Outdoor cooking area

JoeAzza

Featured Project See more

I built this outdoor cooking top and drawers so I can grill and fry meals outside to reduce oil splatter in the kitchen whilst frying burgers, steak etc. I had a small grill for frying, I then bought a spare induction cooker that I can use for frying outside, no mess inside, I built the drawer/top to accommodate the induction cooker, I also added a tiled splash back, I didn't do the traditional glue and grout with the tiles, the reason was that the cement sheet backing that I required wouldn't fit in my car. so I came up with this idea, loose tiles held in place with channel on the bottom and L shaped timber on top, so if I ever want to change the tiles to another colour, this would be easy to do in the future.

Materials

Tools

Merbau timber for the top

Cypress pine for the cabinet.

Marine ply for the drawers.

Screws for drawers

Exterior wood glue

Clear satin varnish for outdoor use.

Table top mounting brackets

Cabinet drawer runners.

Table saw

Mitre saw

Trim router and 45 degree router bit

Sander

Sandpaper

Clamps

Steps

1234

Step 1

1/4

Cut cypress pine to make up cabinet frame.

Router timber to join together, I used a tongue and groove method for joinery.

Glued and clamped timber pieces.

Next Step

Step 2

2/4

Cut to length and width to remove radius on Merbau timber, this was done to enable gluing of the timber joins and removing the oiled surface which allowed for gluing them together, otherwise the timber wouldn't stick together.

Glued and clamped timber.

Sanded flat used 80 grit to 240 grit sandpaper.

Cut to length, and bevel edges with small trim router

Previous StepNext Step

Step 3

3/4

Cut marine ply to make up drawer

Assemble drawer and paint with clear varnish.

Install drawer runners .

Install cabinet

Install top.

Previous StepNext Step

Step 4

4/4

Install splash back tiles.

Previous Step

EricL

Hi @JoeAzza

Amazing as always! That benchtop finish is perfect, but your workaround for the tiles is just genius. It provides all the benefits of a tiled splashback without the hassle of tile glue and grout. The best part of course is that you can change the tiles with minimal effort. I'm thinking how about installing a middle channel so that you can use a 300x300 tile. It would open up your tile choices.

Thanks for sharing a fantastic cooking area.

Eric

JoeAzza

Thank you @EricL that could work also, the channel would need to be double sided to allow tiles to lock in top and bottom tile. That might to be a good brainstorming project 😀

KatieC

Beautiful woodworking skills @JoeAzza! What a great space you have created for some organised outdoor cooking. I am sure your household is happy that you are keeping the splatter outside. I am sure once spring comes along you will find yourself out there making all sorts of meals.

Members inspired by Joe's great work should check out Outdoor kitchen ideas for your home.

Amazing job!

Katie

Dave-1

Good Afternoon @JoeAzza

Never read a project so fast lol I read the first bit then was nodding my head at "fwouldnt fit in the car" When I saw your solution my head went "BINGO"

Outside the square thing for sure, the ability to change the design and ease of install both appeal to me. I have an area on my deck that is slatted for a kitchen dcooking area and one of the issues was mounting concrete sheeting on a colourbond style wall. Here is a solution! And a stylish one at that

A very nice project (Yes I did read the rest afterwards )

Thanks

Dave

Noyade

Great idea (cooking more outside) and wonderful execution. 👍