Kitchen Remodeling
Outdoor Kitchens done properly
An outdoor kitchen is an exterior structure with plumbing and gas in it. Built like an indoor one, it does not last.
What this work involves
Everything outside has to handle humidity, temperature swing and rain. That means masonry or marine-grade cabinetry rather than standard boxes, stainless or powder-coated hardware, and counters that will not stain or spall when they get wet and then freeze.
The utilities need planning early. Gas runs, a dedicated circuit for a refrigerator, GFCI protection on everything, and if there is a sink then supply, drain and a plan for winterizing it.
Covered or uncovered changes the whole build. Under a roof you have more latitude on materials; fully exposed, everything has to be rated for it, including the appliances.
The sequence on a job like this
- Structure and drainage planned first, including whether it is covered
- Gas, electrical and any water roughed in and permitted
- Masonry or weather-rated cabinetry, stainless hardware
- Counters in a material that handles freeze-thaw, appliances set and connected
What we look at before quoting outdoor kitchens
Every outdoor kitchens job starts the same way: we look at what the new work has to sit on. Covered or uncovered changes the whole build. Under a roof you have more latitude on materials; fully exposed, everything has to be rated for it, including the appliances.
Doing that early protects the number we give you. A quote built on a quick glance tends to grow once walls come down, and we would rather spend the extra time at the start than hand you a change order later.
Worth knowing
The thing that usually goes wrong
Standard indoor cabinet boxes used outside. They swell through the first humid summer and the doors stop closing.
Most of what separates good work from adequate work is buried by the time the job is done. The substrate under the floor, the studs behind the drywall, the decking under the roof. Those are the parts that decide how the finish holds up, and they are the parts a fast crew skips.
A free walkthrough is the easiest way to find out where yours stands. Book one at (678) 665-7771 or through our contact page. Igor does them himself and does not dress up the answer.
Other kitchen work
All of it is on the kitchen remodeling services page.
Where we do this work
From our base in Roswell we work across Fulton, Cobb, Cherokee, Forsyth, Gwinnett and DeKalb counties. Alpharetta, GA, Marietta, GA and Woodstock, GA are on the list, and the service areas page has the other thirty-nine cities.
Have a look at the gallery for finished work, or call (678) 665-7771 and we will come out.
How scope drives cost
Two versions of the same project can differ enormously depending on choices that have nothing to do with what you can see at the end.
Most of the price is set by layout and structure. Moving a tub, taking out a wall or building out are what cost money, and upgrading the tile moves it far less.
We will lay out where those decision points are for your project, including where spending more genuinely buys you something and where it does not.
What we specify and why
Material choice is where a lot of remodeling money gets wasted, in both directions. Paying for the top of a product line rarely doubles its life, and buying the cheapest version of something structural almost always costs more within a decade.
Our general rule is to spend on the things that are expensive to replace and moderate on the things that are easy. Substrate, waterproofing, framing hardware and anything buried gets the good version, because reaching it again means demolition. Fixtures, finishes and hardware are swappable later, so those follow your budget and your taste rather than ours.
We will tell you where a cheaper option is genuinely fine. There are plenty of places in a house where the mid-grade product and the premium one come off the same line.
Permits and inspections
Structural changes, additions, most electrical and plumbing moves, decks and roofs all get permitted where the jurisdiction requires it. We pull them and we meet the inspectors.
Requirements vary across the six counties we work in, sometimes noticeably. What needs a permit in one jurisdiction may not in the next, and setback and zoning rules differ enough to change what is buildable on a given lot.
Unpermitted work causes problems at resale and at insurance claim time. It is not worth the saving, and a project that a contractor wants to keep off the books is telling you something.
Keeping it right afterward
Daily wear is rarely what ruins good work. Moisture is. Old caulk that cracks and a fan that only pushes air into the ceiling are both small things, and both add up over a decade.
We walk you through what your specific project needs and how often. Some of it is annual, some of it is once every several years, and most of it takes minutes.
If something we built is not behaving the way it should, call us. We would rather look at it than have you live with it or have somebody else guess at what we did.
Questions people ask
Can we use regular cabinets outside?
No. Standard boxes swell through the first humid summer and the doors stop closing. Outdoor work needs masonry or marine-grade cabinetry and stainless hardware.
Does it need to be covered?
It does not, but covered changes what we can use. Fully exposed means every material and appliance has to be rated for weather, including freeze-thaw on the counters.
Can we keep our existing layout?
Often, and it saves real money when the plumbing and gas stay put. We will tell you at the walkthrough whether moving anything is worth what it costs.
What happens if you find something unexpected?
You get a call that same day, with photos. We explain what we found and how we want to handle it, and nothing gets covered up without your knowledge.
How long does a project like this take?
It depends on scope and on what we find when we open things up. A single bathroom is usually a few weeks; a full home remodel runs months. We give you a real schedule after the walkthrough, and we tell you when it moves.
Who is actually on site?
Igor, along with the crew that started your job. He works on site instead of managing a dozen projects from a phone, which is the whole reason the company is kept small.
Let us take a look at your outdoor kitchens project
Call (678) 665-7771, or if you would rather write, use the contact page. Igor comes out in person to see the space and give you a straight answer. Growing into a high-volume shop is the thing he started this company to avoid, so the number of jobs we take stays low.