Estimated Costs

Estimated costs for building an outdoor kitchen

The cost of an outdoor kitchen can vary between $750 for a do it yourself project to well over $100000 for luxury projects. Most outdoor kitchen projects fall under the following three categories

Do it yourself Built in backyard barbecue
Building an outdoor kitchen yourself may be time-consuming, but if you enjoy building projects and take it slowly it can also be fun. A typical do it yourself project usually takes about 50 hours of time (provided you have all the plans and resources in place).The construction can  be done either on weekends or you can take it in one go .Such a project would cost you around less than $3000 and would include a grill ,sinks ,fixtures ,cabinets ,  framing (made from wood /concrete /backer board) and tiling.

Patio Addition
For more flexible budgets and to design an outdoor kitchen which can also serve as an area to entertain guests and hold dinners and luncheons, a patio setup can be considered. Since this setup would cater to more robust requirements the barbecue counter would hold more accessories and grilling equipment generally tends to be higher end. You definitively would like to work on aesthetics and include plants and other decorative elements such as appropriate lighting. Unless you have good home decorative skills a designer /contractor would be needed.The cost of these projects could range between $10000 to about $30000. This includes patio cover , tiling ,barbecue  equipment, an elaborate barbecue island ,a small fireplace to add to the aesthetics and adding seating equipment. Here’s a helpful link :

Luxury Outdoor Kitchens
Outdoor kitchens have become a symbol of luxury and panache. Put in around $65000 to about $100k , hire a designer and you could have a head turning outdoor entertaining spot in town. Luxury Outdoor kitchen feature ovens , fire pits and often have lighting designed so as to create a breathtaking aesthetic appeal. Practically there are no upper limits. The bells and whistles are all up to you !

The outdoor kitchen in the image is the imagination of Del and Diane Morissette,  in Dublin, California on a beautiful hillside looking out over the San Ramon, Amador, and Livermore Valleys. You can visit their website and see their step by step images on how they built this project.