spaces.
3. Extra Ceiling-Room for Manly Decor
The high ceiling allows for beer signs, pennants, beer lights…you name it! And this 100 year old bar was rescued from an old building that was being torn down – who says you can’t be manly and environmentally conscious at the same time?
4. Extra Overhead Space for Big-Game Trophies
High ceilings allow you to display the trophies of your hunting trips. Why waste a bear rug on the floor?
5. Room to Practice Your Golf Swing
Want a little exercise? How about a virtual driving range?
6. Room to Practice Your Softball Swing (or Run a Deep Route)
Batter up! Looks like you could even throw a few football passes here, too!
7. The Ability to Work on Your Truck Only a Few Feet From the Man Cave Bar
Did you ever try and back your pick-up into the basement? With an exterior building, you can have all the tools, projects and libations in the same area just steps apart!
8. Plenty of Space to Install a Manly Bathroom
The bathroom includes everything you want, especially when you’re starting from the ground up. (Gotta love the urinal in this place!)
9. A Man Cave Inside a Man Cave
Just when you thought things couldn’t get even more excellent, they have. Check out the full indoor workspace, which we featured earlier. The upstairs is storage space, but what’s behind the door on the right?
A man cave within a man cave! Extensive space to kick back and watch whatever the heck you want.
10. Garage Doors Which Add Natural Air-Conditioning
And how about a nice breeze to keep the bar cool on those summer nights? The owner dropped mosquito netting over this door. It also has a standard overhead door that covers the garage door for the cold days.
11. A fortress of solitude
You can build a man cave with a huge driveway and extra-high garage doors. Note the ample space around the building. Nothing but woods and driveway.
Man Cave Options Galore
Note that with post-frame construction, almost any floor plan or customized detail is possible. You could build yourself a football field size hangar for the mother of all man cave bars. You can include features such as:
- Stained and sealed concrete floors in the main living space
- Fully-screened porch area
- Full kitchen, with stove
- Automatic floor sweeper (no domestic duties allowed)
- In-floor, hot water radiant heat
- Air-conditioning
- Cold-storage space in the back for tractor, 2-3 lawn mowers, snow blowers, and whatever mechanical implement needed
Man Cave Bar Accessories
To ensure the highest quality man cave, you must equip it with the proper accessories. While we detail many of these in our epic blog post “23 Can’t-Miss Man Cave Ideas for Your Pole Barn,” here are some of our favorites.
Beer Bottle Lights
You’ve got to love this beer bottle chandelier we found on Etsy.
Cassette Deck Coffee Table
Reinventing an old favorite! We found this at Odditymall!
Beer Bottle Cap Holders
Ideal if you love to sample different beers, and show off the experience. We found this bad boy at Kegworks.
Beer Keg Urinal
Not sure if there is, has been or ever will be an invention as cool as this in the history of humankind. We found it on Etsy.
Important Considerations for Building the Man Cave Bar
The man cave buildings we’ve shown you are serious business. They require a lot of precision engineering, design, and construction. A builder that specializes in pole barns can help you. But whatever builder you choose, keep these things in mind when it comes to the bar:
1. Plan for Everything
The bar will be the centerpiece of the man cave. That’s a given.
But what else will you want? Think about all the potential items on the wish list — from urinals to foosball tables, and all things in between. Get everything down on paper, and then start planning out items based on your available space and the location of the bar.
2. Work Around Your Mechanicals and Water Plumbing
Where will the bar be in relation to the plumbing? How will you heat (and cool) the building? The mechanicals need to come first, and your builder will help you plan out the most efficient locations.
And, if you plan on washing your vehicles indoors during inclement or winter weather, you’ll want to include a wash drain in your floor as well as a source for water in the wash area.
3. Coordinate Your Air-Tool Plumbing With the Rest of the Man Cave Functions
If you’re building your man cave with a workshop in the same building — and you are into restoring or working on cars, tractors, ATVs, etc. — you could be using air-powered (pneumatic) tools.
It’s important to think strategically about where your air-tool plumbing/pipes will go to give you convenient access to a centralized compressed air system.
Join the Revolution: Start Designing Your Man Cave Today!
It’s time for you to emerge from the depths of the basement and build the man cave of your dreams above ground.
Click on the link below and take a look at our 3D design tool. Reference some of the tips and ideas you’ve seen above, and then get manly!
