Outside kitchen in a new construction. With the builder or outside contractor? (2013, yard)

[locotl]

I see that I omitted some info:
first is just a kitchen ( grill and a single gas burner) no fridge or sink, granite counters and a double door stainless steel for storage under the grill.
The quote is for a 32" grill (brand is Napoleon -anyone familiar with that brand) with the above mentioned stuff.
Either if I don't get it with them, the builder will still run the gas/electrical/water connections (which is already included with the house).

[PedroMartinez]

What dimensions are you looking at and any idea what type of materials will be used to construct the frame of the kitchen? Will it be wood, metal or cinder block?

[Hangster]

So, just to be clear, most would not consider that an outdoor kitchen, but just an outdoor grill. Most builder like to call that an outdoor kitchen because it sounds better in their offer sheet. An outdoor kitchen would include at a minimum a sink and a fridge along with counter space for prepping food.

Now as for the price, that is in line with what builders will charge for an outdoor grill. You would still need to check on the quality of their products, such as grill and doors, etc. I would expect the stainless steel to be 304 stainless steel for every single part in the grill, doors, sink etc.. And I mean every single part including the screws and bolts to hold in the door handles for example. If its not 304 stainless but the cheaper 401, I would pass on it definitely.

As for Napolean, I would pass on their grills. I had one in our previous place which was also installed by the builder. Not all parts are 304 and also very un even heating across the grilling surface. I definitely would not pay $6K for an outdoor grill with a napoleon grill. I assume that their stainless doors also have the cheap black plastic handles instead of the nice stainless handles, you might want to check that out as well.

[locotl]

Originally Posted by PedroMartinez

What dimensions are you looking at and any idea what type of materials will be used to construct the frame of the kitchen? Will it be wood, metal or cinder block?

About a 65" structure, since house is made out of wood and then stucco I imagine it'll be the same for the grill.
Any recommendations on grills under $3k.? I had looked at Blaze and DCS...

[georgemichael]

I still say go with something like this
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/...thro/table.jpg

http://tableplanpdf.com/wp-content/u...le-plans-5.jpg

http://tableplanpdf.com/wp-content/u...le-plans-2.jpg

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.co...4&d=1367373613

http://static.squarespace.com/static...s-egg-open.png

http://trevorallen.ca/table.JPG

http://st.houzz.com/simgs/1c015afb02...nal-grills.jpg

ok, ok, so I got carried away! but you can customize them like crazy! build as fancy as you want or add-on later or make them move-able. just soo many options and a great grill! (ok so I'm slanted! )

ok, one more!
http://www.allaboutgrills.com/media/BigGreenEgg-2.jpg
(mini outdoor kitchen!)

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by locotl

About a 65" structure, since house is made out of wood and then stucco I imagine it'll be the same for the grill.
Any recommendations on grills under $3k.? I had looked at Blaze and DCS...

I'd check to see what the construction is and make sure it's not built out of wood. After doing my research, I became convinced not to use wood due to the number of people who claimed to be rebuilding them after 10 years. Most people said that no matter what you did, the wood would be absorbing moisture and then when you used the grill, the hot air would dry it out and pull out the moisture causing the wood frame to prematurely fail. To me, it sounded logical, and the last thing I want is a 250lb gas grill collapsing. A lot of people build them out of wood, but I just chose not to do so.

After my research, I decided to go with the Lion brand grill. It's a relatively new brand. Supposedly, the guy who started it came from Bull. I went with this one: http://www.amazon.com/Lion-Premium-G.../dp/B0070U0KIK although I did not buy it from Amazon. I bought it from the people I bought my outdoor heater (now, those things get pricey).

Out of curiosity, have you looked at the buying the modules and doing it yourself - BBQ Coach DIY Outdoor Kitchens - that's just one place. There is also a guy who sells a instruction guide showing you how to build your one from metal from scratch. It's a PDF document and you choose from Lowes or Home Depot and it gives you the part numbers for everything. He will talk to you on the phone and walk you through any questions. I bought his guide and was really impressed. In the end I decided to go with a cinder block construction; however, if I would have wanted metal, I would have used his techniques. It was quite impressive and extremely affordable. If you have any interest in that, I'll try to find the link.

[Hangster]

I would not use wood either. I went with cinder block/brick for the frame that holds up the granite and equipment. Don't have to worry about moisture and such.

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by georgemichael

ok, ok, so I got carried away! but you can customize them like crazy! build as fancy as you want or add-on later or make them move-able. just soo many options and a great grill! (ok so I'm slanted! )

ok, one more!

Just make sure to measure twice.

I built part of my outdoor kitchen to hold my medium egg. I measured to be at a good height at the top of the grate, and then something went terribly wrong. Now my egg is going to sit way too high. I'm not sure if it was my math, I just measured wrong or I didn't write down the number right. All I know is that when I got to a point of no return, I was thinking, "Wait, that looks too tall". I didn't even have to measure to know I screwed up. Luckily, since I use my egg primarily for slow smoke cooking, it's not like I'm touching it much. If I were flipping burgers on the egg, that would be a big deal.

[locotl]

All good points, thanks I will check on the builder if he uses cinder blocks otherwise I think I'll do that self install that u mentioned Pedro. It looks good and easy enough for a little house project.

[PedroMartinez]

Here is where I stand on my kitchen.

I need to finish the stack stone on the outside and then do the detail work before sealing it.

You can see how I made the spot for the BGE way too high. Oh well.