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Hey everybody, what’s going on? It’s James here with RTA Outdoor Living. If you’re in the middle of researching an outdoor kitchen project, you might be wondering if you can build your island on a deck. Whether you have an existing deck you want to retrofit or you’re planning to build one in the near future, it’s an important question to
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ask because if it’s not possible, you’d be backing yourself into a pretty expensive mistake. So rather than continue to hold yourself in suspense, let’s answer the question, can you build an outdoor kitchen on a deck? As for the short answer, it’s yes, absolutely. You
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can definitely build an outdoor kitchen on a deck. However, that answer does come with a few caveats, and that’s ultimately what this video is about. The material your deck is made of, the weight of your outdoor kitchen, and utility setups are all a factor in
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how successful your outdoor kitchen deck will be. So, to start off, let’s discuss deck materials. Unfortunately, not all materials are well suited for installing an outdoor kitchen on a deck. Why is this? Well, it has to do with safety and
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more specifically combustibility. Due to the cheaper cost, most decks are made with some kind of wood. And while there’s nothing inherently wrong about that, there are some safety concerns when you decide to put an outdoor kitchen on. As you well know, outdoor kitchens house built-in grills and other
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appliances that operate with an open flame. So, if you end up with a worst case scenario of a grease fire or gas leak that gets out of control, the fire can easily spread to your wooden deck or even worse then to your entire house. While this may seem like a far-fetched
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scenario, this happens on a regular basis. According to the National Fire Protection Association’s data, gas grills were involved in an average of 9,079 home fires annually during the years of 2017 to 2021. That’s nearly 50,000 grill
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fires over the course of 5 years. Now, with that in mind, you’ll understand how important it is to prioritize safety as you go through the process of building an outdoor kitchen on your deck. When it comes to using a deck for your outdoor
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kitchen surface, we do not recommend using wood because of its combustibility. Ideally, you would use a completely non-combustible material like concrete or metal, but these are uncommon decking materials and can be very cost prohibitive. A happy medium option is to use a fireresistant decking
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material such as Trex decking. This will provide you with a better protection than just plain wood. And if you live in an area that’s prone to wildfires, this is an important point to consider regardless of if you’re putting an outdoor kitchen on it or not. Now that
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we’ve cleared up the best materials for an outdoor kitchen deck, there’s two more considerations we have to address. Let’s assume you have or are building a deck that’s made from a fireresistant or non-combustible material. Next, you’ll have to think about the weight of your
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outdoor kitchen. Is your deck strong enough to even handle the load? It’s an essential question to know the answer to because if you’re not sure, it’s possible your outdoor kitchen is too heavy or your deck to handle, and you’ll end up with a collapsed deck, a destroyed outdoor kitchen, and a ton of
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time and money wasted. Thankfully, your builder should know how much weight your deck can handle, and most outdoor kitchen builders or companies can give you an accurate estimate of how much or island will actually weigh. When figuring out weight requirements, we
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will admit that it’s easier if your deck has not been constructed yet. This way, you could build your deck to be strong enough from the outset. If you have an existing deck that turns out not to be strong enough, you’ll have to have your builder come back to add more supports,
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which of course carries with it an additional cost. It’s also worth mentioning that some outdoor kitchen solutions are heavier than others. A concrete block outdoor kitchen is just about as heavy as you can get, and in most cases, you’re better off with a lighter weight solution, such as ready
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to assemble concrete panels. Once you’ve established that your deck can handle the weight of your future outdoor kitchen, you’ll also need to think about utilities. More than likely, your outdoor kitchen will require some form of utility lines. If you want a natural gas grill, electric refrigerator, and or
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a sink, all of these features require their own lines to be stubbed up through your deck. This is also a scenario where it’s easier if your deck has not been constructed yet, and you know exactly where your outdoor kitchen will be placed on the structure. That way, you can get the utility lines installed
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ahead of time and your builder can have the lines already stubbed up in the correct locations. If you have an existing deck, it’s not impossible, but it’s a more involved and complicated process to work backwards. So, again, you’ll have to expect an additional cost
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here. With the previous points in mind, what is the best outdoor kitchen solution for installing on a deck? For the seamless experience all around, you’ll want to seriously consider getting a ready to assemble outdoor kitchen. RTA outdoor kitchens will arrive at your home as panels with the
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countertops and appliances included. With two to three helping hands, it’s easy to hand carry each piece up the steps of your deck and get them positioned into the right spot. From there, all you need to do is bolt all the panels together with the provided hardware. Place the countertops
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and slide in the appliances. All said and done, the whole process only takes a few hours and there are no added complications from installing your island on the deck. Additionally, ready
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to assemble islands tend to be better to deal with from a weight perspective. Although the panels themselves are solid concrete, they are overall a lighter weight option compared to something like masonry or concrete block. So, now that you have the lowdown on what to consider before installing your outdoor kitchen
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on the deck, let’s get some inspiration from other homeowners projects, the Tilman family. Harry and Tracy have a pretty unique outdoor kitchen story. They’ve had an outdoor kitchen on a deck for quite some time, but unfortunately, there were some
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serious problems with their old outdoor kitchen. Their original outdoor kitchen was built from wood, which, as we mentioned earlier, is a poor material choice. Whenever Harry would grill, he would have to physically roll his grill away from the island to not create a ventilation problem. Despite this, it
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wasn’t until the Tilmans decided to get a new and better outdoor kitchen that another serious safety issue came to light. When they were demolishing their old island, the Tilmans discovered that there was an open junction box beneath the outdoor kitchen with a live wire. At
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any point in time, this could have caused a dangerous fire completely without their knowledge. If you want to get full details on the Tilman’s project, you can check out the link in the description box below. But for now, let’s talk about their new outdoor kitchen on the deck. Harry and Tracy went for a simple, elegant linear design
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that would fit comfortably on their backyard deck. Starting from left to right, this island has a pedestal for their Big Green Egg smoker, double drawer storage, a gas grill, double access doors, a power burner with drawer storage underneath, and a pullout trash
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can. This layout covers all grilling essentials, and the bright plank finish matches perfectly with the Tilman’s home. Another great example of an outdoor kitchen on a deck would be Gina Kersian Heater’s BBQ island. Gina’s deck
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is quite different from the Tilman’s family. Instead of a simple deck that extends directly from the back of the house, Gina’s deck wraps around the perimeter of a home. It’s a luxurious setup, but the nature of this design does create tight and narrow spaces. Thankfully, the RTA system had no issues
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with the tight corners. That said, the narrow layout of Gina’s deck did affect how this island was designed. She decided to go for an expansive L-shaped island with a corner unit, so it could be tucked nearly into the corner of the deck. This allows for Gina to have
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plenty of space for all the appliances she wanted without interfering with the walkthrough space of her deck. And there’s definitely plenty of appliances. Starting from the left, you’ll see a full-size plet grill with a drawer storage underneath, triple drawer
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storage, outdoor pizza oven with access doors underneath, an outdoor refrigerator, pull out trash can, and a flat top griddle with storage underneath. You’ll also notice that Gina went for a textured modern stone finish. The modern stone aesthetic is an
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excellent option for any contemporary backyard. And in Gina’s case, this modern stone finish pairs nicely with the parkquet like deck surface. All in all, this is a design to seriously keep in mind for your project. Wrapping up, let’s take a look at Joe and Melissa
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Gorga’s outdoor kitchen on a deck. Unlike the previous designs, this project took place on a second story deck. As you can imagine, dragging materials up a flight of stairs could seriously impact the installation process. But again, with ready to assemble panels, the process was far
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easier than other methods. Panels were hand carried up the stairs and all said and done, this project was still pulled off in a single day. >> If I would build it out of block, cinder block, you would have to put a footing in. You need a footing. So, you got to
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dig down 3 ft. >> Be super heavy on this deck. Also, >> especially in New Jersey, you know, you have to go below the frost line. So, that’s three feet down. You’re digging a footing. You’re putting concrete in. Then you’re building out a cinder block. You’re pouring a cinder block. And then
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you would glue your your stone to it. So think about that process. Dig a footing three feet deep. Pour your concrete steel steel frame it. Put your cement board on. Then put your stone or your stuckle on. You’re talking about a week. A week to build this. And it’s really
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not the right thing to do cuz the elements of the weather pop the stone in the winter. It looks terrible. I mean, it’s just the process is literally four or five days compared to an hour, hour and a half.
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>> Yeah. >> I mean, can’t beat it. >> It really was easy breezy. Like, I couldn’t believe how fast it went in. >> Putting the kitchen together. I mean, it I really have to say it was one of the easiest things I’ve ever put together. >> Since the deck extends directly off the side of the house, the Gorgas decided to
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opt for a linear island. But since they had the space available, they extended the island right to the edge of the deck. Starting from left, you’ll find a full-size refreshment center with a sink, double access doors, a dual pullout trash, outdoor refrigerator,
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power burner with drawer storage underneath, a Komado smoker, open air spice rack, and a large gas grill with combination storage drawers underneath. As far as the finish and countertops go, the Gorgas decided on a tasteful black and white contrast, just like the rest
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of their house. The primary finish on this island is done in charcoal plank. This finish is characterized by horizontal lines darting across the surface, which just so happens to match the horizontal black railings on the Gorga’s deck as well. It’s a small
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detail that creates a nice tie-in. And to top it all off, the countertops are done in a beautiful white clean edge, which again ties into the black and white theme of the Gorgas home. Overall, this project is a perfect example of an outdoor kitchen install on a deck done
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well. Now that you’ve seen some textbook examples of outdoor kitchen deck installations, perhaps it’s time to start fleshing out your own project. If so, our free online design tool is the perfect place to start. You can spin up a custom design in minutes, and from
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there, get tailored guidance from our design experts on how to install your island on your deck. Check out the design tool in the description box below, and we will catch you on the next video.
