Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet News and Press

Builder News
April 2008

More Than Just a Grill: Build an Outdoor Habitat

More Than Just a Grill: Build an Outdoor Habitat

Television cooking hosts have it made. Their outdoor kitchens have more amenities than most people’s indoor kitchens. The fast rise of the Food Network alone can attest for the number of requests contractors receive to "put in a functional kitchen in my backyard.” A few years ago these kitchens were seen in a lot of highend homes. Now with more options and availability, they seem to be popping up everywhere. Although for the most part, the decision on the final kitchen is that of your client; however, here are a few options that may help you to guide them in a direction for an enjoyable cooking and entertaining area.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
You worked with your clients (or architect) to iron out the design of the house. Shouldn’t you give the same attention to your outdoor kitchen? I remodeled one outdoor kitchen where my clients thought the original was too far away and wanted one much closer. Considering you had to walk through their house, around the pool and to the opposite corner of their lot to get to the old one, I couldn’t blame them. It was a long way to carry the groceries to prepare for any party. I took pictures of the proposed location and with the help of Photoshop, generated a conceptual kitchen environment. After much deliberation and many new renderings; they decided to build the new outdoor kitchen just opposite their indoor one. Siding removal was accomplished easily enough with a circular saw and I was able to locate items within the wall that would need to be relocated. The plumber tied into water and gas supply lines and tapped into the necessary drain, waste and vents. The side of the house made a perfect place to mount the exhaust hood and the HVAC contractor installed an exhaust duct inside a chase I built to hide the ducting. The electrician accessed the new kitchen via the crawl space and ran all of the wiring behind the new base cabinetry of the outdoor kitchen. So plan ahead and map out locations where items are going to go and their corresponding mechanical, electrical and plumbing requirements and it will make life easier. By doing so, you may not have to explain unexpected added costs to your clients; like severing the supply line to their landscaping system with your new electrical trench, or vice-versa. Ouch!

STRUCTURE AND FINISHES
There are multitudes of structural and finish choices that need to be made. As I previously mentioned, you can install a premanufactured unit and operate with pure functionality. For an aesthetically pleasing kitchen you are going to have to factor in more options. You can set base cabinets that are an identical match to the ones in the indoor kitchen. This I have done, but in some regions I would not recommend it. In my case the outdoor kitchen was protected on three sides and had a standing-seam metal roof over post-andbeam framework. It also helped that the climate of the area was mild and snow and rain were not a major issue. Why not frame the kitchen area as you would anything else? If you’re going to add finishes that will provide moisture protection, there is nothing wrong with that. Stud framing and sheathing make it very easy to apply your choice of both siding and stucco (traditional and synthetic) or masonry. For reasons of durability and to help lessen the probability of callbacks, I have attempted to make these as rugged as possible. If the structure moves around when it’s framed, it will move around after. I would recommend constructing one out of concrete masonry units. CMU is stout; it should be relatively impervious to the elements, and it will take almost any finish you can throw at it. Stucco will complement an existing lap siding finish on a home very nicely. Keep in mind that traditional stucco will more often that not, crack. I believe that many synthetic stucco finishes offer the same look and feel of stucco, with the added benefit of weather protection as well as lasting durability. If you add an overhead structure to your outdoor kitchen your clients can enjoy their kitchen year-round. A trellis, pergola, whatever you want to call it, can add another dimension of beauty to your kitchen. An outdoor kitchen I built in Denver included a lean-to post-and-beam covered patio with 5-1/8-inch glulam posts carrying a 5-1/8- inch x 14-inch glulam beam to support 3-1/2 x 9-inch glulam roof purlins. Exposed sheathing was handled with 5/8-inch Breckenridge plywood and topped with another 1/2-inch of plywood and presidential composite shingles to match the house. Originally it was going to be its own standing structure, but the owners wanted it to seamlessly blend into and become part of the house.

MATERIALS
The first thing to consider when choosing materials is the climate. I would be apprehensive about installing slate in a climate that has extreme temperature fluctuations, as the low density of slate allows for more water penetration, thus it clefts exceedingly. I have removed and replaced slate in such a climate where it failed. Thankfully, the clients changed their mind and wanted me to install granite tiles. This product by StoneDeck allows moisture to seep through its joints and is installed over 16-inch on-center joists, whereas the slate was installed over a solid deck with a membrane, which trapped water. Tiles move with the framing of the deck and have a weight rating of 4,000 pounds per square foot due to its Kevlar composite backing and density of the stone. Concrete has become a popular choice for countertop materials, possibly for reasons of cost, color options, inlays and flexibility of designs. Concrete countertops can have practically any edge design, come in an O’Keeffe-like palette of never ending color options; and can include a design of your choice. For wall finishes, a simple paint scheme would suffice, but stucco walls with a corner brick facade will make your kitchen pop. Stainless walls and panels would be the most eye-catching of all, but do you really want to be "the guy” that is responsible for blinding everyone at the 14th tee? I wouldn’t, why not just leave your Nativity scene out all year. It may look good to you and your client, but not to everyone. Likewise, more homes are incorporating an outdoor kitchen with options that rival those of many indoor kitchens; but think about how the finished product installed may impact those nearby.replaced slate in such a climate where it failed. Thankfully, the clients changed their mind and wanted me to install granite tiles. This product by StoneDeck allows moisture to seep through its joints and is installed over 16-inch on-center joists, whereas the slate was installed over a solid deck with a membrane, which trapped water. Tiles move with the framing of the deck and have a weight rating of 4,000 pounds per square foot due to its Kevlar composite backing and density of the stone. Concrete has become a popular choice for countertop materials, possibly for reasons of cost, color options, inlays and flexibility of designs. Concrete countertops can have practically any edge design, come in an O’Keeffe-like palette of never ending color options; and can include a design of your choice. For wall finishes, a simple paint scheme would suffice, but stucco walls with a corner brick facade will make your kitchen pop. Stainless walls and panels would be the most eye-catching of all, but do you really want to be "the guy” that is responsible for blinding everyone at the 14th tee? I wouldn’t, why not just leave your Nativity scene out all year. It may look good to you and your client, but not to everyone. Likewise, more homes are incorporating an outdoor kitchen with options that rival those of many indoor kitchens; but think about how the finished product installed may impact those nearby.replaced slate in such a climate where it failed. Thankfully, the clients changed their mind and wanted me to install granite tiles. This product by StoneDeck allows moisture to seep through its joints and is installed over 16-inch on-center joists, whereas the slate was installed over a solid deck with a membrane, which trapped water. Tiles move with the framing of the deck and have a weight rating of 4,000 pounds per square foot due to its Kevlar composite backing and density of the stone. Concrete has become a popular choice for countertop materials, possibly for reasons of cost, color options, inlays and flexibility of designs. Concrete countertops can have practically any edge design, come in an O’Keeffe-like palette of never ending color options; and can include a design of your choice. For wall finishes, a simple paint scheme would suffice, but stucco walls with a corner brick facade will make your kitchen pop. Stainless walls and panels would be the most eye-catching of all, but do you really want to be "the guy” that is responsible for blinding everyone at the 14th tee? I wouldn’t, why not just leave your Nativity scene out all year. It may look good to you and your client, but not to everyone. Likewise, more homes are incorporating an outdoor kitchen with options that rival those of many indoor kitchens; but think about how the finished product installed may impact those nearby.

AMENITIES: DREAMS NO LONGER
As a kid I remember my dad going out to start the barbecue, which usually meant pouring briquettes into the hibachi, stacking them into a pyramid of sorts, dousing them with lighter fluid and throwing in a match, usually from at least an arm’s distance away. The "refrigerator” was a cooler full of steaks on ice, maybe. Any prep had to be done inside; there were no outdoor counters for prep. Fast-forward to today. Walk out the backdoor, turn a knob on the grill and it lights itself. Open the outdoor refrigerator, remove whatever you are cooking (and a beer); do your wannabe Iron Chef on the countertop and cleanup via the outdoor sink. Many (OK, "all”) of the outdoor kitchens I have had the pleasure of constructing and a couple of times, cooking in, blow my own indoor kitchen out of the water. My electric range has half the cooking area of one outdoor grill I have installed for a client. Options today are limitless: depending on your (contractor) imagination and your client’s budget (paycheck) and imagination. How awesome would it be to add a fire pit to your kitchen? Your clients can barbecue chicken and other items on their new grill and roast a pig luau-style in their pit. "Do you or your client want the grill to be the focal point of your kitchen?” The possibilities are limited only by your imagination…or your budget.

APPLIANCES
Contrast or complement? It doesn’t seem like a very good selling point to install an inexpensive two-burner grill and a whitefaced refrigerator outside a home with a nice color scheme. Remember, we’re looking to add value and beauty to the home, not to make it look like a makeshift salvage yard. If you install a nice stainless grill with enough surface area to cook twelve to eighteen ribeye steaks, corn on the cob and chicken; a stainless fridge with enough room for prep items and beverages and a large sink with a disposal in it, what client wouldn’t be impressed? Remember to include enough counter space so the homeowners can spread everything on, or entertain guests in (wet bar!), and you’ve created a pretty substantial selling feature for the home. The aforementioned kitchen in Denver included a very large 48-inch built-in grill by Wolff, two Sub-Zero under-counter refrigerators, a deep stainless steel double sink, disposal unit, gooseneck faucet, and stainless drawers and cabinets to match the grill. If the budget for your clients’ outdoor kitchen is more moderate, many of the home stores offer lower cost appliances that will also withstand the trials of time and weather.

PRICES
According to one recent industry poll, well-designed outdoor kitchens have demonstrated a strong return on investment, with a return of more than 100 percent of their initial cost. Indoor kitchen facilities can cost upwards of $125 per square foot and more than $175 depending on options; most outdoor kitchens, "…cost much less, at $30 to $50 per square foot and many times the cost can be added to a home mortgage,” states Dan Shimek, president and CEO of Fire Stone Home Products. While that pricing may be true for that market, the cost of appliances, finishes, protection and market area can add as much as 150 percent to that estimate. The furnished and installed price for StoneDeck alone can be as high as $26 per square foot. Factor in appliances, concrete footings, framing, roofing, exterior finishes, MEPs and if your jurisdiction requires permits, add $45 to $85 per square foot to be more accurate. Just because outdoor kitchens are fast becoming more popular doesn’t mean you should not take the time to research and plan how you and/ or your client will fulfill the vision. Although you can incorporate an indoor range into your outdoor kitchen, there are materials better suited and with both a high degree of functionality and beauty. So build that outdoor space with integrity.