Grill on a cart and a patio that feels unfinished? We build a block and stone kitchen with every opening sized to your appliances.
Outdoor kitchen masonry in Appleton, WI starts with a concrete block base for your grill, counters and any sink. We then cover the block with a finish that turns plain gray block into a kitchen that looks like it belongs in your yard.
Most people who call us have a grill they use all summer and want something more permanent around it. We're based in Appleton and build these in the cities around it, and the first thing I ask is how you'd like to cook out there. If you'd like a wood fire as part of the kitchen, the city's fire department has a say in where it goes, so we plan for that from the first sketch.
The price moves with the size and shape of the kitchen, the finish you choose, how many appliance openings and counters it carries, and whether you want a sink or a fire. The schedule depends on having your appliances chosen, on the plumber or other trades coming in at the right point, and on the wait for countertops. My written estimate sets out what we'd build for your yard and why.
A good outdoor kitchen depends on more than the stone you can see. These are the points I'll talk through with you before any block goes down.
Most outdoor kitchens are finished in stone veneer, a layer of stone set in mortar over the block base. The block ends up hidden, so your design time is best spent choosing the stone, while we make sure the base underneath is square, level and sized right.
Water lines and other utilities are run into place after the block is up and before the stone goes on, so you'll want those trades booked for that window to keep the stonework moving. If there's a sink, Wisconsin plumbing permits come from your local municipality, not the state, and only after the plans pass review.
The concrete pad should slope away from your house, and any closed-in section of the base needs drain holes so rain can't sit inside it. One block maker's method also starts by digging out and filling with compacted gravel that drains freely below the pad, and it's fair to ask any builder how the base will be built.
From the first call to the final walk-through, here is who does what. You'll see me at the start and at the end, and our crew does the building in between.
You call (920) 454-9038 or use our contact form and tell us a little about the kitchen you have in mind. We then set a time for me to come and look.
I walk the spot with you, look at the ground, the slope and how close the house and fence sit, and find out what you'd like to cook on. Then I write up an estimate that explains what we'd build and why.
If you'd like to go ahead, we take care of any permit the job needs. Our crew lays the block, leaves the right window for the plumber or other trades, then sets the stone, and I check the work as it goes.
Before we leave, I go over the finished kitchen with you and show you the drain holes and how water runs off the pad. Our crew cleans up the site so your yard is ready to use.
Before we lay out a single block, I ask for your appliance list and the size of each piece, from the grill to a side burner, small refrigerator or sink. The block base is what the stone is set on, so we size every opening to your actual appliances and everything fits when the stone goes on.
If you'd like a fire feature, we plan the layout around the city's spacing rule from the start, which I explain below. A kitchen also needs a good way to reach it, so we can build a new walkway from the back door, and a brick wall can back the cooking area or screen it from the neighbors.
One grill maker's manual says its grill is designed for masonry, non-combustible enclosures only, meaning enclosures that won't burn, and asks for a qualified installer working to local codes. Block and stone suit that well. It's worth reading your own grill's manual for what it asks of the enclosure, and I'm glad to go through it with you.
A straight grill island is the simpler build. An L-shaped kitchen adds counter space and room for a sink or a second appliance, but it also means more block, more stone and more openings to size.
A fire that burns wood brings in the city's fire permit and the spacing described below, and it needs more of your yard. A kitchen that cooks on gas, propane or charcoal stays outside that permit, so the layout is simpler.
We reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. I walk the job with you and write up a free in-person estimate of what we'd do and why. There's no obligation to go ahead.
(920) 454-9038The rule that changes an outdoor kitchen here is Appleton's outdoor fire permit. The fire department issues it for any outdoor fire except those fueled by natural gas, propane or charcoal, and it inspects the appliance and the burning site. Whoever applies agrees to keep the fire at least ten feet from any building, structure, fence, combustible play equipment, combustible landscaping or property line.
In a typical backyard, ten feet from the house, the fence and the lot line takes up more room than people expect, so a wood fire usually decides where the rest of the kitchen goes. The permit doesn't spell out how it treats built-in units, so we check with the fire department before work starts. When a permit is needed, we pull it ourselves and keep the paperwork in order.
Many of the homes we work on in Appleton, Grand Chute and Neenah are older brick and stone houses, and I want a new kitchen to look like it belongs beside them. That usually means choosing the stone and the mortar color with the house in mind, not only the catalog.
I come out to look at the job myself and write the estimate, so the person asking about your grill sizes is the person who answers for the build. Our crew of experienced masons does the work, and I check it as it goes. We've been in business since 2013, 13 years now, and we're best known for careful mortar work on older brick and stone homes.
We're licensed and fully insured. Satisfaction guaranteed. I'd rather build you a smaller kitchen that's right for your yard than a bigger one it doesn't need. If that sounds like the way you'd like it done, please call (920) 454-9038 or send us a message. Thank you for considering us.
A firm path from the back door to the grill means you aren't carrying plates across wet grass, and it can match the stone on your kitchen.
A brick wall behind the cooking area gives the kitchen a backdrop, blocks some wind and the neighbors' view, and suits a brick house better than a fence.
We're based in Appleton and build outdoor kitchens in the cities around it. These cities have their own pages, and we work in many others nearby as well.
The masonry on a standard L-shaped outdoor kitchen usually takes 7 to 12 working days. The whole project runs longer, because other trades come in partway through and countertops usually take 2 to 3 weeks to arrive. Lining up the plumber and the countertop order early keeps the gaps short.
An outdoor kitchen across the US usually costs about $5,000 to $17,000 per project. That's a national range for the whole kitchen, not our price. What we'd build for your yard, and why, is what I write up after I've seen it in person.
A fire that burns wood falls under the city's outdoor fire permit, which leaves out only fires fueled by natural gas, propane or charcoal. The permit doesn't say how it treats built-in units, so we check with the fire department before work starts and plan the layout around the ten-foot spacing.
Every opening in the block base is sized to a particular appliance, and building around the wrong sizes means costly rework. Once the stone is on, an opening can't simply be made a little wider, so the appliance list comes first in planning.
Your appliance list with the size of each piece is the most useful thing to have. It also helps to know where you'd like the kitchen to sit and whether you want a sink or a fire, since both change the layout and bring in other trades.
Standing in your yard together is the quickest way to see where a kitchen will fit, so call (920) 454-9038 or send us a message to set a time.
