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Intro
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hey there it’s James with RTA outdoor living and today we are going to be discussing the things that could go wrong with an outdoor kitchen project we are talking about the six most common mistakes that we see people make when it comes to buying an outdoor kitchen I’m
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sure we’ve all had regrets after making a purchase on something in our lifetime and our goal with this video is to help you avoid making any mistakes when it comes to purchasing an outdoor kitchen and upgrading your outdoor space let’s
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Budgeting as an afterthought
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get started with number one budgeting your project as an afterthought look we understand that pricing and determining a budget on any purchase isn’t important first step in an outdoor kitchen is no different with most things in life it is pretty easy to find pricing and get
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information to help you determine a budget unfortunately that isn’t really the case with an outdoor kitchen there isn’t a lot of good information or credible information for that matter available in regards to pricing and that typically leads to people not really
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being informed or able to determine a budget before they get too engaged in their project here at RTA we believe in full pricing transparency and we believe that you have the right to know and become fully educated on outdoor kitchen pricing this is one of the reasons that
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we openly discuss pricing and have a bunch of resources available for you if you’re struggling to find information on pricing feel free to check out our cost video and a few of our articles on our website on pricing and determining your budget
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Outdoor kitchens become a hot ticket
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outdoor kitchens become a hot ticket when the weather starts to turn and as most know the most popular barbecue holidays fall between the months of May and July when it comes to buying an outdoor kitchen there is usually a rush that starts in March and stays pretty
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steady until about July and that means that you will be caught up in the rush with everybody else this is the time of year that Appliance inventory is harder to come by and also lead times can get extended which means that if you come in eager to do your project during this
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time your project could get extended or appliances could even be on backorder we know that this is the time of year that an outdoor kitchen is most top of mind for people but if you are wanting your outdoor kitchen for the spring or early summer so that you can enjoy it for most
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of the season the best time to start planning your outdoor kitchen is going to be during the off season the off season for most outdoor kitchen companies is going to be from the months of October to January sure there are some sales that are available during the Spring rush but you
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will actually find the best deals during the off season as outdoor kitchen companies are starting to slow down this also gives you the amount of time you need to properly plan a project and get all of your ducks in a row for a successful project to come early spring
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Early spring
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once people commit to getting an outdoor kitchen they are usually excited and very eager to start their project and we totally understand but it is also important to practice patience as well since this is a long-term investment if you have your site set on your backyard
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being completed for your big Memorial Day party but you are behind the eight ball we would strongly advise against going with a company just because they can meet your timeline while that may pay off to give you the satisfaction for your Memorial Day party it could also
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lead to a bad decision in the long run if you choose the wrong company that company may be able to deliver according to your timeline but rushing to a decision could cause you to overlook some of the things that could have the most impact on the longevity of your project
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like building practices quality of the materials and also the appliances that they are going to be using this is one of the reasons why we advocate so strongly about planning in the off season so that you never have to rush on things at the end of the day an
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outdoor kitchen is a long-term investment and if that means sacrificing a couple weekends this year to wait for a more qualified company to do the work it will certainly be worth it in the long run it’s always the elephant in the
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Pricing
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room but we don’t ever shy away from it it’s pricing again this time we are going to talk about making decisions based on pricing as we mentioned before pricing is a major factor in any purchasing decision but we would strongly advise against it being the
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only Factor because all outdoor kitchens actually aren’t created equally you may be saying well thank you Captain Obvious but allow me to explain it a little bit further when you look across the industry there’s a pretty wide range of materials appliances and construction
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methods that are used all which really affect the price on the surface you can have two outdoor kitchens that look exactly the same but one is priced a couple thousand dollars more than the other option when you actually peel back the layers the one that is more expensive could actually
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very well be the better deal especially in the long run this is why we always point back to becoming thoroughly educated on outdoor kitchen pricing before making your decision based on price once you understand what drives the cost up and down and you really
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understand why one company can be priced more than another you are in the best position to make an informed decision on things when it really comes down to it most people make a purchasing decision based on three factors they want the best quality products
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the highest level of service at the lowest possible price which equals the best overall value the question you will have to ask yourself is which one of these are you willing to sacrifice because in order to deliver the best possible quality and the highest level
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of service it is going to cost more the last two mistakes are going to be related to the design and layout of your outdoor kitchen don’t make the mistake
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Design Layout
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of creating a beautiful design that has no functional counter space counter space can often get overlooked as a lot of people get caught up in adding all the cooking features and whatnot that they want but if you’re left with no space to actually prep food you’ll be
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pretty frustrated some people have other plans for their counter space so they’re really just looking to maximize the number of cooking appliances that they have on their outdoor kitchen but the point here is to not let your precious counter space become an afterthought
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Storage
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storage is probably the most forgotten component of any outdoor kitchen project but storage is one of the things that you won’t want to leave out of your design we talk to a lot of people who are doing an outdoor kitchen for the second time at a new home or even in
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some cases replacing an existing outdoor kitchen and one of the regrets that they usually bring up first when talking about their previous outdoor kitchen is not having enough storage space the first time around storage isn’t quite as glamorous as all
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the other outdoor kitchen features which is why it’s most likely a forgotten piece but trust us you won’t want to leave it out of your design storage is extremely functional and it gives you space to store the supplies and utensils you’ll be cooking with so everything can
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be kept in one place convenience is one of the biggest reasons that people make an investment into an outdoor kitchen so make your layout more convenient by having storage so you can avoid the thousands of trips in and out of your house hopefully this video was helpful in
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avoiding potential mistakes you could make on your project comment down below if you would like to see more videos just like this and don’t forget to subscribe to our Channel as always I’m James here with RTA outdoor living and we look forward to helping you host the
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moments that matter we’ll see you on the next video [Music]
