Outdoor Grill

[ZoomZoom71]

My wife and I are getting prepared to extend our outdoor living area from an 8x14 lanai, to an 18x17 screened patio. (See Attached) With this, I'd like to also upgrade my outdoor cooking area. At this point, I'm not sure if I want to spend the extra money for a built-in outdoor kitchen, or just go with a really nice stainless steel mack-daddy free standing unit.

What experiences have you guys had with either setup? Any recommendations on a brand-name?

[HUFN8OR]

Zoom:

My wife and I were having the same concern earlier this year after we added on to our patio. We finally decided against a built-in outdoor kitchen due to 1) unpredictable weather in Houston, 2) wanted something we could take if/when we moved, 3) something we could also take to the beach, camping, etc. and 4) scalable.

We decided on the Jenn-Air Three-burner Stainless grill (Model 720-0163), and couldn't be more pleased. It's a beautiful, low-maintenance grill that has very precise control over the heating elements and grill surface. If you decide against a built in, I suggest you take a look at this unit or it's brothers.



Good luck,

[Peench]

I had a free standing unit at the old place, but wanted to do a built in before we moved. So the built in is what I ended up building pretty much when we moved into this house.



We love it! Cooked up some burgers on it last night in fact. Went with a Grand Turbo from BBQ's Galore. I think it was 2k for this BBQ with the side burners and whatnot.



We checked out quite a few other grills before settling on this one. This one seemed to have more features at the most reasonable cost so I went with it.

I have had my propane tank run out on me at BBQ's before and I didn't want that to happen. This is tapped right into my gas line so I don't have to worry about it.

Huff has a good point about the weather tho. We have mostly sunshine year 'round here so we can use it all the time. If you do alot of BBQ'ing go all out. If not, then save yourself the money and get a nice free standing version. I'm very happy with how ours turned out (with one design problem the contractor introduced) and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

[dmiller68]

It does a good job of cooking as well... Although I'm sure some of it was Peench.

[ZoomZoom71]

Thanks for the suggestion, Huf. I didn't realize Jenn-Air made grills. I like their stuff, so I'll take a look at 'em. To date, I've only ever owned grills that cost <$300, and I'm looking at 'higher-than-that' -end equipment. I'm tired of rusted burner and inoperable igniters. Ugh!

Peench, what materials were used in the construction of your kitchen. Is that stucco-coated block? Or, is it pressure-treated lumber? And, did the Turbo brand come recommended? I'm a 'brand recognition'-type, and I've only heard of them on one other occasion. Are they exclusive to BBQ's Galore? We used to have one here in Jax, but their either moved, or closed, their store.

[dmiller68]

I have a Jenn-Air for $700 I haven't been impressed... I know I got one of there buggy models... Do a search on Jenn-Air BBQ and you will see lots of forums about them.

[SpOoNmAn]

Your grills cost more than my house

[Peench]

LOL at SPoon!

The construction is concrete slab with block frame covered in stucco. The cutout on the right is a slide out drawer and on the left is the access panel for the gas shut off valve and CFGI trip plug. I wanted the pull out drawer they offered that went the entire length of the grill, but then I wouldn't have had room for the access panel. Oh well.

The Turbo brand is BBQ Galore exclusive as far as I know. My stepdad had one for years (still has it) and it was always great to grill on. The ceramic tiles in the thing are great and offer really great heat distribution. All the grills are stainless steel so I can pop them in the dishwasher if I wanted to clean them. I like the added flavor tho so I haven't done that yet. If I had to buy another grill I would go with Turbo again. I've had no issues with it so far (and hopefully didn't just jinx myself!).

It also came with the rotisserie dealio - we can throw two chickens on the spic and let em roll. I totally dig the grill. When we were looking I looked at other name brand grills at Home Depot Expo and other places and couldn't find anything that was this good of a value. Since I knew the brand from my stepdads I went for it. I'm glad I did. Check em out, they probably have some upgraded models now. I got this done probably 3-4 years ago.

[ZoomZoom71]

Thanks for the tip. When I go to their store (if I can find it), I'll just tell 'em Peench sent me!

[BrewCityUpstart]

We re-did our driveway and expanded the patio- it's now a tiki lounge and we throw killa parties.

[Mahkila]

Hunfn8or i have that same grill its sweet. peench your outdoor grill area looks awsome 2 is that a fridge there to the left of the grill?

[hifigramps]

Nice setup Peench. Just another perk of those Billable Hours...

[Peench]

Thanks! Yeah, that's a fridge over there to left. Its filled with drinks.