Outdoor Kitchens, Grills and Grilling, Smokers, Kamado's...

Hurricane Ike and how to Hurricane Proof your outdoor kitchen!

2008-10-02T20:09:00.004-05:00

Here's the spot where my friend Amy's outdoor kitchen was before Hurricane Ike swept through her home in Seabrook, Texas. She had an RCS RON 27 installed in a brick cabinet with an RCS RDH1 stainless steel door. Her home sits on Galveston bay and had about 4 feet of Hurricane Ike's storm surge pushing through her yard, house, and much more.

I guess there isn't a way to Hurricane proof your outdoor kitchen - this one was built with galvanized steel studs, hardy board, and brick and its just gone! We've also used cinder blocks to build outdoor kitchens, but if Hurricane Ike is the test, buy a portable grill that you can take with you when you evacuate! We've got some Hurricane Ike sales going on at the store ~ we're offering free grill replacement quotes for insurance companies; we've got a great Weber grill for only $329 for natural gas, and we've also got 20% off our Firemagic stainless steel grills, both stand alone and Island grills. Prices on the Firemagic go up effective 11/01/08 so get it soon, in the store or over the internet....

A new year with new trends!

2008-02-22T21:51:00.000-06:00

The outdoor kitchen business is in high demand. After a brief lull at the beginning of January, largely due to fowl weather, we've been getting pounded with requests for bids. Looking back over the last year, I'd say that 70% of our outdoor kitchens have used granite for their countertop surface. About 1/2 have used a manufactured stone for the sides, and although many are going with the less expensive lines of grills, the trend is moving towards the higher in, both in store sales and in website sales. The DCS dual burner has been popular off of the www.patiogrill.com website, and the stainless steel doors and drawers have remained a big seller, with a new wider double door (the RDD2) will probably very popular for those looking for grills bigger than 36".

2007-08-17T13:01:00.000-05:00

Okay, here's the plan for the Egg Outdoor Kitchen. We've got an extra large and a large egg - installed in a counter -we went with a rounded shape so that it would be more interesting and more in keeping with the "egg shape". What do you think? The client is going to choose granite or tile for the top (not blue formica as illustrated) and stucco on the bottom.

Big Green Eggs are great for cooking on. One night we fired up our choo choo train smoker and a large big green egg and had our own personal cookoff. The big green egg was faster, and food (wild pig) came out much more moist. I was sold!

Big Green Egg Island

2007-08-15T15:32:00.000-05:00

This is definitely a first for us. We have a customer who wants to put a large and extra large Big Green Egg in an outdoor kitchen. There are some specific challenges to this - accomodating the hinge; the height of the counter top; access to the bottom draft on the eggs. He also wants sort of an open concept..I'm going to try and upload a file thats a 3D CAD drawing - He'll have some stainless steel doors, but the island it self is going to be built up on a deck, overlooking the water - very cool picture...More later about this really unique outdoor kitchen. Meanwhile - we've got a new "slider" coming in that will be a great addition to your outdoor kitchen WET BAR!

Outdoor Kitchens - plans: Outdoor Kitchens and Fireplaces

2007-08-11T17:02:00.000-05:00

Outdoor Kitchens - plans: Outdoor Kitchens and Fireplaces

Outdoor Kitchen challenges

2007-08-11T13:30:00.000-05:00

Well, this week we started an outdoor kitchen with a twist. Its going to incorporate a Firemagic Regal II grill, a powerburner, a double side burner in one section, with an entertainment area that seats twelve people near by, with a drop in cooler. The customer is worried about bugs (Houston/gulf coast is famous for their Texas Sized Cock Roaches!) so we're building this with an open air concept; there will be open shelves instead of the usual stainless steel double doors under a portion of this island. I'll post progress pictures as they come in! Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions!

2007-07-30T13:53:00.000-05:00

Galveston Island Outdoor Kitchen Summer 2007

2007-07-29T07:50:00.000-05:00

A customer came in the store, wanting to design and purchase his second outdoor kitchen from us, for his beach house. He new precisely what he wanted - so we sent our Architect out for a site survey immediately. This customer had decided to go with a RCS RON36 Grill (super product, all 304 Stainless Steel, lifetime warranty), two Firemagic Power Burners and RCS RDD1 double doors, and RCS RSR1 Single Drawers (underneath the power burners ~ very cool, clean look) as well as a potfiller faucet behind the power burners, and a sink.

Initially, he wanted some Ooba Tuba Granite for the top; then when it came to picking out his slab of granite, picked something quite a bit more exotic. We completed the framing and installation of the doors, but had to wait on the granite fabrication for about 5 days. After that we were there installing the grills, and putting the finishing touches on the grill. We had to have the granite people come out and change the color of the grout they used along the seams - no big deal..next post I'll add finished product pictures!

The total price on this outdoor kitchen was around $17,000 - this customer wanted to be able to boil crawfish, fry turkeys, and flip burgers and steaks, and have a grilling area that would withstand the weather and climate of Galveston...

Outdoor Kitchens and Fireplaces

2007-07-28T15:08:00.000-05:00

Its late in the summer, and the outdoor kitchen business is growing by leaps and bounds. We've tripled or quadrupled our sales of stainless steel access doors & drawers, as well as high dollar grills like Firemagic, RCS, and American Outdoor Grill. In trying to decide what the driving force is, I'm somewhat lost. We've been selling 2 or 3 outdoor kitchens a week, ranging in price from $2500 to $22,000, and it seems to be getting busier and busier. Especially with personal referrals. The more we build, the more we sell, and so on.

Our website sales have done really well, largely because of the popularity of the RCS 304 Stainless Steel Outdoor Kitchen Accessories. The best seller is the RDD1 (double door set about 30" wide) perfect for under the grill....but we're selling lots of door/drawer combinations too...

Most of our local customers come in the store, thinking about building the outdoor kitchen themselves, but then when they find out we have an architect on staff that will come out; survey the area, meet with them and discuss their needs, then draw the kitchen, along with supervising the construction after the fact, they feel like its well worth it. Our island prices start around $320 per lineal foot, plus the equipment, and that seems to be extremely competitive.

For the most part, we're building either single wall cabinets, or "L" shaped cabinets, and the most popular countertop has been granite, even though its a bit pricey. After talking to our granite supplier, customers should be leary of buying any granite slab under 1" thickness - or you might end up with some cracking/splitting of the outdoor kitchen countertop.

Tile has been a popular countertop as well ~ very durable, weather resistant, and an endless selection of patterns ~ but be careful. Grout lines can mold if not treated with a special sealant on a regular basis, and they also can collect dirt if they are too wide ~ which is a tedious thing to clean, and appears dirty if you don't clean it.

Well more later, as it comes up. If you have any questions, feel free to visit our website at www.grillsandlogs.com or email me directly at stacey@grillsandlogs.com...