Steve M Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 As I near completion of the outdoor kitchen, I thought I would start this thread and post some pics. We decided to do this last winter and started speaking to a few contractors about what we wanted. I sketched out the design in sketchup to show them exactly what I wanted. We needed to renovate the back porch and part of the concrete deck. I also wanted to add a new porch that would house the outdoor kitchen and provide a comfortable place to cook year round. It was April before we settled on a contractor and he couldn't start until June 11th. He anticipated 2 months of work. There goes the summer. Before pictures don't get much better than this. Ok, so it wasn't always like this. This is after the spring monsoon when I had all of the concrete demolition. I quickly realized I needed to think about drainage because most of this would be concrete and the rest would be mud under the new deck. $4k later, I had a new French drain system. The original plan was to leave the roof on the back porch and demo everything else. Once the contractor got into it, he thought it would be better to take it all out and start from scratch. it didn't affect our cost at all, win for us. The deck also came down and the new one started to go up. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel at this point and even felt like cooking again (although it could be a bit hazardous getting across the deck joists). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted December 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 So now I have the entire footprint of the project. The back porch is up, the new porch for the outdoor kitchen is going up and the deck for the bar area has been put down. The bar is going to be in the foreground. The contractors are nearly finished. There original target date was August 11th; the actual finish was the end of September. A couple of posts still needed to be wrapped but I already started working on the outdoor kitchen. I planned on doing most of it myself but called in pros for plumbing, electric, and the granite. The kitchen has a steel frame and I found it much easier to work with than I anticipated. I used bbqcoach for a lot of the parts including all framing, most of the doors and drawers. One of the best things I did was add a couple of IR heaters to the kitchen. I have tested them down to 37 degrees and so far so good. The other best thing I did was add whole house audio. I have 3 outdoor zones; one in the ODK, one on the back porch, and speakers on the other side of the pool. The granite went in week before last and the cement board started going on. The picture below shows the whole house audio controls for the ODK and pool. I chose a sink big enough to fit the occasional grill grate. This is the bar. In the foreground, I put a drop in cooler and the round thing is my new EVO griddle. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted December 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 On this side, I put a tilt out trash can with a trash chute above it as well as an access door for storage. This side has a warming drawer and some double drawers below. At this point, nearly all of the cement board is up with most of the components installed. The plumber still needs to install the sink/faucet and the electrician will finish up after that. I have a guy coming next week to talk about installing the stonework. I had planned on doing it myself but at this point, I just want to get it done. I will say I am finally able to start enjoying it. This morning was a good test. Temps in the mid 30's, rainy, and heaters on high. EVO fired up 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 Wow! Stunning! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted December 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 18 minutes ago, Pequod said: Wow! Stunning! Thanks Pequod! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 THAT, is an outdoor kitchen. I love all that outdoor living area. The EVO seemed to be doing a great job on breakfast. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 Really great redo and additions. That will be a fantastic cooking space. Can't wait to see the pictures with the stone installed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted December 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 24 minutes ago, MacKenzie said: THAT, is an outdoor kitchen. I love all that outdoor living area. The EVO seemed to be doing a great job on breakfast. I'm really enjoying cooking on it and I think it will really complement cooking on the kk. I can see a lot of cooks that I will use both of them, especially anything that needs searing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted December 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 11 minutes ago, ckreef said: Really great redo and additions. That will be a fantastic cooking space. Can't wait to see the pictures with the stone installed. I have the stone already and just need to have it put on. I know I will love it. Just getting the cement board on seemed like a major milestone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 What a project, indeed. Can't wait to see it with all the bows nicely tied up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted December 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 Thanks Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 That looks like a lot of fun. Hard work, I'm sure, but what a result. Everything right where you want it. Looking forward to seeing it fully commissioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon B. Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 Steve, Really appears that you did a great job planning everything because it looks fantastic!!! Super backyard layout. Enjoy! PS - I bought a portable Blackstone griddle and use it all the time. Great for breakfast and searing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pearson Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 Wow Steve an ODK fit for a king! Will you ever cook indoors again? LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted December 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 7 hours ago, tekobo said: That looks like a lot of fun. Hard work, I'm sure, but what a result. Everything right where you want it. Looking forward to seeing it fully commissioned. Thanks tekobo. It has been fun, especially seeing things take shape. 16 minutes ago, Jon B. said: Steve, Really appears that you did a great job planning everything because it looks fantastic!!! Super backyard layout. Enjoy! PS - I bought a portable Blackstone griddle and use it all the time. Great for breakfast and searing. Thanks Jon. I've been watching quite a few blackstone videos. A lot of real estate on those blackstones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted December 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 9 minutes ago, Bruce Pearson said: Wow Steve an ODK fit for a king! Will you ever cook indoors again? LOL Thanks Bruce. I cooked last night on the EVO - it was 37 degrees, raining hard, and blowing about 30+knots. so the answer I guess is not likely 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonj Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 Terrific project and integration with the house / pool. I love the addition of the EVO; they are great for their niche of cooking. I looked at them for a long time after seeing them in action in a few places, but never pulled the trigger. Great job! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonj Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 I can't tell from the photos where the KK is going to be placed. Under the roof or still in the open? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted December 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 20 minutes ago, jonj said: I can't tell from the photos where the KK is going to be placed. Under the roof or still in the open? I don't have a very good current pic of the location but here is from a couple of weeks ago and it is going just left of the EVO (between the column and the evo). We have been utilizing an interior designer for some other renovations and I asked her about some of the ODK choices. After seeing the kk, she told me that it needed to be the focal point for the kitchen. We selected some large 12"x25" dark copper colored tiles that will surround the kk with stone veneer everywhere else. They match up very well with the terra blue tiles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pearson Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 Ok what is an EVO? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
