I built an authentic Scots pub in my garden for less than £1k – everything inside was under a tenner
CHEERS TO THAT! I built an authentic Scots pub in my garden for less than £1k – everything inside was under a tenner
A SCOTS man has built an authentic pub in his garden for under £1,000 complete with roaring open fire, cask ale pumps and branded beer mats.
Iain Mason, 55, has converted his garage into 'Stoaters', a cosy six-seater boozer filled with genuine pub memorabilia.
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Iain Mason built his own pub in his garden for less than £1,000
Credit: SWNS
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Iain believes he spent around £900 creating Stoaters over a four-month period
Credit: SWNS
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He kept the budget down by ensuring everything inside cost less than £10
Credit: SWNS
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He even got his own branded beer mats and dart wings
Credit: SWNS
He kept the budget down by ensuring everything inside cost less than £10 or was being given away for free.
Iain sourced everything from pint glasses and tables to a dartboard and even the bar from charity shops and Facebook Marketplace.
He used timber from old palettes and wardrobes, and scoured Facebook Marketplace and charity shops deals and within four months he had constructed Stoaters, his garden pub.
Iain, of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, said: "My younger brother had a pub down the bottom of his garden.
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"I thought it was brilliant - just to walk down to the bottom of your own garden, sit in your own pub, have your own music on, and to feel like you're somewhere different.
"I didn't have an overall budget in mind - but I'd seen other ones where people had end up going wild.
"I think the sense of accomplishment is greater when you do have a budget and you can save here and there.
"By finding bargains and finding things to repurpose, there was a much greater sense of achievement.
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"I set an initial budget of £10 and under for everything. It's been really well-received. It's probably the best thing I've ever done.''
Iain travelled the country on his days off - finding furniture being sold for cheap or given away for free, and repurposing them to add to his 13 sq m bar.
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The only exceptions to the rule he says, were the fridge and TV, which required a little more of a splurge.
Overall, Iain believes he spent around £900 creating Stoaters over a four-month period.
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"I'm not a handyman - but my dad is very good at DIY and has taught me a few things over the years," he said.
"Once I had the layout of the bar, I was determined to do it properly. When I made a mistake, instead of living with it, I'd take it down and start again.
"I had to pay for things like wood stains and screws, but I didn't pay for any timber - it was all palettes and old wardrobes.
"I did have to spend a bit more on the fridge, which was new. The TV was secondhand, but that was still a little bit more.
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"There were a couple of things I had to spend a little bit more on, but the initial budget was everything £10 or under - and I was so determined to do it like that.
"The dartboard I got from a young couple in Greenock, who had just moved into a new flat and found that in a cupboard - that was £10 and I drove to get it as soon as I saw it. I was really happy with that.
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Iain unveiled his bar to his family and friends after keeping his progress secret
Credit: SWNS
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The pub with roaring open fire, cask ale pumps and branded beer mats
Credit: SWNS
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"The top of the bar itself was an old table that was broken, so that was given away. It's quite a long bar, so finding a big table probably would have been quite expensive.
"There's a small table in the corner that was being given away for a fiver by a cricket club. The fireplace was also being given for scrap.
"The shelves behind the bar that all the bottles are on - that was an old sideboard that a couple was getting rid of in Paisley.
"That was a great find - a really nice, sturdy old sideboard.
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"When I put that up in the corner of the bar, that's when it really started to turn into a bar and not just a room."
Iain unveiled his bar to his family and friends after keeping his progress secret from even his wife Sheena and daughter Olivia, 16.
He said: "My wife was genuinely impressed. The biggest compliment I have is when people say it's like a real pub."
Iain has two rules for visitors to his pub - everyone must take a turn behind the bar, and punters should leave behind a foreign banknote or a business card, in homage to a bartending job Iain had 30 years ago.
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"We've had some great nights," he said.
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