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Somewhere between the showers of spring and the dog days of summer, a young man’s fancy turns to… BBQ! When it’s finally outdoor cooking season the thought of basted racks of ribs, the juiciest of burgers, and a golden chicken slowly spinning to rotisserie goodness permeate our thoughts. These are the days when we long to sense that sweet aroma brought to us on the light breeze wafting through our outdoor kitchen.
The term “outdoor kitchen” means different things to different people… for many it means the grill they have out back with either propane or charcoal doing the heavy lifting. For others an outdoor kitchen means a cooking space complete with a prep area, cooking zone, plating and serving area and an entertainment area. Your outdoor kitchen is as unique as you are, and here at Patio Heat and Shade we want to help you to build the perfect outdoor kitchen.
Costs for planning, constructing, and running an outdoor kitchen vary widely, depending on the size of your kitchen and the equipment you want in it. We asked the best patio experts in the world (yup, that’d be our experts) to run the numbers and give us some suggestions of how much it would cost to construct the perfect outdoor kitchen. These figures should give you a good idea of what you’re in for… but we can tell you with a certainty that no matter what your budget, you’ll never second guess whether it was a good idea to install your outdoor kitchen… it’ll be love at first bite.
As with all home construction projects, when considering any outdoor kitchen, we strongly advise you to check with your local authorities to see if you need building permits to complete the project.
Okay, we’ve got an idea of what it takes to just buy an outdoor kitchen, let’s see how we can build one…
Ummm…. A lot? Depending on where you are in the country and how big an outdoor kitchen you’re considering, costs vary from $3,000 to $40,000 all depending on what you want and how you want it. The national average is about $13-$14,000 to have an outdoor kitchen installed.
For our illustrative purposes here, let’s look at what we’ll call the medium-level outdoor kitchen. Our kitchen includes a nice grill, two refrigerators, a side burner, a sink, and stainless-steel drawers as well as seating for four. Here’s the layout:
Let’s take a look at the costs that go into building your dream outdoor kitchen:
First things first… getting the appropriate permits from your municipality will range from $250 to $2,000 depending on location and scope of work. For our example outdoor kitchen, permits will cost $800.
Building your kitchen from can be accomplished with wood, steel, or aluminum.
For our sample outdoor kitchen, which is 18 linear feet, let’s go with wood at an average of $400 per linear foot, so the frame will cost $7,200.
For our sample outdoor kitchen, we’ll need:
Stucco is cheap, but not durable in freeze-thaw or high moisture climates.
Tile is a favorite for DIY’ers everywhere, however because of its fragility they run a high risk of popping during expansion/contraction and may require frequent replacement or maintenance.
Stone or Brick look fantastic and have an air of permanence about them but have the same potential for popping off as does tile.
For our sample kitchen, let’s use brick veneer. For our sample outdoor kitchen that’ll cost $1,950.
There are a ton of options and issues for the countertops of your outdoor kitchen:
For our sample outdoor kitchen, we’ll top it in white granite at $80 per square ft. for a total cost of $2,880.
Labor will account for 20-40% of your project cost. It’s highly recommended to get a General Contractor to oversee the entire project, at a cost of 10-20% of the total project cost. For our sample outdoor kitchen, we expect these costs to be 30% of the total materials cost, or $6,298.
The great thing about planning your own outdoor kitchen is that you have so many amazing options. The horrible thing about planning your own outdoor kitchen is that you have so many amazing options.
As with many things in life there comes a point when you have to decide whether to create your masterpiece yourself or buy one somebody else has already created. The same goes for outdoor kitchens. The good folks at Cal Flame BBQ have multiple configurations of their pre-made outdoor kitchens, and this is one of our favorites.
Cal Flame BBQ L-Shaped Outdoor Kitchen starts with a welded, 16-gauge galvanized steel frame on which is installed quarter-inch Hardiebacker ceramic tile backerboard, then the exterior countertops and sides are installed. Pre-wired for electric (including an electric junction box internally), there are exterior outlets available for your local electric needs.
The focus of this outdoor kitchen is the P4 Cal Flame Grill complete with four 15,000 BTU burners and one 15,000 BTU ceramic core infrared burner ready to take on your most hungry guests. Treat your guests to the best rotisserie food on the planet (that’d be yours, of course) on this gorgeous stainless-steel monster.
To make your life easier, ice-cold beverages are literally a step away with the integrated stainless-steel refrigerator. Combine that with access doors (for propane storage or natural gas valve access) under the grill and under the sink allow for easy maintenance in the future. The side burner is perfect for creating your grand pappy’s family recipe BBQ sauce, while the integrated stainless-steel sink is ready to handle any spills.
Simple plumbing and electrical connections are all you need to have perfectly functional, gorgeous outdoor kitchen with seating for four. And Cal Flame can customize your kitchen if you have other preferences (like adding marble or granite tops or inserting a set of storage drawers under the side burner) … heck, you can even get a built-in stereo and color led lights… it’s really all up to your imagination.
Let’s start by identifying where we need the outdoor kitchen to be installed. Depending on how far away your kitchen is, you’ll need more stuff…
A perimeter kitchen is one that is close to your home’s exterior (like on an adjacent backyard patio). Frequently you can get by with one small fridge and use your “indoor” fridge and storage areas for most of the heavy lifting. In addition, you can typically use the same utility lines as your home, saving some cost.
A satellite kitchen is away from your home (out in the yard, for instance) and is more expensive to build because it needs to have its own fridge and storage (and everything else) so you don’t have to trek back and forth to the house. Additionally, utility lines may need to be installed specifically for your satellite outdoor kitchen, adding additional expense.
An average cost for a perimeter kitchen is between $90-$120 per square foot, whereas costs rise to $110-$130 for a satellite kitchen. In either case, you’ll be sure you have a level foundation… and if you’re installing your outdoor kitchen on a deck make sure that it is supported well in your kitchen area.
How large an outdoor kitchen you need to create depends on how much stuff you want to cram into it, how much counter workspace you’ll need and how much countertop space your guests will require. If you have to put a label on it, generally outdoor kitchens are sized as small (7-15 linear feet), medium (16-19 linear feet) and large (over 20 linear feet) but most are around 16 feet in length.
A quick note about framing – planning this now will save you headaches later. Venting in your cabinet is crucial… because you’re using gas, you must plan for the event of a little gas leaking out. Not a big deal, but over time that gas can accumulate and cause a potentially dangerous situation. But don’t just put your vent in anywhere – it depends on your gas source. Natural gas is lighter than air, so put your vents near the top of your kitchen island. Propane gas, however, his heavier than air so put your vents near the bottom of your kitchen island.
Before tiling or putting on any other surface cladding, you’ll need an appropriate water-repelling backer to create a stable and flat material for to which your cladding can adhere. Using a 0.25” Hardiebacker (3’ x 5’ sheets at $11 per sheet), would cost for our example outdoor kitchen would cost $187.
Now we get to pick out our toys. There are a bajillion options here, including grills, side burners, refrigerators, freezers, beer tap refrigerators, beverage coolers, wine coolers, drop-in coolers, icemakers, drop in flat-top grills, pizza ovens, food warmers, cocktail centers, drop-in ice buckets, storage doors and drawers, paper towel storage and even a pull-out cutting board. Select your favorites and plan your space.
$2,817
$1,229
$1,456
$1,448
$304
$518
Horizontal 27" Door
$204
TOTAL ALL APPLIANCES
$7,976
The sides of your outdoor kitchen that attach to the backer board are called cladding. Your options include stucco, tile, stone, or brick to get just the right look. Note that depending on where you are in the country (whether the freeze-thaw expansion issues would affect you) may help determine which is better for your outdoor kitchen:
Wood: $18 - $38 per square ft. - super porous and can hold bacteria.
Ceramic Tile: $6 - $46 per square ft. - sealing it, keeping it clean and fixing popped tiles.
Corian: $20 - $75 per square ft. - colors appear splotchy when exposed to sunlight.
Stainless Steel: $60 - $100 per square ft. - super-hot in sunlight (playground slides anyone?)
Granite: $15 - $140 per square ft. - dark colors hold the heat, seal to prevent stains.
Concrete: $70 - $140 per square ft. - seal frequently, get a good installer.
Soapstone: $60 - $185 per square ft. - frequent maintenance and oiling required.
Again, because of variations of placement and cost differentials countrywide, the electrical and plumbing connections required will vary widely. Generally, a plumber costs $350 - $2,000 while the electrician will cost $50 - $100 per hour. Running new natural gas lines will cost between $45 and $1,500 depending on your situation. For our sample kitchen, running natural gas lines to our installation will run us $900 while water line installation (and drain) is an additional $1,400. Add to that the electrician cost of $650 and we have a total utilities installation cost of $2,950.
Permits
$800
Framing (Wood)
$7,200
Backer
$187
Appliances & Such
$7,976
Cladding (Brick Veneer)
$1,950
Countertop (Granite)
$2,880
Installation & Labor
$6,298
Utilities
$2,950
GRAND TOTAL
$30,241
In the end, it comes down to you identifying the space you have available, all the things you want that make up your outdoor kitchen, and what kind of budget you have. You can lower some of these costs if you’re handy or consider yourself a DIY pro and can create the framing, install the backer, cladding and appliances yourself. Obviously leave the heavy lifting (electrical, gas and plumbing connections) to a licensed professional.
Here at Patio Heat and Shade, we love that we have so many options available to help you create the outdoor kitchen of your dreams. We know that planning your space can be a stressful event, and we’re here to help. Our patio experts have decades of experience with upgrading outdoor spaces and are happy to share their knowledge and experiences with you. If you’re not sure which grill head is the best for your situation or have any other question, you know you can call us for a straight answer. If you ever need help on this, give us a call – we promise to treat you like family.