DIY-er brings the pub to his own backyard in a tiki-inspired garden shed project that cost £802

The coronavirus lockdown saw our favourite pubs shutting their doors, with many of us getting creative at home with cocktails, and free-poured G&T’s one man took his creativity a step further and brought the pub into his own garden ideas. The lockdown project cost him just £802, with many items sourced for free from Facebook marketplace.

Thomas Sherratt, 31 from Stoke-on-Trent told Ideal Home that he had the idea for his very own backyard bar just over a year ago, in the UK’s first lockdown.

Tiki-inspired garden pub

‘With my wife being pregnant and the pubs being shut I needed to do something,’ the dad-of-two said of the unique garden shed idea. ‘We had been talking about doing a home bar but never went through with it.’

Thomas said he came across tiki bars online, thought they ‘looked cool’ and set out to build one of his own. ‘I collected loads of things from reclamation yards to closing down pubs, to skips and Facebook marketplace,’ the electrician said.

Most of the material was salvaged by Thomas for free, including 27 wooden pallets destined for the skip which he used for the bar’s walls and roof (the ultimate pallet idea for a garden); a free double fridge from a restaurant closure, a free log burner and fire bricks from Facebook Marketplace, and a free beer cooler from a bar closing down. 

In progress

He sourced items at a budget price too, including a corrugated roof from a farm (£30), wooden cladding from Facebook Marketplace for £50; and a large table (£60), bar optics (£90), bar signs (£10) and beer glasses (£20) from a pub closure.

‘We started on a piece of the garden that was just a blank canvas of hardwood,’ he added. The project took Thomas eight weeks to build, and he learned how to do it along the way by watching Youtube videos and using forums. ‘I loved every minute of it,’ he said. ‘The best part was when the bar was put in.

The finished result

‘We have pumps on the go and we have loads of beers from lagers to craft beers, as well as spirits,’ he told us. ‘We also do take passion in keeping it local and getting a load from local breweries and distilleries,’

The Tiki Junglebar has a thatched roof, working bar taps, neon signs, and is complete with trailing plants, free tiki masks from Facebook Marketplace and a living wall made from wooden pallets. It even has multiple signposts with names of different bars, pubs and breweries from around the world, pointing in the direction of his own favourite drinking spots.

‘We only offer invites as we are not a proper pub but when we do it’s a great time, whether it’s [watching] the football or rugby, or we decide to have a film night in the bar, every occasion is just as good,’ he said.

Thomas documented his journey on his Instagram page (@the_tiki_junglebar), amassing over 9,000 followers - and he has since entered The Tiki Junglebar into this year’s Cuprinol Shed of the Year contest.

‘We have entered into this year’s Shed of the Year competition, so any votes would be a massive help,’ he added. ‘We would love to win and have the award showing in the bar!’