r/OutdoorKitchens

15+ years around outdoor kitchen builds, and here's what nobody tells you at the design stage: almost nothing fails on day one. Everything looks great in the first photos. The real test is years three through ten, in actual weather. What I've actually seen fail, and why:

Stacked stone. The grout joints trap grease and moisture permanently. No cleaning product reaches inside them. By year two or three, it looks dirty minutes after you've wiped it down.

Granite and concrete counters. Porous. Without resealing every 6 months or so, oil and wine absorb permanently. Most people stop resealing after a year or two, and that's when the staining shows up for good. Concrete also hairline-cracks from freeze-thaw cycling.

Open-frame cabinets. The big surprise for most people. If the interior isn't a sealed box, it shares the same ground as your patio. Insects and moisture get in, and cookware stored inside starts rusting or molding after the first few rainy seasons. You usually don't notice until you go looking for something you haven't used in a while.

Appliance replacements. When a grill dies in year 5 to 10, the replacement has to fit the original cutout exactly, and manufacturers discontinue models and change sizes. That usually means a mason cutting and reworking stone, which is expensive and leaves visible repair marks.

Painted or powder-coated metal. Fine until the first scratch exposes bare metal. Then rust spreads under the coating from the inside, which is much harder to catch early.

The cost question people get backwards. Even a "cheap" outdoor kitchen isn't cheap. Say you spend $6,000. Will you be happy if, five years in, it looks tired, doors don't close right, or you're rebuilding sections just to swap a grill? The lowest-priced kitchen is still too expensive if it's not built to last. A $6,000 kitchen that holds up for five years can be a worse investment than a pricier one that still performs after 10 to 15.

Don't judge an outdoor kitchen by how it looks on install day. Judge it by how it's built to perform ten years from now.

Happy to go deeper on any of these if people are weighing specific materials or builds.

One of the biggest questions we get about aluminum louvered pergolas is whether they’re just for shade, or whether they can actually help during a Florida rainstorm.
When the louvers are closed, they’re designed to create a weather-resistant roof, helping keep the space underneath protected from rain while still giving you the flexibility to open everything back up when the weather clears.
For Florida homeowners, that means your outdoor space doesn’t have to become useless every time the weather changes.
And when you add motorized screens, you can take it a step further by creating a more comfortable, enclosed outdoor living area.
Curious if a louvered pergola would work for your space? Happy to answer questions, especially from other Florida homeowners.

Choosing the materials was a big fuss between my girl and I. I think eventually I’m going to swap out the black with white tile. I do love the wood tile but feel like I could have picked something better. I also left the back open to easily swap out bbq’s cause we’re so indecisive. It has grown on me since we installed it but I feel like in 5 years ima chip out the tile and put new tile in.

We couldn't be happier with our new outdoor space! AMA :)

Everything is gonna be painted black and still need add 2 braces for middle post and fencing and the deck need to extended under the roof

Hey all - just installed this “kitchenette.” Don’t make fun of me, I know it’s not as nice as the stuff I see on this sub.

My question is how can I safely place a grill on top of the cutout on the left? I don’t think I can just place a drop in on that surface. Any solutions or grill recommendations much appreciated.

It’s about 48 inches wide and 24” deep. Help!

She’s held up pretty good for the year… so happy to finally get the fake grass in (was just gravel) finally ready to get the pool up for the year… and take it down in a month lol. (pool goes against the house in the grass) the kitchen needs a good wipe down tomorrow and couple more things need some tlc, but ready for draft night in a couple weeks. 😎 Been a great journey.

Almost a year worth of work. Missing true kegerator and fire magic access door and stools for seating. Most of the work done by me except countertops, some electrical, and pavers on the patio but i did the pathway pavers and beds. Still working on more landscaping

Hi everyone,

I was on the hunt for an outdoor ice maker and when I search it on google a bunch show up but I guess when looking at the details I don't think they are made for outdoor? i'll add an example below, but any reccs on an outdoor ice maker that isnt crazy expensive?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/13-39-in-W-Commercial-Ice-Maker-Machine-80-lbs-24H-Full-Size-Cube-13-lbs-Storage-Capacity-Freestanding-Silver-SYYTSFBZBJX80OFNFV1-SK0325/335490363?MERCH=REC-_-pipsem-_-337556967-_-4-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a#product-section-qa

25x20 Patio is in! Taking longer than expected to get everything in but the largest part is now done. We got everything stubbed in for the outdoor kitchen, too 👏

I just purchased a Fuego grill. It's great. I have a natural line attachment, so I don't need the whole bottom half really. Why can't we just mount some sort of metal or wood plate to the balcony. Put this are the top half of this on top of that secure it down and just use that as a grill so that there's 0 footprint.?

I did not buy this grill it came with the house we recently bought. But the burners are being really stubborn. Please check out my video and let me know what I am missing, because this is super weird behavior. Summary: one side of each individual burner lights and the other side does not. They have been cleaned and poked with paper clips the whole thing.

With only a few odds and ends to wrap up, this project is nearly done. Took me longer than I expected. Took a lot of advice from this sub, lot of research, and it took my budget for a ride but pretty happy with how it turned out.

I just finished my outdoor kitchen installation using Matchless Cabinets.

The specs

•       Cabinets: Matte Navy

•       Countertops: Ash

•       Grill: 32” Napoleon 700

•       Side burner: Napoleon 700 dual infrared

•       Kamado Joe: Classic II

•       Sink: Ruvati Merino RVQ5210 with a cheap Amazon faucet

•       Fridge: just a cheapo indoor beverage cooler, we’ll see how long it lasts

Design and ordering

The design and ordering experience with Matchless was great. I dealt directly with Jason, the owner, and he was super responsive and knowledgeable. I’m in Canada and was worried about customs/duties, but Matchless handled everything through their broker and the kitchen was delivered within a week, no problems at all.

Cabinets and countertop

The build quality is excellent, and everything came assembled and well adjusted. The hinges (Hittich) and drawer slides (Blum) are soft closing. The countertops are quite thick and have a solid feel to them.

Installation

Overall, the install was easy if you’re a handy DIY person. You’ll need a good level, a lot of clamps, and patience to get everything adjusted properly. It took me a couple of days total, with the plumbing and electrical work taking longer than expected.

Electrical

I used a weatherproof junction box that fits nicely under the corner cabinet, running wires out to 3 receptacles (grill, fridge, and a pergola post). The wires are NMWU (UF-B in the US) and they are in conduits inside the cabinets.

Plumbing

Hot and cold water run to the sink, with shut off/draining valves inside the house. The sink drains under the deck into gravel, so it’s really just for light use (rinsing stuff and washing hands).

Gas

The grills run on propane, and I built a custom manifold with independent shut-off valves for the grill and side burner.

I added a few more pictures showing how the cabinets are built and how thick the aluminum is. I’ll be happy to add more if it can be useful to anyone.

I took measurements (will add tomorrow when i find the paper) but found this sub and figured i could use the help.

We moved in to this home and this outdoor kitchen was halfway built. Looking to hear from people experiance what appliances should go where and how to go about finishing. Table top options and pergola designs.

A few options we are considering.

1. Full tear out

2. Tear out front part

3. Leave as is and finish

A. Add a pergola

B. Hotbtub

If we leave it as is, we are trying to figure out what the plan was for appliances

Front portion

Bar table

Left to right, fridge, cabinet.

Back portion

Left to right. Dishwasher?, 48"grill, 12" side burner or searing station, sink,

Finally have my pavilion done. The roof went on this morning! On to trenching….