Outdoor kitchen build

FnC80

0
Gold Supporter
Aug 23, 2017
109
Manvel, TX (Houston)
Pool Size
17700
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
After spending enough time poolside, wife and I decided we needed an outdoor kitchen to facilitate spending even more time outdoors. All I originally wanted was a place for my BGE and some storage. My dad convinced me I needed a sink too, but he’s the type you either go all out or go home. I wanted it against the house next to the pool, and seemed simple enough. Just one long bank of cabinets with my BGE, storage, and... a sink.

I started doing research last fall and was going down the path of building the cabinets out of king starboard and having a custom stainless top made. After costing it out, I found a cheaper option with premade stainless cabinets that were 100% all stainless... and I kind of fell in love with the look. So I called the company, got some dimensions and did some planning and placed my order.

I also knew I wanted to run water from the closest hose bib, sink would drain through the clean out in the wall already there and I’d run my electrical from an unused outlet on that side of the deck. Below is what it looked like before starting anything.

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So with the cabinets coming premade I decided to just build out a 4” deep “back splash” to route my water lines and electrical.

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Here you can see my treated lumber and cement board backer for my tile, my pex water line for sink and another hose bib on side nearest fence too. I added three electrical outlets and three lights on a waterproof switch next to the sink. All the lights and electrical outlets plug in to a gfci outlet I installed in the sink cabinet so was no need to have any permitting done. The cabinet layout has a space for an outdoor fridge, but I put an outlet in the space, tiled it, and use it to house my electric smoker.

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After the backsplash was built out, it was time to tile. I didn’t have much tile to buy so I went expensive and bought some travertine stacked stone to match the pool coping. My pool builder also gave me his account info so I could go to his coping supplier and buy matching travertine coping to use as the cap on my backsplash.

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I didn’t take as many build out pics as I thought, as I did must of the tiling over the winter when it was cooler. The above is the finished part before I realized I wanted an awning over it. I added black marine starboard skirting around the bottom to hide the legs and keep debris from blowing under the cabinets. I also forgot to mention the fun job of trying to level cabinets on the edge of the pool deck that slopes a lot to facilitate drainage.

I found a dealer who makes prefab aluminum and steel awnings and ordered a custom one in silver to match the kitchen area.

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That’s my mounting the awning above the kitchen. You also get a good feel for the nice silver color of the steel standing seam panels. All in all it went together pretty quick.

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I kept it shorter on the grill side so smoke wouldn’t collect underneath it.

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All in all it turned out quite nice and we pretty much cook everything outdoors now. For non grilled things we use a plug in portable induction burner which we keep stored in the cabinet when not in use.

The cabinets have more storage then I thought when I ordered them. The space under the sink is large and I keep my cleaners, some chemicals, and pool testing kit there. The cabinet next to it has pull out trash bins, and ice bins and wine racks for entertaining pool side. The three drawer cabinet keeps all my grilling stuff, and bottom drawer holds a bin for charcoal.

It turned out quite nice, and probably last for many years to come. It nicely extends pool days into nice pool evenings. And just for fun here’s a pic of my TFP method pool that’s been crystal clear since start up in 2017 looking at it from the outdoor kitchen area.

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Thanks. In doing my research before starting I played with going the stone route, and like you the downside was cost. It also didn't seem to provide enough storage as I wanted a single bank and only about 14 feet max length. I'm the type who thinks you can never have too much space, and the stone build seems to leave a lot of "useless" space in between access doors and drawers. I also liked the clean seamless look of all stainless. Plus going this route its not as permanent, meaning I could remove it all if I ever wanted to, and the cabinets are moveable so if and when I need to redo the pool decking I can move them out of the way and finish under them.
 
Your a smart guy. I just started mine. All I did was dig out and make the stone foundation. This week I will start. I went with pre fab. I will send pictures as soon as I get it. I did have BQ do the lay out
 

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I like the L shape, and I did a lot of playing in Sketchup kind of like what BQguys did, but in the end really couldn’t get it to work with adequate clearance for walking around it. You have a nice setup going though, and I’ll be following the build for sure. Probably turn out nicer than the rendering in the end.
 
I think all in the whole project including the awning for less than $6k, and that includes the electrical, building supplies, water, and lights. Cabinets were the bulk of it, with $1500 for the awning and then like $300 for tile. The pool coping was dirt cheap, being wholesale, a 12x12x1 travertine I cut them down to 6” and for the 10 tiles I needed cost less than $50.
 
:::Maddie confused..looking for the beer fridge or cooler??:: Uhhhh? I think you forgot sumphin'?

Looks great! I like the awning a lot......very smart idea!

Maddie :flower:

Lol, we didn’t forget the essentials. We have a 12’ x 24’ covered patio next to the pool, and we use a wooden cooler we put the beer and cocktails in with reusable ice packs. Thanks for the comments on the awning, that was my wife’s doing. Her taste far exceeds my own.

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Did you do a sink? Lights ? I didn’t do one. Lights I can do later. I ran GFI 110 to the build.

Yes I added a sink after my Dad said I’d regret not having one. As it turned out it was easy to add given I’m using the hose bib for water and where I wanted to install it there was a clean out for the inside kitchen drain and a vent stack right above it. So I just had to remove the cap and connect up the sink drain. I ran water all the way through it and another hose bib on the side by the grill in case I ever needed water on that side.

All the lights and electrical connect under the sink in a weatherproof box, and just plug into the two gang gfci outlet. I ran the wire for each of the lights up the wall and tied them together in the same junction boxes as the outlets. I might add a small undersink water heater in the future, but right now haven’t really needed extra hot water.
 
Your dad was right! How easy it will be to clean your hands after gardening, or touching chemicals... washing veggies fresh out of the garden. Things like that! Or holding lobsters waiting for the grill, eh?

Maddie :flower:
 
Your dad was right! How easy it will be to clean your hands after gardening, or touching chemicals... washing veggies fresh out of the garden. Things like that! Or holding lobsters waiting for the grill, eh?

Maddie :flower:

He’s a smart guy, and I can’t imagine not having one now for the reasons you mentioned. Added bonus is cleaning up messy items like large food platters after grilling is nice, or quickly washing off utensils when grilling seafood.

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Dang...these pictures are making me want to start another project which I don’t have time for right now!

Love the design. I really like the buildout in which you stuffed all the plumbing and electrical. Nice idea that avoided tearing into your (brick) wall. Is the awning in the up position permanently now? Otherwise, I am having a hard time figuring how it meshes with the lights...which, by the way, add a really nice touch to the setup.

Hey Marty D, start a thread for your new build...I’m sure there are many like me who would like to follow the progress.

Oh and fnc80, dads ARE always right, at least I keep telling my son that. Glad it worked out. Congrats.
 
Thanks, the design was many months in the making so lots of time to play with design and plan. I’m a big fan of using SketchUp, which helped visualize the final design. The awning is in the permanently up position, but not so permanent that it can’t be taken down in the event of a hurricane.
 

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