[gurnee_steve]

My wife and I will be buying a lot and building a designer home this year. We're looking at a cul-de-sac lot, extending the lanai, and putting in a pool/patio/birdcage. We're also thinking of putting a slider from master bdr to lanai instead of a Florida kitchen. What would be the best way to cook outdoors with a propane BBQ? Set aside an area inside birdcage? Small concrete pad outside birdcage for cooking? Does anybody put in these brick BBQ pits complete with little firepit for cool nights? Is there another alternative? Thanks. Who ever provides the best answer will be invited over for steaks this time next year!

[Cedwards38]

Florida kitchen alternatives? I thought those were called RESTAURANTS. Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

[gurnee_steve]

Originally Posted by Cedwards38

Florida kitchen alternatives? I thought those were called RESTAURANTS. Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

You're correct. But, do I really need a Florida kitchen with all the bells and whistles (fridg, running water)? Don't I really "need" a place to cook the hot food outside so as not to heat up the house? Hey, I live in Illinois right now and really don't know what it's going to be like in TV. Just trying to plan ahead.

[gadaboutgal]

After 10 years in The Villages, I still don't understand the summer kitchen concept. Why would anyone want to go outside and cook in the heat? Better solution to grilling is a Jennair cooktop with built in grill in your house kitchen. Love mine:
Designer Line Modular Gas Downdraft Cooktop, 30" | Jenn-Air

[gomoho]

I believe the summer kitchens are enjoyed by folks who entertain a lot. My brother had a great gas grill with a super exhaust built into his lanai and a small sink in case he needs water. Works perfectly for him.

[gurnee_steve]

If I choose not to go the Florida kitchen route, should my gas BBQ be outside the birdcage? If inside the birdcage, can I have a built-in brick BBQ pit or will the smoke muck up the birdcage?

[memason]

Originally Posted by gurnee_steve

My wife and I will be buying a lot and building a designer home this year. We're looking at a cul-de-sac lot, extending the lanai, and putting in a pool/patio/birdcage. We're also thinking of putting a slider from master bdr to lanai instead of a Florida kitchen. What would be the best way to cook outdoors with a propane BBQ? Set aside an area inside birdcage? Small concrete pad outside birdcage for cooking? Does anybody put in these brick BBQ pits complete with little firepit for cool nights? Is there another alternative? Thanks. Who ever provides the best answer will be invited over for steaks this time next year!

We lived close to Chicago.... I'm assuming you're up in Gurnee.

We have a lanai and birdcage; no outdoor kitchen. Although, if it had been an option, we would have opted for the outdoor kitchen. We purchased a model home...

We use the propane grill inside the birdcage and have had no issues with that. I do have a grill mat underneath the grill to prevent any dripping from getting on the concrete surfaces.

In the Chicago area, we had the outdoor paver patio with the grill wall and seat wall...common in that area. I am seeing more and more of those in the Villages, but I almost never see anyone using them...maybe I just don't drive by at the right time??? We spend a lot of time in our birdcage and on the lanai; eating almost every meal out there. Inside the birdcage are no worries about insects or any other critter that might be roaming about after dark..

Good luck with your research...

[batman911]

Originally Posted by gadaboutgal

After 10 years in The Villages, I still don't understand the summer kitchen concept. Why would anyone want to go outside and cook in the heat? Better solution to grilling is a Jennair cooktop with built in grill in your house kitchen. Love mine:
Designer Line Modular Gas Downdraft Cooktop, 30" | Jenn-Air

We plan to use it for cooking things that would leave an odor inside. We also enjoy cooking outside just because we like being outside. If you plan to use a stand alone grill inside the cage you may leave grease residue on lanai ceiling or bird cage screen if you do not have a hood.

[gomoho]

Definitely need a hood for exhaust - you will constantly br fighting dirt and mildew from the grease floating up to the cage frame.

[Swampy]

Hey Gurnee: My wife and I are right now in TV and our design meeting begins tomorrow at 9:00 a. The issue you raise is one of the issues we are wrestling with. After speaking to many people and looking at many existing set-ups of birdcages, I am still undecided. It seems that many people with a birdcage have opted to just use a propane gas grill in the birdcage (but not in the lanai .... that's a real bad no no). But, many people also have summer kitchens ... in their lanai adjacent to the birdcage, but the cost for a properly installed one is mucho dinero. Certainly, the fan hood portion of the summer kitchen does seem to be an important issue ..... but those people with a summer kitchen have it in the covered roof portion of the lanai, adjacent to the birdcage. Sooooo ... can we just put the propane grill in the birdcage, and hope that the screening of the birdcage allows the soot, grease, smell (and sometimes smoke when our grilling doesn't always work out that well) escape the screened enclosure without negatively affecting our investment in the birdcage?????? That's the big question. Well, I've seen that lots of people do it ..... and right now for me it will come down to cost. I hope I can afford a properly installed summer kitchen ...... but with the huge cost of the grills they are including in the summer kitchen set-up, I'm going to make dam sure that the stainless steel of every inch of the grill is high grade stainless steel. If a magnet adheres to it, then the stainless steel is second rate and we're getting ripped off in buying the grill for the summer kitchen from TV. In which case, I think I will try to get the summer kitchen, but try to get an after-market grill under the hood TV will build....but don't know if they will let me do that. BTW, there's no gas hookup south of 466a, and a summer kitchen build hookup involves TV sinking a large propane tank in your ground .... so there are complications with aftermarket additions. All in all, I probably will bite the bullet and go with TV to do it right ..... but I hope the quality is worth it.

Swampy gonna be on Partridge Ave in Fernandina 206

[gurnee_steve]

Swampy, thanks for your thoughts. I think we'll have to buy our lot before I make the final decision. Probably put a small concrete pad outside the birdcage where the prevailing winds take the smoke away (sorry neighbor!). Seriously, it doesn't take that long to cook a couple steaks or burgers...I'm not gonna be smoking any pork shoulders. I'm guessing that most of the food Villagers consumed is light, fresh, and cool...with a med-rare steak on the side. That way I can have the slider to the master beedroom (i.e. have my steak and eat it too!).

[TomW]

for me, the cooking oders are an issue. Any pungent spice seems to linger for day. You can rework the ventillation inside the house or move some of the cooking outside. I fry and do some currys using the propane grill as a heat source but that is a workaround at best. If you are pre-design phase, visualize what appliances and conveniances you will want outdoors and how that might work with food prep going on in the inside kitchen. You don't want to create a situation where you are running back and forth a lot plus carrying ingredients through carpeted areas between prep points.

After that exercise, have the TV builder put in all the plugs (110/220) and build the basic structure but get all your appliances at Lowe's, HD, etc. As an additional comment, I suggest having the builder put in the cheapest finishes possible and then replace them using outside contractors. The builder markups for nicer finishes are significantly higher than outside contractors.

[Golfingnut]

Originally Posted by gurnee_steve

You're correct. But, do I really need a Florida kitchen with all the bells and whistles (fridg, running water)? Don't I really "need" a place to cook the hot food outside so as not to heat up the house? Hey, I live in Illinois right now and really don't know what it's going to be like in TV. Just trying to plan ahead.

We have Electricity, running water and Refrigerator at the Bar, but we decided to continue with an outdoor grill on the outer pad for cooking. Any oven/stove-top cooking, we still do from the house kitchen. With the proximity of the pool we thought it better to keep fire, glassware etc. in the house and away from the pool. This format is working perfectly for us. Good luck with your plans.

[keithwand]

We enjoy and use our summer kitchen the builder put in. Especially like the glass block windows on either side of the vent.
The grill works nice and we cook on it 1-3 nights a week.
If you like to grill the go for it.

[patfla06]

We have an outdoor kitchen here in Tampa. Built-in grill w/vented hood,
sink and frig plus a counter to sit at.
The first grill had to be replaced --- $3,500.
The second grill was completely redone inside (by my DH) who got
all the parts and did it himself.
The chlorine from the pool/spa is VERY HARD on everything on the
lanai.

My new house in T.V. ---- no spa ---- no pool ---- no outdoor kitchen.

Been there and done that........

Very expensive to clean, repair and maintain.

I'm just saying....