Remodeling Your Outdoor Kitchen

A video transcript featuring Scott Cohen, The Green Scene

Now we're remodeling this backyard and this outdoor barbecue counter. The client's not happy - one of the problems they're having with this countertop is that it's made entirely out of flagstone, which is a very porous material. It's very hard to keep clean. It feels dusty all the time. It sloughs off layers over time, and it's real easy to stain and difficult to seal. Also, it's all set at just counter height, and that doesn't work great for entertaining. When your friends come over, they want to be able to belly up to the bar, and it's uncomfortable to lean over on a counter like this on a regular basis. Also, they're interested in getting a real man-sized grill instead of this little, dinky old barbecue.

Upgrading to concrete countertopsWhat we're going to do here is take this countertop off. We're going to build them a counter at counter height, and then raise to bar counter height, and do split-level counters all the way around. That will entertain about 12 people up at this bar.

These will be cast concrete countertops vibrated into the molds, so they'll be much easier to keep clean and easy to seal and maintain. We're also going to make room for a bigger barbecue, add a side burner, a beverage center, and then put a real sink in instead of this little, dinky old sink that they have now.

The outdoor kitchen is becoming more and more popular. It is the focal point of the backyard. If you have an old counter like this, consider upgrading it to something special like we're going to do here in this backyard.