Outdoor Kitchen Installation

A built-in grill and counter run usually starts in the mid-four figures. A full masonry kitchen with a sink, refrigeration, and stone counters is a five-figure project, and the appliance list moves the number more than anything else. Most published averages cover the island, the counters, and the labor but not the appliances that go in them, which is why quotes often land higher than people expect. Our hardscaping cost guide breaks it down feature by feature.

Grills, side burners, smokers, pizza ovens, sinks, refrigerators, ice makers, kegerators, and warming drawers all come in outdoor-rated versions. The ones needing water or power drive the cost, since both have to be run out to the patio. Most builds start with a grill, counter space, and storage, then grow from there.

Yes, if it’s built for one. Water lines have to drain or get blown out before the first freeze, footings need to sit below frost depth so the island doesn’t heave, and the counter material has to take freeze-thaw without spalling. Granite and porcelain both handle it well. Appliances stay where they are under covers.

It depends what you want in the kitchen. A grill on propane needs a tank and nothing else. Natural gas, a sink, or refrigeration means trenching a line out from the house, which is far easier while the patio is being built than after it’s finished. If an outdoor kitchen is anywhere on the list, decide before the hardscape goes in.

Two to four weeks on site for most builds, longer if the patio underneath is going in at the same time or the counters are being cut to order. Appliance lead times usually move the schedule more than the construction does, so we order early.