Hey now, I get to jump on the new outdoor cooking space bandwagon! Yippee!
Been scoping this out for some time and doing the requisite financial moves to make it possible to expand my usable cooking space out back. Got estimates over the past several weeks and am ready to sign on the dotted line with my chosen outfit next week.
Some of you may remember me talking about this space before when I discovered a little rectangle of concrete that I hadn't known was there before. That's what ended up in my adding the SnS Deluxe kettle. But that little slablet was so badly off level that it didn't last long there. My lovely bride agreed (maybe a touch grudgingly) to allow me to move it onto the main patio, and to move my Weber gasser pretty much right into the heart of the thing along the kneewall that is part of the design. So here is how things are currently configured. Pit Boss vertical p-smoker sits beside the sliding door because that's where the power outlet is, kettle nearby, gasser across the way.
All perfectly workable, but I wanted to get something installed under that breakfast nook window, a small simple deck, to allow me to move the kettle and gasser onto it. The Pit Boss has to stay put because of the power need.
Here's a better look at the space in question:
What I have in mind is a simple rectangular, free-standing, ground-level deck, 12 ft/3.7m wide (parallel to wall of house) by 10 ft/3m (coming out from house). Note that the blue bucket sitting on the ground is about that distance out, for visualization purposes.
From this angle, the left-hand side and the side closest will have railing, and the right-hand side will consist of a couple of low risers to come back to grade (you can see the slight slope from left to right). Not going to grade/level the ground, just sink the footers and have it as close to ground level as practical. It'll be made from composite; I've opted for Timber Tech over Trex after due consideration. At least equal quality, if not better, for the price point I'm working at, and at the same quality point, the TT is $800 cheaper. No brainer.
Here's my basic sketch. The grid is 1 ft intervals, and the two cookers and storage box are depicted to scale. I wish the Pit Boss had a longer power cable, that would allow me to put it on the deck too, but alas. Doing this will free up that space on the patio, making for a lot more usable space to live in over there.
Note that our natural gas meter and line are on the wall just to the right of the window. All three outfits who came to check it out indicated that would be no problem to work around and leave plenty of access to that equipment, which is of course essential.
I did consider going without a railing, but in the end decided to have them on those two sides, which will allow me to tether the cookers to the railing. There have been several times when winds have blown strongly enough to push the kettle and gasser around (in fact, this is my second gasser, the one that the former owners left got blown all the way across the patio and hurled onto its side our first year here, destroying the innards).
My winning bidder came in with a total of about $9200, whereas the other two were a few hundred shy of $11K, so a clear savings. I found all three using Consumers Checkbook, IMO by far the best venue (screw Angie's List!), and they all have excellent reviews and reputations. My chosen firm is giving me discounts for using CC and for agreeing to "flex" scheduling, meaning they guarantee it will be done by the end of June but will slot it in any time an opening arises beforehand, which is how it typically goes. For a project this simple, which can easily be done in under a week, it's highly likely that an earlier window will open up.
Stay tuned for updates... I am super stoked to be able to move ahead with this project at last!
(And yes, it is not lost on me that there is that big patch of white space on the deck plan...)
Been scoping this out for some time and doing the requisite financial moves to make it possible to expand my usable cooking space out back. Got estimates over the past several weeks and am ready to sign on the dotted line with my chosen outfit next week.
Some of you may remember me talking about this space before when I discovered a little rectangle of concrete that I hadn't known was there before. That's what ended up in my adding the SnS Deluxe kettle. But that little slablet was so badly off level that it didn't last long there. My lovely bride agreed (maybe a touch grudgingly) to allow me to move it onto the main patio, and to move my Weber gasser pretty much right into the heart of the thing along the kneewall that is part of the design. So here is how things are currently configured. Pit Boss vertical p-smoker sits beside the sliding door because that's where the power outlet is, kettle nearby, gasser across the way.
All perfectly workable, but I wanted to get something installed under that breakfast nook window, a small simple deck, to allow me to move the kettle and gasser onto it. The Pit Boss has to stay put because of the power need.
Here's a better look at the space in question:
What I have in mind is a simple rectangular, free-standing, ground-level deck, 12 ft/3.7m wide (parallel to wall of house) by 10 ft/3m (coming out from house). Note that the blue bucket sitting on the ground is about that distance out, for visualization purposes.
From this angle, the left-hand side and the side closest will have railing, and the right-hand side will consist of a couple of low risers to come back to grade (you can see the slight slope from left to right). Not going to grade/level the ground, just sink the footers and have it as close to ground level as practical. It'll be made from composite; I've opted for Timber Tech over Trex after due consideration. At least equal quality, if not better, for the price point I'm working at, and at the same quality point, the TT is $800 cheaper. No brainer.
Here's my basic sketch. The grid is 1 ft intervals, and the two cookers and storage box are depicted to scale. I wish the Pit Boss had a longer power cable, that would allow me to put it on the deck too, but alas. Doing this will free up that space on the patio, making for a lot more usable space to live in over there.
Note that our natural gas meter and line are on the wall just to the right of the window. All three outfits who came to check it out indicated that would be no problem to work around and leave plenty of access to that equipment, which is of course essential.
I did consider going without a railing, but in the end decided to have them on those two sides, which will allow me to tether the cookers to the railing. There have been several times when winds have blown strongly enough to push the kettle and gasser around (in fact, this is my second gasser, the one that the former owners left got blown all the way across the patio and hurled onto its side our first year here, destroying the innards).
My winning bidder came in with a total of about $9200, whereas the other two were a few hundred shy of $11K, so a clear savings. I found all three using Consumers Checkbook, IMO by far the best venue (screw Angie's List!), and they all have excellent reviews and reputations. My chosen firm is giving me discounts for using CC and for agreeing to "flex" scheduling, meaning they guarantee it will be done by the end of June but will slot it in any time an opening arises beforehand, which is how it typically goes. For a project this simple, which can easily be done in under a week, it's highly likely that an earlier window will open up.
Stay tuned for updates... I am super stoked to be able to move ahead with this project at last!
(And yes, it is not lost on me that there is that big patch of white space on the deck plan...)
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