A 6 foot bar gives you 72 inches of underbar run, and that is just short of what a full bartender station needs: with our standard pieces, an underbar three compartment sink, an ice chest and a hand sink add up to at least 74 inches. So on a 6 foot bar you either take one piece off the underbar run, usually the hand sink or the three compartment sink, or you pick pieces that do two jobs.
Shop the equipment in this article: underbar ice bins, underbar drainboards and cocktail stations. Freight is included on every order.
Start with the sinks you must have
Under the FDA Food Code, a sink with at least three compartments is required for manually washing, rinsing and sanitizing equipment and utensils, unless alternative equipment is approved (Food Code 4-301.12). A two compartment sink is one of those alternatives, but only with approval, only for limited batches of kitchenware, and not for a continuous flow of tableware in an ongoing washing process, which is what a bar washing glasses all night does. A handwashing sink must also be located to allow convenient use by employees in food dispensing and warewashing areas (Food Code 5-204.11). Ask your local health department which sinks it wants at your bar before you plan anything else; it has the final say, and its answer decides most of the 72 inches.
Equipment lengths to work with
These sizes come from our own product pages, most of them in our commercial bar sinks range. The length is the measurement that runs along the bar; the depth is front to back.
- Underbar three compartment sink, bowls only: the page lists 38 x 18.75 in. with three 14 x 10 x 10 in. bowls, even though the product title says 36 in.
- Underbar three compartment sink with right drainboard, S3C-101410-R-F: 48 x 19 in., three 10 x 14 x 9.5 in. bowls, 32.75 in. working height
- One compartment underbar sink, BAR-S1C-1014-F: 12 in. long, 19 in. front to back, 10 x 14 x 9.5 in. bowl
- Stainless ice chest with sliding lid: 24 in. long (listed as 19 x 24 in.), 22 x 15 x 12 in. insulated bowl
- FSIB-1836 ice chest: 36 x 19 in., 34 x 15 x 15 in. insulated bowl
- Underbar hand sink with soap and towel dispensers: 22 in. wide, 12, 15 or 18 in. deep
- UMS-2218 mixology station: 22.5 in. wide, 18 in. deep, 33 in. high, with a sink bowl, glass rinser and dipper well in one unit; on backorder, listed as shipping in 2 to 4 weeks
- Underbar drainboards: 18 or 22 in. deep, 12 to 48 in. long
- Speed rails mount on the front of the sink or ice bin and take no length from the run
Why the full station does not fit
The bowls-only three compartment sink (38 in.) plus the 24 in. ice chest uses 62 inches and leaves 10. Our smallest underbar hand sink is listed at 18 x 12 in., so even counted at 12 inches the three pieces come to 74 inches, two more than a 6 foot bar has. The 8 foot plan in our guide on how to lay out an 8 foot bar fits all three because it has 24 more inches to work with.
Layout 1: wash and ice under the bar, hand sink on the back wall
Three compartment sink with drainboard, 48 in., plus ice chest, 24 in., adds up to 72 inches. The hand sink moves to the wall behind the bar, using a compact wall mount model such as the WHS-1212 (12 x 12 in., 10 x 8 x 5 in. bowl, gooseneck faucet included). This works only if your health department accepts that location as convenient for the bartender, and it leaves no slack, so your clear run must really be 72 inches.
Layout 2: a shorter run with slack
If walls are out of square, use the bowls-only three compartment sink (38 in.) and the 24 in. ice chest. That is 62 inches with 10 inches spare for a trash can or a gap at a post. Glasses still need drainboard or rack space somewhere, since the Food Code calls for room to hold soiled and clean items (Food Code 4-301.13). The hand sink again goes on the back wall.
Layout 3: hand sink and ice under the bar, glass washing elsewhere
If your bar is next to a dish area and the health department approves washing bar glassware there, keep the underbar run for service: underbar hand sink, 22 in., plus FSIB-1836 ice chest, 36 in., plus a 12 in. drainboard adds up to 70 inches, with 2 inches spare.
Things the arithmetic does not show
- Measure the clear length between finished walls or bar ends at floor level, not the length of the bar top, which usually overhangs.
- Find the floor drain and water lines before you fix the order of the pieces.
- Check the height under your bar top. The underbar sinks list a 32.75 in. working height and the UMS-2218 is 33 in. high.
- Back bar refrigeration does not use underbar inches. Our back bar and bottle coolers are listed with their widths; the True TD-36-12-HC bottle cooler, for example, is 36-5/8 in. wide and holds 11 cases of 12 oz bottles.
What to buy
Choose the sinks first, in lengths from 12 to 48 inches, then pick an underbar ice bin that fits the inches left, and fill any gap with an underbar drainboard. Wall mount models for the back wall are in our hand sinks, and combined units are in cocktail stations and workstations. Add bottle storage from our bar refrigeration. Express KitchQuip stainless steel underbar equipment is NSF certified, and freight to the 48 contiguous states is included in the price.