New outdoor BBQ area with door

gidden81

EricL

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's fabulous to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your new outdoor bbq area.

I love the door you've created not only does it keep your bbq items secure but serves as both shade and cover. Is it a heavy door? I'm sure our members would love to know more about the lever mechanism you used to keep it up. did you use a steel frame and just covered it with timber or is it an all-timber construction?

Any other details you can share about your build would be highly appreciated.

Again, thank you for sharing your outdoor bbq project.

Eric

CobraCol

Hi

I`m loving your Outdoor BBQ area with door. I`ve saw something similar about a year or so ago, and want to build something similar here in the UK, to keep the weather out :-), and I`ve been putting it off for two reasons. one not sure what to make the frame of the building from, timber , steel, etc, and two where to get the closer/opener mechinism rams from?

Can I ask how you went about yours, please and what you used for the rams/mechinism closer?

Many Thanks

Colin

Brad

Hi Colin

There is a UK calculator for gas struts.

https://www.gasspringsshop.co.uk/gas-spring-calculator/

They also sell them...

As a welding instructor I would say welded metal frame.

I do like composite decking for outdoor projects it needs a gap for expansion though.

Timber is relativly easy to work with.

Welded steel easy for me, not so if you need to learn welding.

I like aluminimum posts with screen-up 19mm rear fix screen so you can get a flush finish to the outside, the joiner posts are less work but are center fixed.

At Bunnings there is a gate set of joiners for 50mm tubing, not the cheapest but it lets you build frames without welding and you can get mounting brackets for 25mm tubing to use for bracing. If you can 3d print you can design your own fittings. ( I am not there yet! )

Personal preferance plays a big part on how you want it to look, I prefer flush posts with timber inserts where Gidden went with inside posts covered with timber.

EricL

Hello @CobraCol

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's fabulous to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about building your own covered outdoor BBQ area.

It's great that you've received excellent advice from @Brad. Let me tag @gidden81 to make them aware of your kind words and questions. It's fantastic that this project has inspired you to build your own BBQ covered area. My first suggestion would be to visit your local council and find out the rules and regulations about building a small BBQ shed at the back of your property. It's best to find out if there are floor area and height restrictions. Once you've seen the rules you can begin to design your BBQ shed in accordance with the regulations.

Between a wooden and steel frame, I'll cast my vote to steel. If prepared properly it should withstand the open elements much longer and will not require as much maintenance as a timber frame. To further reduce the maintenance, you can use composite decking as the covering material. Would it be possible for you to post a photo of your proposed BBQ area? This will give our members a chance to assess the location. We can then make recommendations on the best possible configuration.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

gidden81

Hi Colin.
the bbq area is made mostly out of timber expect for the door frame where it is made out of aluminium.
I had a local guy that did the struts.
but to figure out the weight I put a scale and a long bit of timber under where I thought the pivot point would be. Each strut had to hold 250kg each.

EricL

Hello @gidden81

Thank you very much for sharing the extra construction details about your outdoor BBQ area. Let me tag @CobraCol to make sure they are aware of the additional information. I'm sure they'll find it handy when the time comes to plan their own BBQ area.

Eric

Heineken

Hi @gidden81,

excellent work! I’m looking at building one similar. Would you have plans you can share. I’m interested in knowing specifically the dimensions of the door. Eg. what is the best height and pivot points to have good clearance to stand underneath.
i like the idea that the open door acts as an extension of the roof for added shelter from the elements.

EricL

Hello @Heineken

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. Thanks for joining the discussion.

Let me tag @gidden81 to make sure they are aware of your kind words and question. A safe height for the opening would be 2040mm, however, I would add the thickness of the door so that it is at the proper height.

The measurement of 2040mm is the standard opening height of a typical household door. But it is not a fixed rule, and you can customize the height to your liking. Just keep in mind that you might have a few friends who are taller than you.

Please make sure to use personal protection such as gloves, goggles and a mask when working on your covered BBQ area.

Eric

gidden81

Hi @Heineken

sorry mate no plans. I saw a picture and built it off that. With the door I have tall friends so I made it 2m.
with the struts I got them wrong three time before figuring it out so a couple of extra hole in the frame. Each strut I think is gassed to hold 300kg.
wish I could be more help but I’m not a build. First time a built something from scratch. But always happy to help more