A Refurbished Bar - The Laboratory

The Laboratory (or “The Lab”) is a brewpub and kitchen located in Lincoln, Canterbury.

A building that started construction in 2012 by English owners Martin and Lisa Bennett, the goal of the project was to construct the entire building and its interior finishings out of refurbished and salvaged timber from the Canterbury Earthquakes.

When Ruben from Ruben’s Joinery was enlisted to take on the timber joinery work and manufacturing in this project, the client told Ruben that despite it being a new build, they wanted it to have the appearance that it “has been there for 100 years”. The bar was one of the key features of the Laboratory and most of the timber used was taken from the Hororata Hotel, which was damaged from the 2010 earthquakes.

This was a three-year project, and one of our largest projects to date. The bar itself took over 8 months to construct because of the bar requiring extensive refurbishment and conditioning to be usable and live up to the standards and the brief from the client. Alongside the bar, we also manufactured the grand timber doors in the courtyard, the entrance doors to the pub, the staircase and timber windows.

Challenge:

The primary challenge with this project was that most of the project was to be manufactured with refurbished timber. This provided difficulties, as our team had to salvage timber that remained intact and could be used in our joinery work, while also having to refurbish and recondition damaged timber. The client was passionate and had a clear vision of creating a pub that had a lot of character and was the heart of the local Lincoln community.

Bar:

The result of the refurbished bar creates a warm and inviting atmosphere for customers. We carefully crafted the panelling across the base and top of the bar with carved detailing, polishing the reconditioned wood back to its former glory. The result is a bar that depicts a classic style where customers can enjoy their food and beverages in a warm, intimate setting.

Entrance Doors:

These large entrance doors have been carefully refurbished and painted black to provide a striking entranceway to the bar. The result ensures that the doors fit in with the client's vision and the vintage look of the building.

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