Blocks of Ice Make A Bar

This is the Ice Bar project crew. From left to right: Daniel Sepulveda-Adams, Jorge Saavedra and Hugo Saavedra. We had a great time planning and working on this project. We endured frequent nights of below-zero working temperatures, frozen hands and feet, and at least one solid blow to the head from a falling ice block.

Before we started construction, we did a lot of planning, diagramming and calculation. More geometry than any of us have done since high school. There was endless discussion about design and construction methods. There's no how-to on building a structure out of ice blocks. Initially we considered building an interior framework to support the ice blocks during the construction of the arched roof. We decided to build it without any supports of any kind during construction. We relied entirely on the amazing qualities of ice and slush to build the structure completely unsupported.

Ice blocks were molded using plastic storage tubs. We made smaller blocks in smaller plastic storage tubs, and then placed a small block in a larger tub, added snow, then filled with water. Each block contains about 3 gallons of water and measures 13"x20"x6". Blocks weigh about 25-30 pounds each and we manufactured about 230 blocks. The structure has about 210 blocks in it. Additional blocks were used to form the entry door frame, the bar, and ice furniture.

Ice block making happened late at night and early in the morning. It takes about 24 hours to make a block, and the ice is strongest after a couple of days.

This was before any of the construction started. We accumulated about 60 blocks before we started the build.

After selecting placement of the Ice Bar in the backyard, we laid out its orientation and cleared the snow from the site.

Moving ice blocks was quite a work out.

We usually began the work sessions by moving the blocks we needed out to the Ice Bar, then scraping the snow off of each one, and selecting the best blocks for the build.

Then we started placing blocks in a rectangle to form the base of the Ice Bar structure. We used "mortar" made of snow/water slush to set the blocks on the frozen ground, and to attach blocks to each other. Slushy (which is Spanish for "slush") and ice blocks are the only materials we used to build the Ice Bar.

A few large plastic kitchen spoons were the most-used tools in the project. These were used to apply Slushy to the blocks as we built the Ice Bar.

Construction started at night. We would usually meet at the house at about 6:30 and work until 9 or 10, then have a late dinner. Construction of the Ice Bar took about 150 man hours, not counting the time it took to manufacture the ice blocks.

The finished base made up of 28 blocks.

We were amazed at how quickly and solidly the blocks froze to the ground and to each other. We chose the coldest nights for construction and we would discuss the forecast almost daily to schedule the work sessions.

The base of the Ice Bar is 10x14 feet with a maximum interior height of 7 feet at the top of the arch. The Ice Bar is oriented off center to the north/south axis to reduce the amount of time any of the walls are exposed to the midday sun.

Daniel with the completed base in the background.

These photos don't communicate how enjoyably cold it was during many of the work sessions. We would work until we could not stand the cold any more, then go indoors to warm up and have a sip of scotch. Experts recommend against drinking liquor to guard against the cold because the effect of alcohol is to cool you down more rapidly. We found the opposite to be true.


Cold weather gear was vital

And after taking a falling ice block to the head, Daniel opted for wearing a helmet during construction as part of his work attire.

After the base was complete, we started raising the front and back walls. These two walls are vertical and will later be formed into half-circles to support the arched roof.

Elias Saavedra joined us for the construction of the front and back walls so we had two crews of two working. The walls went up quickly.

The front wall is complete.

The rear wall is complete. Later we added blocks to the top and sides to make each wall into a half-circle with a 7 foot radius.

The completed front and rear walls.

After the front and rear walls were built, we started on the sidewalls. This photo shows base row of blocks and two new rows. The side walls arch in towards the center of the Ice Bar.

Here the side walls are four rows high. In this photo you can see how each successive row starts to form the arch. It was fun to see effect that the light has on ice.


This is the view from the inside. Now it's starting to feel like an enclosed structure.

We had a few days of above-freezing temperatures so we protected the most south-facing of the walls from the sun.

Once we had five rows of blocks on each side of the arched roof, we started to build complete arches across to span the remaining open space. Here is our first complete arch at the halfway point.

We also cut a small door to get inside the Ice Bar. Here Daniel gives you an idea of the size of the structure.

And here is the outside with the first complete arch in place.

Here you can see our progress including the first full arch. The back wall still needs a few blocks at the top, and it's not yet carved into a full arch to match the front wall.

Looking in from the back. The first arch was an important test of our theory that we could build the arches without any support other than the structure itself. The real test would be the succeeding arches which will not rest on a wall structure like this first one.

Here Daniel is standing under the unfinished third arch. We were able to build successive arches without any support other than the preceding arch. Each block is secured only with slushy, and we held each in place for a minute or two until the slushy solidified enough to support the weight of the block.

After completing the third arch. It's beginning to feel like an Ice Bar.

This is pretty typical of how our gloves and our clothes ended up after a work session on the Ice Bar. These gloves are soaked with cold water, and crusted with ice chunks.

Splattered with ice chunks, and gloves covered with ice. We are taking a break to warm up with a bit of scotch.

After four arches. Just two more rows left to go to enclose the structure completely.

It took a lot of work and a lot of hours to get to this point. There's only two rows, or about 10 blocks, left to complete the structure.

Just a couple of blocks left to close in the Ice Bar!

And finally it's complete!

Here it is from the outside. Daniel is leaning on the partially finished frame we made for the entry.

This was a few days later when we returned to finish the entryway, and to begin work on the interior. This is Daniel and a friend visiting him from Chile.

My neighbors have been watching the progress of the Ice Bar. They came by to check it out, and share a drink.

We also tried out the ice glasses we made.

Here's the finished entry. We also made the entryway larger.

What would an Ice Bar be without a bar?

We also built a VIP seating area.

We started to add lights.

Here's the seating we built, with lights shining through the ice. The bench was later covered with rigid foam insulation and a cloth cover to make it more comfortable.