building outdoor kitchen


 

Gene Six

New member
Hey Guys,
First post but I have been cooking on a WSM for the past 5 years. This site is what convinced me to buy the smoker years ago. Thank you for all of the great information/recipes/secrets! In fact so far 3 of my friends have purchased the WSM & I know several more that may buy one before long.

Now, for my question. We are going to build an outdoor kitchen. I am thinking about building in the WSM on one end of an island (3' x 7' est.) and I would also like to build in a gas (propane) grill. I don't believe that Weber makes a built-in unit & I'm sold on the Webers. Can the E-310 or E-320 be built-in someway?

I'm planning on using metal studs to frame out the island, concrete backer board for the sides & a thin-set stone veneer on the exterior. I would provide vents to help draw air. My thoughts would to be would be to leave the cart/doors as is & build the cabinet top so that the side burner & controls would rest on the edge of the top (leaving the bottom open to the cavity of the cabinet). Has anyone done something like this or am I completely off base with this? I don't want to take chances with safety but would just really building around 3 sides with clearance and vents. I would probably partition off the WSM so that it would not draw any air from gas grill. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
What's the budget? There is a drop in Summit available $$$. I saw a guy that had built a concession cart and used a 310 or 320 in it without the cart.
 
Gene,

I built a project fairly close (the construction was almost identical)to what you described. I built my wsm and kettle into the counter. I have since seen some projects where the smoker was built on the end of the counter and the owner constructed a seat for the cooker. If you can imagine the backsplash ran the length of the counter, but on one end there was what looked like a seat. Done that way you could easily insulate your gas grill with additional backerboard, and circulation would not be and issue.

I have seen Weber’s dropped in, but as Brian suggest it might be the higher end units. That doesn't mean it isn't possible to remove other products from their cart.

Good luck with your build.

Q'n,Golf'n & Grill'n.... too many choices!
Gary
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm hoping to stay less than $900 for the gas grill. It looks like the price really increases when you go to the built-in units. I know that Lowes or Home Depot have some built-ins in this price range but from what I read the quality is much less than a Weber & would not last very long. I understand replacement parts on the foreign made units are a problem. I only going to do this once so I'm considering long term maintenance/quality rather than something flashy but poorly built. I could go more on the budget but I think I will probably use the WSM more than a gas grill. The gas grill should be quicker to start up for small cooks.

Brian - I see you have quite a collection of smokers/grills. As I said in the original post, this is my first post but I have been lurking on this site & the BGE site for years. Which grill/smoker do you find that you use most?

Gary - It's good to know that you had good luck building an island/outdoor kitchen. Did you use all metal studs & backerboard? I've seen some DIY projects that used wood & the backerboard surrounding the grills. I hadn't thought of building a seat for the cooker - that's another option.

It sounds as if there may not be a safety issue building in the 310 or 320 - so it's good to know that I'm not entirely off on my thinking. I wasn't sure if there were other reasons not to try to use a 310/320. Lots of options - I appreciate your feedback.

Thanks!
 
Gene,

Yes, I framed the counter out in galvanize studs, and covered in backerboard. I skipped the stucco scratch coat, lathed all sides and beefed up the finish coat with stucco. The counter top and details are ceramic tile and stone. The total cost of the project, including cookers, was about 1G.

The project worked out very well for my needs. I thought the counter would get warm so I built in ample ventilation. It turns out that the 1 - 2 inch space around the cookers keeps the temps down quite well. The counter closest to the coals will warm up a bit if I am doing a high heat cook with a good amount of fuel touching the side of the kettle. I have combated that by placing a fire brick along that side to minimize the contact of the coals. It has worked well. Also, my wife likes the idea that the patio is not cluttered with cookers, not to mention that when the cookers are fired up she is not concerned about dinner.

Be warned, your mind will grind away at the next evolution....


Q'n, Golf'n & Grill'n.... too many choices!
Gary
 

 

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