Jakes Outdoor Kitchens

Archive for the ‘Planning’ Category

GRILLS: Most grills come with a cooking area that ranges from 24 inches to 48 inches wide, and 15 inches to 26 inches deep.  Also, if you would like to add a side burner or storage shelf to your grill, plan on adding at least a foot to the width of the grill.  When placing the grill, it is a good idea to take into account the prevalent wind direction in your area.  Nothing can spoil a fine cook out quicker than a face full of smoke.

DINING AREA: You have a variety of table choices open to you when assembling your dining area.  Depending on the number of people you plan on regularly entertaining, you can find a table that will suit your needs.  If enjoying your outdoor kitchen is more often than not going to be a family affair, you may consider a simple, square shaped table.  They are usually found with the dimensions of 42 inches by 42 inches.  If large gatherings are more your style, why not purchase a rectangular table up to 96 inches long?  When choosing a location for the table, make sure you allow ample walkways around each side of the table.  A good guideline to follow is to leave at least 42 inches of apace on each side of the table.  Please, make sure to place your table at least 60 inches from a stairway.

COUNTER SPACE:  Cooking delicious meals requires a lot of elbowroom.  Try and plan on having AT LEAST 36 inches of counter space on either side of your grill.  If your outdoor kitchen includes a sink, allow for 18 inches to 24 inches of counter space on both sides of the sink.  You will be grateful that you made allowances for extra counter space when you a hustling to get a quick meal together for unexpected guests.

THE LAYOUT  Your grill is the most important part of your outdoor kitchen, so it is advisable that you start with the grill and work your way out when constructing your cooking area.  After you place your grill, you can then arrange everything else so it is in easy reach while you are cooking.  Hooks for tongs and spatulas can be a very helpful addition to your kitchen.  There are some advantages to placing the counter opposite of the grill.  This arraignment is very efficient, and creates natural barriers to help keep traffic out of the grill area.

Consider yourself lucky if you already have a backyard patio. Any structural modifications that you have to make will probably be minimal, at best.  With any outdoor kitchen, convenience should be a major feature of the design. It will save you valuable time, the less trips you have to make to the indoors kitchen to retrieve utensils and food.  That said, you don’t have to be able to see your outdoor kitchen from inside your home.  Who wants to be relaxing with friends and family while staring at a pile of dirty dishes?  You can have shelves installed under the counter of your outdoor kitchen so you can stash dirty plates out of sight until it is time to clean up.

When choosing the location for your new cooking center, be sure to allow for the unique space requirements of each appliance.  Below are some simple guidelines to follow when planning for all of the appliances that you may want.