Outdoor Kitchen Build - Kansas

[webdad]

I'm working through the design for a BBQ island to hold my Primo XL and accumulated accessories. Right now, the thought is:

• - Approx. 12' "counter" with "backsplash" to close off seeing under the deck (see crude picture below)
  - Cement Counter top - I grill regularly in these Kansas winters and didn't want to worry about ice freezing on a tile counter and popping them off, nor having to always cover the whole shebang when I was done (the Primo stays very hot for quite a while). I've got Cheng's book and I'm reading through it now. My current decision I'm wrestling with is whether to pour in place or not.
  - Steel stud construction
  - Notch in the countertop for the Primo (leaving it exposed)
  - Drawers / doors
  - Veneer stone on the sides
  - Trex feet on the island

First objective is to have a patio put down and I'm waiting for a number of quotes from local contractors. I'm getting a mix of quotes that cover:

• - Concrete (stamped or broom finish)
  - Standard pavers
  - Granite pavers (a local company recycles granite countertops into paver size and scuffs up the back to provide a rough-hewn look. Consequently they are only 1 1/2 inches thick

For pavers, I had thought that I had to have a concrete pad under the outdoor kitchen and then the pavers, but one of the standard paver contractors said they could do it with just pavers, no concrete. I was wondering what the general consensus was here. Everyone else is quoting a concrete pad and/or a 6" pad under just the area where the ODK is going.

Here is the current thought:

 

[4knights]

I'm in Kansas as well (right next to Milford Lake). If your soil is like mine (clay and lots more clay) You could do like I am (building it now) 6 inch base of limestone screenings then 12x12 pavers(only 2 inch thick). I'm going to eventually cover mine, so my electric conduit is already run and I'll put in concrete bases for my 8x8 cedar posts.
On your drawing, My concern is the heat rising from the grill possibly melting or burning the decking.
Poured in place concrete counters is an easy DIY project as long as your prep work is good. Final sand and polishing is what takes the most time and effort.

 

[webdad]

sorry for the late reply. We've settled on a patio contractor, he is going to put down a 6" pad under the area where the island will go and a 4" pad everywhere else. The patio will then be covered with the recycled Granite pavers.

So that is now put to bed - should be installed next week.

From there it is on to the island build. :-D

During my last cook, I monitored the heat coming off the top, and that should be ok. The primo sits a good ways out from the wall, and the heat coming up dissipates within a foot of the top.

I've been refining the design, see below.

The counter is going to be 3' deep, since the primo basically sits out that far due to clearance in the back, etc.

I've also decided, in the interest of weight, to make 3 separate tops. Since there will be a "wall" in the back, that should look ok. With three separate tops, I can also "learn" on the smaller tops :lol: The area behind the primo is basically wasted space anyway and need the front open for circulation and ash removal.

Still going with concrete for the tops. Been looking at the Cheng line - they now have a pour-in-place formulation, but I'm thinking I can probably get away with a conventional pour (and get a smoother finish) by going with three tops and starting small. Going to put glass or something in the top and grind/polish it down.

 

[Riles_J]

Your layout is very similar to what I constructed around my Big Green Egg. I also went with a traditional pour and Cheng products. I think the traditional pour is much more DIY friendly as you don't have to have good concrete finishing skills and it will save you a bunch of grinding if you are going for a smooth finish. Your piece size looks manageable as well. I had some monster pieces that extremely heavy. The one think I would have done differently is to start my grinding a little earlier, when it was still a bit green. I waited a few weeks on some pieces and the grinding was slow going. Another thing to think about is to make yourself some extra forms for the excess. I wasted a bit of nice concrete because I didn't have anything to put it in. Tabletops, stepping stones, hot plates, are just a few ideas.

Riles

 

[Melt In The Sun]

Looks good! Are you sure there's room for the lid on that Primo when it's fully open? Hate to see you get it all done then have the stack hit the back wall the first time you try and open it.

 

[webdad]

Looks good! Are you sure there's room for the lid on that Primo when it's fully open? Hate to see you get it all done then have the stack hit the back wall the first time you try and open it.

Yeah, the Primo's current location is on cinder blocks and square pavers, in front of our walk-out railing and has just the right amount of clearance to have the front handle sit 36" from the railing. So, should be in good shape. If needed I'll be able to slide the primo forward a bit and still be fine.

 

[webdad]

Your piece size looks manageable as well. I had some monster pieces that extremely heavy. The one think I would have done differently is to start my grinding a little earlier, when it was still a bit green. I waited a few weeks on some pieces and the grinding was slow going. Another thing to think about is to make yourself some extra forms for the excess. I wasted a bit of nice concrete because I didn't have anything to put it in. Tabletops, stepping stones, hot plates, are just a few ideas.

Riles

Thanks for the feedback. Going with 3 surfaces in order to make the pieces more manageable was one of my goals. I'm thinking of maybe sliding the grill cut out a little further towards the long end to make the large piece even more manageable. Additionally, it looks like if I go with a traditional pour, my color options expand as well, since the color set for Cheng's pour-in-place line isn't as expansive as the traditional pour product.

I'll keep the timing of the grinding in mind when I get there, and thanks for the tip on the extra forms. I'll definitely look at doing that as well. Would be nice to have an end table or something similar.

Did you put any glass chips or embed anything in your tops?

Thanks again.

Ray

 

[Riles_J]

No, I did not do any glass chips. I ground the concrete until I exposed the natural aggregate slightly. I'm very happy with it. There are pics here on the site under Riles Outdoor Kitchen if you want to take a look.

riles

 

[webdad]

Update on my build.

Patio is done. turned out pretty nice. Granite pavers, firepit as well

The island is going to go in here:

It's going to fit in like this:

I've pretty much finalized my arrangement as this:

I'll be using BBQGuys kingston doors and drawers. The yellow blocks at the top are going to be lights.

Left - 30 Inch Door and Double Drawer
Center - 20 Inch Single Door
Right - 30 Inch Double Door & Drawer
Right - 27 Inch Double Door

I've purchased the guide book from symphonyBBQ.com and it has some really good information.

One question I have is what do people do inside their cabinets behind the doors? Are you putting in shelves or just leaving it as a big open box?

I'm going to dryvit the back and right side, with tile as shown for the front and left side.

This weekend we are testing two cheng concrete colors - charcoal and stone - by making planters and some supplementary coasters / small table tops to test the color and see what the concrete experience is like.

 

[webdad]

Since my last post, I actually have continued to work on my BBQ Island, aside from a few months off for the Kansas Winter - what can I guy do to get a little global warming around here?

last fall I completed making the frames for the cabinets and positioned them on the patio.

Building frames in the Garage:

Frames and backsplash positioned on the Patio:

After that I covered everything with a tarp and settled in for the winter. Fast forward to last week when I uncovered everything and started putting on Permabase backing board.

After screwing all the frames to each other and to the back splash, I basically tipped the whole thing onto its face (with 4x4's under the "Front" to keep it up off the ground) and then started attaching Permabase to the bottom

I didn't want to do too much backer board for 2 reasons:

1. I still had to tip it back up
2. I'm having an electrician put in a 20-amp circuit for lights and outlets and he'll need access to do the wiring

After the base and some of the back was done I then attached HD Veranda feet to the bottom:

After that was all done, the family and I tipped the entire thing back upright onto 3 furniture dolly's, since I still need to move it around to finish the back and coat the back with synthetic stucco.

The electrician should be out within the next week or so, and I'll finish the back and sides, and then coat them with Dry-Vit. Then onto the rest....

 

[caliking]

Looks like its coming along nicely!

What gauge of steel stud did you use? Was it easy to find in your area? Also, what did you cut it with and what did you use to screw it together?

Sorry for all the questions. I've been thinking of building an outdoor kitchen out of steel stud, but thought I had to use exterior grade steel stud. Was hard to find around here so I shelved the project for some time.

 

[JasonK]

Looking Good! (I'm in KS also)

 

[webdad]

The steel studs were 25 gauge from Home Depot. I put in extra studs on the three walls of each cube. The front has openings for the cabinets. Home Depot carries them, but Lowes evidently no longer carries steel studs of any variety. I did all the cutting with tin snips and then screwed them together. Everything went much much easier due to the fact that I studied the the "Build your own BBQ Island" eBook from Symphony BBQ. I stumbled upon that somewhere on the internet and it has been a lifesaver. It steps your through all the tools (including part numbers for HD or Lowes) and had a wealth of tips on how to build your island. Highly recommended.

I just finished the back and sides today and will cover them with DryVit this week ahead of the electrician coming out next Friday. Getting close.

 

[webdad]

Moving along.

Applying the DryVit to the sides and back went pretty well. Troweling it didn't take very much time and turned out fairly well. After it dried for a day or so, we then wheeled the whole thing back into place and then pulled out the furniture dollys. That was a bit of an experience. With the island in place, we couldn't rock it forward to remove the dollys in back, so I got the wide yellow tow strap and snaked it underneath. Then I stood on top of the deck, my oldest son was on the patio on the other end, and my wife was under the deck pulling out the dollys when we lifted each end.

After I put the rest of the backerboard, tile, 800 pounds of concrete counter top and the 300 pound Primo on it, I don't think it will be going anywhere, even here in Kansas.

Pictures below:

 

[Casey]

Wow... looking good!

 

[webdad]

Electrician finished his work in half a day. I've since been working on finishing the permabase on the outside.

Will be ready to pour concrete for the counter tops shortly, but will have to wait until I get back from Scout camp mid June The countertops will be done in the garage and don't want to let them sit too long before polishing nor tie up the garage for too long.

Line in for electric comes out the house and right into the side of the backsplash:

Current progress on permabase (cabinets are just in for sizing):

 

[ShockTherapy]

Very cool. What are the cabinet doors made of? Is that starboard?

 

[Orogrande]

I looks like you had the blue plastic outlet boxes then changes to metal? I'm curious why you changed? I was going to use the blue outlet boxes on my island too.

 

[webdad]

The cabinets are stainless steel. They look white due to the plastic covering them for shipping.

 

[webdad]

The electrician swapped out the blue plastic boxes for metal so that the gray conduit could connect to the boxes and provide a water tight seal.