Concrete Outdoor Kitchens: Structural vs Surface

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A lot of outdoor kitchens will advertise that they’re made from concrete, but there’s one thing a lot of people might not realize, and that’s not all concrete is created equal. Some outdoor kitchens use concrete as a thin finish or surface layer, while others use it as the actual structural framework of the kitchen. And

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[music] the difference can have a big impact on how your outdoor kitchen performs over time. It’s Daniel here with RTA Outdoor Living, and today we’re talking about something that surprises a lot of people when they start researching outdoor kitchens. The fact that not all concrete materials

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are the same. You might hear the word concrete used in a lot of outdoor kitchen products and building methods, but that word can mean very different things depending on how the material is used. Today, I want to break down the differences and explain why the type of concrete used in your outdoor kitchen

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can matter for the long term. >> [music] >> One of the biggest differences comes down to how the concrete is actually being used. In some outdoor kitchen builds, concrete is mainly used as a surface material, like a countertop, stucco coating, [music] or decorative finish applied over the frame structure.

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Underneath that finish might be metal studs, wood framing, or cement boards. [music] Those materials can work, but the structure itself is still relying on framing materials that weren’t originally designed specifically for outdoor

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kitchen environments. In those cases, the concrete is mostly used cosmetically rather than structurally. >> [music] >> These materials contain cement, which is why they sometimes are grouped into the broader concrete category, but they’re typically designed to be a backer material for tile or finishes, not a

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structural framework. So, that means they usually still rely on a separate frame behind them to support the weight of the countertops, appliances, and other components. So, while they include cement as an ingredient, they function

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very differently from a true structural concrete system. Outdoor kitchens live in an environment that’s very different from indoor construction. They’re exposed to rain, temperature changes, heat from grills, and in many regions freeze-thaw cycles. Because of that, the

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structural materials used in kitchens need to be able to handle the long-term outdoor exposure. [music] At RTA Outdoor Living, the approach is to make the structure of the outdoor kitchen itself engineered from concrete panels. Instead of framing the kitchen first, then adding cement-based [music]

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materials on top, the panels themselves act as the structural framework of the kitchen. These panels are manufactured using concrete blend designed to provide structural strength while still being manageable to assemble during

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installation. The goal is to create a material that offers durability of concrete while allowing the kitchen itself to be assembled efficiently with a panelized system. This means when the kitchen is assembled, the structure becomes a solid concrete framework rather than a frame structure with

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cement products attached to it. Another advantage of this approach is that the panels are precision manufactured before they ever reach a job site. [music] That means structural pieces are designed to fit together as a system rather than being built piece by piece in the field.

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For homeowners, that can help create a more predictable installation process while still providing the strength of structural concrete construction. The end result is an outdoor kitchen structure that is designed specifically for outdoor conditions [music] from the ground up. If you’re planning an outdoor

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kitchen and want to explore what this type of system might look like in your backyard, you can try out our free outdoor kitchen design tool. [music] Or if you’d like help planning your project, you can book a call with one of our outdoor kitchen design experts. We hope this helped you better understand

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why the materials used in your outdoor kitchen matters, and not all concrete is the same. Thanks for choosing RTA, and we’ll see you in the next video.