# Finally got started on our outdoor cooking area!



## campsmoke1955 (Apr 6, 2017)

I've been wanting a PLACE for my gas grill & my smoker to live (besides our patio) and we finally got started on it.


It will be 12 feet by 16 feet and all pressure treated lumber, attached to the back side of our carport.

We got the basic layout done... 6x6 posts sunk 2 feet in the ground and 160 pounds of concrete around each post.













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## GaryHibbert (Apr 6, 2017)

Looking good!!  Sounds like you're building for the long haul.  Be sure to keep updating the pics of your build.

Gary


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## campsmoke1955 (Apr 6, 2017)

Thanks, I will. I'm planning to have about 10 feet or so of work surface (perhaps made of concrete if I'm lucky), a deep sink to wash griddles, pans & such... and a place to keep my smoker under cover when not in use. I'll have my small gas grill, my soon-to-be-mine 22.5 inch Weber kettle AND my charcoal table under there, too.

Can't wait!!


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## brent b (Apr 6, 2017)

Off to a great start  we love our outdoor cooking area. Keep us posted


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## joe black (Apr 6, 2017)

Looks really good from here.  I'd love to have a place like that.


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## SmokinAl (Apr 7, 2017)

What a great project!

I wish I had the room to build a large outdoor kitchen.

My stuff is just scattered all over the backyard.

Al


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## smokehound77 (Apr 7, 2017)

WOW!!  Looks robust for certain. A good deck is always a crowd pleaser. Happy Trails.


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## travisty (Apr 7, 2017)

Keep us posted. Id love to see this as it goes up!


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## 3montes (Apr 8, 2017)

I envy you folks who live in the year round warm weather. I would love a outdoor kitchen but around here you can hardly have a concrete slab in the ground. The hard freeze all winter heaves the ground so much concrete slabs move and crack. We get about 90 days of summer around here. Outdoor sinks are a luxury not even considered here.


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## campsmoke1955 (Apr 8, 2017)

3montes said:


> I envy you folks who live in the year round warm weather. I would love a outdoor kitchen but around here you can hardly have a concrete slab in the ground. The hard freeze all winter heaves the ground so much concrete slabs move and crack. We get about 90 days of summer around here. Outdoor sinks are a luxury not even considered here.


I can only imagine the weather you folks up north have to deal with. You'd probably have to have a shed built on a sled... so it could "float".

We have to deal with 90+ degree heat, high humidity & hungry mosquitoes nearly year-round. Different set of problems altogether.

I do not want a concrete slab floor. The expense turned me off. I'm trying to keep it "simple" but functional.

I am probably going to go with concrete pavers in the walking area, spaced close.

I plan to use 12-inch pavers under work surface supports and the grills.

I am seriously thinking about a tamped sand base and then pea-gravel fill. Water can drain off easier.

Here is another progress picture...













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## crankybuzzard (Apr 8, 2017)

Looks like a great start!


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## sauced (Apr 10, 2017)

That is going to be nice!! Looking good so far


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## campsmoke1955 (Apr 11, 2017)

I've got a way to feed electricity into this shack... we have a sub panel in the utility room just on the other side of that back wall.

I already bought the two overhead light fixtures we'll use.

I need to figure a way to deal with smoke from the grills... perhaps vented hoods over them?

Not sure HOW MUCH more electricity I need to have in there... any suggestions?


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## campsmoke1955 (Apr 11, 2017)

Almost done... putting the last rafters in place and then it's roofing time!













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Mother Nature is being really cooperative this week... NO RAIN and NOT HOT.


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## crankybuzzard (Apr 11, 2017)

That's looking really good!

As for electricity, put in more outlets than you think you'll need, and I'd make at least one of them a 20 amp.


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## amlong88 (Apr 11, 2017)

Looking good. Can't wait to see the final.


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## campsmoke1955 (Apr 12, 2017)

The first stage of our outdoor cook shack is done! Still have a long way to go until we finish, but it's looking good!













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## johnmeyer (Apr 12, 2017)

I created an outdoor cooking area when we remodeled twenty years ago. Here are a few things I learned.

1. Make sure you have wind protection. It is really nice to not have things blow off counters, and avoid having your BBQ or smoker upset by sudden drafts.

2. Put outlets reasonably close to where you might actually want to plug things in. Don't be tempted to just put an outlet on the side of the house and then run extension cords.

3. Make sure you have a place to use appliances. I have a little deep fat fryer that I use for french fries, and it is really wonderful to be able to do this outside to avoid the smell in the kitchen. Also, I usually set it up on the cold BBQ so that I don't even have to bother cleaning up the splatter.

4. Think about other appliances you might use outside. I also have a portable induction cooktop, and I often take it out to the cooking area and, with my CI griddle, I can sear a roast, steak, or whatever, at smoking hot temps, and not worry about the smoke and the splatter. It is most definitely worth the two dozen steps it takes to get out of the kitchen to the cooking area.

As for how much electricity, you obviously want to use a 20 amp circuit breaker rather than 15 amp, if you are running a new circuit. If you really want to go all out, I'd suggest putting in plugs from _two different circuits_. I did this in my kitchen when we did the remodel, and it is very, very handy to be able to run various combinations of the microwave, toaster oven, toaster, induction cooktop, etc. and not worry about popping the breaker. While there is less stuff outside, if you have the MES with the Masterbuilt external smoking attachment, if you try to plug both of those into the same circuit, you may exceed the breaker's limit.


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## campsmoke1955 (Apr 13, 2017)

johnmeyer said:


> I created an outdoor cooking area when we remodeled twenty years ago. Here are a few things I learned.
> 
> 1. Make sure you have wind protection. It is really nice to not have things blow off counters, and avoid having your BBQ or smoker upset by sudden drafts.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the advice!

I honestly had not considered wind protection in my plans. The south side happens to be protected by the carport back wall & part of the western exposure is semi-protected by the same. I will watch the wind patterns in our back yard and see where I need to add protection.

This outdoor cooking area will be mostly non-electric, inspired by the power outages that occur around here with heavy weather. I have 3 2-burner propane stoves ranging from 8-10K BTU all the way up to my "expedition" stove with 30K BTU burners to handle most of the cooking load. My smoker is a Brinkmann vertical charcoal burner, so no electric needed there. The counter space will have heat resistant surfaces for the 2 smaller stoves & any electric counter-top appliance we might want to use. The larger stove is too big for counter-top use & will sit on the outside wall between the gas grill and the to-be-purchased Weber kettle.

I was planning to tap existing circuits for lighting and maybe even for a small range hood or two with fans & lights to exhaust smoke from the grills. I had not thought about having more than one circuit for appliance use... good one! I have space on the sub panel for two 20-amp breakers.

I love this forum...


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## campsmoke1955 (Nov 22, 2017)

Life certainly gets in the way... been a long summer, but we've finally made some progress on the Cook Shed:






The white PVC pipe assembly in the lower left of the 1st pic is a drain for a sink which will go in my Shed. It's connected to an old gutter downspout connection to a storm drain.

And my most recent pic... yesterday. Paver floor is done. You can see where I'll park the smoker when NOT in use. I've got the pavers in for the sink table, which is next part of the project.


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## chopsaw (Nov 22, 2017)

Pavers came out nice .


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## keithu (Nov 25, 2017)

Looking good!

If you plan to run fans for a vent hood I don't recommend tapping into an existing circuit for that and lighting. I would think a 15-amp circuit would be sufficient for lighting, and a 20-amp circuit for outlets. There's nothing wrong with a 20a lighting circuit, so long as you don't mind paying for a pulling 12-2 wire.


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