DIY Outdoor Kitchens in High Demand During Recession and Low Gas Prices
Homeowners Are Building Their Outdoor Kitchens and Saving Thousands of Dollars.
With the current recession combined with the huge savings on gasoline prices, many homeowners are going ahead with their Outdoor Kitchen projects. But unlike the good old days when they would take out an equity loan for $30,000 and pay their contractor to build it. Homeowners are now more frugal and going with the DIY approach.
“It’s amazing how much money our family saved by building our outdoor kitchen,” says Jacqui Webb of Santa Barbara. We used a BBQ frame kit that screwed together. He then installed the cement board and finished it with a Travertine countertop and stucco siding.
We saved with a five burner Jenn Air grill from Lowes, a Firemagic access door, a Costco fridge, and a bar sink form the Home Depot. This combination of appliances cost us under $ 1500. This is very inexpensive for an outdoor kitchen. We are delighted with the results, and it is something we use all the time.
The average homeowner can build an outdoor kitchen. Most homeowners have experience with projects such as tile, essential power tools, etc. However, many have no experience with steel framing. Homeowners find steel framing to be wobbly and challenging to make 90-degree angles because they haven’t been taught what the professionals do to avoid these issues.
There is not much information about framing BBQ islands at my local hardware stores. YouTube became my best friend. The truth is, no one in the industry wants to teach people how to build their BBQ islands. Most companies would instead charge you out the rear end to make it versus a DIY Kit For most homeowners, it is best to purchase a pre-cut steel frame kit. These kits assemble similar to Ikea furniture. Insert screw to board B, then attach board A. You get the idea.
I have pulled a YouTube video that piqued my interest in the subject. Maybe they will work for you too.
Happy Grilling!
Check out our other post Why Get an Outdoor Gazebo?
