Outdoor kitchen

[Raja Clavata]

I'm thinking of hanging a covered structure off the side of my man cave in the garden and building an outdoor kitchen to house the bbq, a pizza oven, outdoor fridge and maybe a deep fat fryer.

Anyone done anything similar to this and have any do's and don'ts to impart? TIA.

[snow white]

Why not just make sure it water tight round electric should be fine all the best with project 

[Walker570]

Great idea. I did the same about 25yrs ago, maybe a little larger and structurally different to your plans but that is irrelevant.  We got the idea when in Texas as almost all homes then, particularly in the country had outdoor barbie areas with all mod cons.  Ours just has a large barbecue stove,  gas fired warm plate, refrigerator and a survery table attached to the wall.

It is large enough to take an eight seater table.  It's great when suddenly weather changes and a summer shower comes through.  In Texas it was simply to get out of the sun.

As said above make sure it is waterproof to protect electrics, but I would still put protected switches and plugs in there anyway.  After that it is up to your imagination, don't forget lighting it is great to be able to still sit out there as the light fades on a balmy night just to finish that last bottle off.   Have fun.

[JohnfromUK]

2 hours ago, Raja Clavata said:

I'm thinking of hanging a covered structure off the side of my man cave in the garden and building an outdoor kitchen to house the bbq, a pizza oven, outdoor fridge and maybe a deep fat fryer.

Anyone done anything similar to this and have any do's and don'ts to impart? TIA.

My (late) parents had a sort of similar idea.  A few points;

1. Electricity and electrical appliances outdoors are tricky.  You can keep rain off, but need quite a big 'overhang' to avoid blown rain.  It is virtually impossible to keep blown snow off.
2. Keep wiring on a separate circuit - so if it does trip, it doesn't take out the whole house (and freezers etc.) which is a curse when you are away
3. Many fridges/freezers are not suited to either low or high temperature extremes, typically not tolerating much below 10C.  This is especially so with combined fridge/freezers.
4. A sort of 'outdoor hearth/fireplace' with a chimney hood is a nice thing - both for cooking (on charcoal) and a bit of warmth when needed (can use wood).  Beware ash (and possibly hot embers) can blow around if the wind gets up.

I have an area (a bit like Walker's above) - and one ongoing problem is build up of leaves around everything - all year, but of course worst in the autumn.  Mine is just an 'eat outside' area off the standard kitchen, but does have power (through protected sockets) and water if needed.  I sometimes wish I had put in a hearth, though actually - I would rarely use it - and the ash can blow around.

[grrclark]

I built an area off the back of the house that has evolved into an outdoor kitchen.  At first it was just a decked area from the patio doors and then I bought a pizza oven and built a worktop area for that at the end of the deck, but as i am in Scotland and rain washed pizzas were not so appealing i built a pitched roof on top of posts to cover the deck, pizza oven and worktops.

That was fine to keep things mostly dry, but the wind blowing through meant it was often too cool to sit so i ordered a couple of made to measure vinyl panels that are secured around the edges with little turnbuckles so they can be rolled up, or back, to open it all up again.

All electrical outlets are IP66 rated boxes so getting wet with blowing rain or snow isn't a worry.  Pizza ovens are smokey things when you first light them, even with a taller chimney and good dry wood, so consider where the prevailing wind will blow that smoke that comes out the door of the oven.

Install a decent patio heater, it helps you to make the most of the outdoor space even on cooler days/evenings.

I have considered installing an outdoor fridge, but as i wouldn't keep any perishables in there, just beer and wine, it feels a bit OTT.  I did think about an outside deep fat fryer too, but decided that cleaning something built in would be a chore and we might not use it that often, so i opted for a counter top one that is easily moved to clean and then stored in a cupboard when not in use.  I have used it twice in 5 years!

Edited June 7, 2020 by grrclark

[JohnfromUK]

39 minutes ago, grrclark said:

Install a decent patio heater, it helps you to make the most of the outdoor space even on cooler days/evenings.

I'm no 'climate activist' - but even I regard a patio heater as somewhat environmentally unfriendly!  But each to their own.

[Walker570]

Yes, leaves and blown debris is a bit of a nuisance but heh!! it's outdoors.  I purchased that tall fridge you can see in the photo about six years ago for a fiver and it is usually only for a few beers unless we plan a bit of a do and then it is useful for desserts, starters, wine etc etc.   Take the trays out and I can also hang a muntie in there if needed.   Mostyears we get a pair of woodiies build a nest on the beams but not a problem.

I put a gas ring under a big 1/4 inc thick x 3ft square steel plate which acts as a warmer, keeping stuff warm if needed and people can help themselves from sausaepans etc.

Edited June 7, 2020 by Walker570

[grrclark]

2 hours ago, JohnfromUK said:

I'm no 'climate activist' - but even I regard a patio heater as somewhat environmentally unfriendly!  But each to their own.

It is an infrared electric patio heater.

It probably is somewhat environmentally unfriendly, thanks for sharing your opinion.

I’ll enjoy it all the same.

[JohnfromUK]

13 minutes ago, grrclark said:

It probably is somewhat environmentally unfriendly, thanks for sharing your opinion.

It was meant as a bit - tongue in cheek and I was being flippant.  Apologies if it came over too seriously, which was not the intention

[henry d]

We thought about it, but decided against it. We often sit on the decking in the evening and use a camping stove on a coffee table next to me to cook on, usually paella but we`ve done other stuff on it too our BBQ is on wheels so we can move it to the best position for air into it and smoke away from us. For heating I like a chimenea as we can get plenty of wood for it and it keeps any flies away and once going they bump out some heat, never tried cooking a pizza in one but I think it is doable.

[NoBodyImportant]

Blackstone griddle, the best purchase I have ever made. 

I started off with the Chinese made knock off but the metal was thin and made the food taste bad.  I bit the bullet and bought the USA made blackstone and it’s been awesome 

[Arcadia]

The kitchen part aside, outdoor covers and structures is my main job. 

Shade it, heat it, light it, protect it.

Shading side can be done in many ways. From a solid roof to retractable covers. We do a unit that is a heavy non tear PVC cover that is electric. Used mainly for pubs/ restaurants so they can do covers outside in the cooler months. On sunny days you can retract it so you can enjoy the warmer days but close it to shut out rain, snow and colder evenings. They aren't cheap though. 

Heat it - Infra red heaters. Long gone are the days of calor gas free standing heaters that heat the area but the heat gets lost the minute it is windy. Infra red heats the people in that area and not the surroundings. Costs around 10-18 pence per hour to run. IP rated and an average of 5000 hours per tube. Tubes cost around £45 to replace. We use the Tansun Rio IP 2 kw. 1.5kw if your roof structure is lower than 2.7m in height. 

Lighting - LED lights if possible. Pence to run, you get to choose on warm white, cool white or a range of colours nowadays. Ours are built into the roof trusses of the retractable units but if you are having a solid roof, look at more than you think you need and put them on separate switches. Definitely have lights over your cooking area. Nothing worse than been stood cooking in a shadow late on. 

Protect it - Wind is a serious issue (especially after bbq beans) and the best way to stop it is retractable blinds. We do a remote control drop blind that is not only waterproof but windproof. Can even be washed with a hose or jet wash. (Below the motor casing) Sunny warm days have it up and out of the way but on cool evenings or windy days just send it down an suddenly the area becomes very pleasant. 

More than happy to help if you need any advice. 

Don'ts - Don't buy a louvered roof. Almost every company in the UK has started to drop them as they do not have a UK rated snow load rating. In snow, you have to open the louvres otherwise they bend and won't work. We stopped selling them almost 5 years ago because of this. Not a great idea if you have an enclosed area below with TV, sound system and nice flooring to then have to open it to the cold wet elements and take everything indoors.