Outdoor Kitchen Construction
Start to finish. We pour the base, run the gas and water, build it, and hand it back working. Most people come to us for this one.
Custom outdoor kitchen builders in Meridian, Idaho
Outdoor Kitchens Meridian ID
We build the whole outdoor kitchen: footings, frame, gas and water, counters, storage and the built-in grill. You choose how it looks, we handle the drawings, the permit and the build.
Built to come through an Idaho winter and still look right in the spring.
Get a free site measure
Four things and we can call you back with something useful.
10 years building in Meridian
70+ outdoor kitchens completed in Meridian
RCE-69511 Idaho registration
Cost
How much does an outdoor kitchen cost in Meridian?
$6,000 to $15,000 for a basic grill island in Meridian, and $25,000 to $50,000 for a full custom build with refrigeration, a bar and a pizza oven.
Most builders around here will not put a number on a page at all. We will, because the spread is explainable and you should know it before you call anyone.
Four things set the price: the footing, the cover, the utility runs, and the finish. All four are decided by your lot, not by a catalog. Two of the same kitchen on two Meridian streets do not cost the same. One goes onto a patio that is already solid. The next one needs the ground dug out, a new pad poured, and forty feet of trench for the gas. The appliances are the smallest part of that gap.
Why we quote on site
Every outdoor kitchen sits on a different lot, with different ground under it, different setbacks, and a different distance to run gas and water. A national average will not tell you what yours costs.
We measure your lot, check your setbacks, and give you a real figure for your build.
The footing24-inch minimum depth. Your ground decides how much work that is, and it is not optional.
The coverA roof is the biggest single line on most quotes, and the thing that changes how much you use it.
The utility runsGas, water and power priced by distance. The line that varies most between neighboring lots.
The finishThe only one of the four you can change later. Put the money into the first three.
Services
What outdoor kitchen services do you offer in Meridian?
Eleven, from a single island to a fully covered kitchen, plus the remodel, repair and winterization work that keeps one going through a Meridian winter.
Every photo on this page is one of our own builds. There is more of our work in the gallery.
Outdoor Kitchen Design
Before anything gets built, you see exactly what you are getting: the layout, the materials, and where everything sits in your yard. This is where most of the money is either saved or wasted.
Outdoor Kitchen Islands
A grill, counter space either side, and storage underneath. It is the simplest way in, it usually does not need a permit, and it is the one most people start with.
Modular and Prefab Outdoor Kitchens
Built from ready-made sections and finished on site. Quicker and easier to price than a full custom build, as long as your patio is flat and in good shape.
Covered Outdoor Kitchens
A proper roof over the whole thing. This is the single biggest difference between a kitchen you use in July and one you use most of the year. It needs a permit, and we take care of that.
Outdoor Kitchen Remodel
You already have one and it is tired, cracked, or just wrong for how you use the yard. If the bones are good, this costs a lot less than starting again, and we will tell you honestly which you are looking at.
Outdoor Kitchen Repair
A cracked counter, a burner that will not light, doors that have rusted through. We fix the thing that broke. If it is going to break again, we will say so instead of taking your money twice.
Outdoor Kitchen Winterization
Getting it shut down properly before the first hard freeze. Water lines cleared, appliances covered, everything ready to sit out the winter. An hour in October saves a repair bill in April.
Outdoor Kitchen Bars
Somewhere for people to sit and talk to you while you cook, instead of standing in the way. Get the height and the overhang right and it becomes the part of the yard everyone uses.
Built-In Pizza Ovens and Smokers
Wood-fired or gas, built straight into the run. These are heavy and they get hot, so they have to be planned in from the start. Added later, it usually means rebuilding that section.
Fire Pits and Outdoor Fireplaces
The cheapest way to get more months out of your yard. A fire pit is the simple version, a built-in fireplace the serious one, and we will put it where the smoke does not blow straight at your seats.
Not sure what will fit?
We will come out, look at the space, and tell you what works. No obligation either way.
Call (208) 856-3233
The part nobody ever sees, and the part that decides whether it is still perfect in ten years.
The build
How is an outdoor kitchen built in Meridian, step by step?
Six steps, and you only have to be involved in two of them.
We keep you posted as it goes, and we clean up after ourselves.
- We come and lookWe visit, measure the space, and work out what your yard will take. You do not need to know any of the rules going in. That part is on us.
- We show you the planYou see the layout and the materials before anything is ordered, with a price that says what it covers.
- We deal with the cityIf your build needs a permit, we file it and see it through. You should not have to spend an afternoon at the city office.
- We build the base properlyThe groundwork goes in deep enough that nothing shifts when the ground freezes. It is the part you will never see and the part that decides whether it lasts.
- Gas, water and powerThese go in while the frame is still open, so nothing has to be torn back out later to add a burner or a sink.
- We finish itSurfaces, doors, appliances, clean-up. You get the yard back, working, with everything where you agreed it would be.
City of Meridian
What does an outdoor kitchen in Meridian have to be built to?
Footings 24 inches down, a design low of 10°F, and a permit once a cover passes 200 square feet. They are the city’s numbers, we design to them before we price anything, and you never have to think about them.
24 in
How deep the footings go, so nothing shifts over a winter
10°F
The coldest night we build for
200 sq ft
The size at which the city wants a permit. We file it
Source: Figures from the City of Meridian’s own building requirements. We design to them before we price anything, so nothing gets turned down or torn out later.
Call (208) 856-3233
We will tell you what your yard needs before you spend anything.
A surface that soaks up water will crack eventually, however tough it looks in the showroom.
Materials
Which outdoor kitchen materials last a Meridian winter?
The ones that do not soak up water. What ruins an outdoor kitchen here is water getting in and then freezing, not the cold itself.
So we use surfaces that shrug water off, proper outdoor-rated stainless on anything with a hinge, and we build it so water always has somewhere to go. It is why our counters do not open up at the seams after a couple of winters.
Gas, water and power go in early, and get signed off before anything is covered up.
Permits
Do you need a permit for an outdoor kitchen in Meridian?
Usually yes if it has a roof, and usually no if it is just an island. Either way, we handle it.
Most people are surprised by this one. If you are picturing a covered kitchen, assume there is paperwork, because for most covered builds in Meridian there is.
There are also rules about how close to your fence you can build, and they are different from one street to the next. You do not need to learn any of it. We check it, we file the paperwork, and we deal with the city so you never have to.
Call (208) 856-3233
Tell us what you want and we will find out what is allowed.
Timeline
How long does it take to build an outdoor kitchen in Meridian?
about 4 to 6 weeks for an island about 8 to 10 weeks for a covered kitchen
About 4 to 6 weeks for an outdoor kitchen island in Meridian, and about 8 to 10 weeks for a covered outdoor kitchen, from the first site visit to handover.
- Day 1 We come and look We visit, measure up, and talk through what you want.
- Week 1 Plan and price You see the layout and a price that says what it covers.
- Weeks 2-4 Paperwork and ordering The city reviews the plans while your materials are on order.
- Weeks 4-7 Groundwork and build The base goes in, then the structure, then gas and power.
- Weeks 7-9 Finish and hand over Surfaces, appliances, clean-up. You get the yard back.
The building itself is only two or three weeks of that. Most of the rest is waiting on materials, and on the city if your build needs a permit. We give you real dates before we start, and we would rather hold a date than promise you an early one.
Ready for a real number?
One call, one visit, and a price that spells out exactly what you are getting.
Call (208) 856-3233
A roof and something warm to sit by. That is what buys you the extra months.
Season
Can you use an outdoor kitchen year-round in Meridian?
Comfortably for three seasons. What decides how many months you get is a cover and a heat source, not the appliances.
This is the most useful thing we can tell you before you set a budget. An uncovered patio is really a summer thing. Put a roof over it and add a fire feature and the same yard works from March right through October.
Nobody really cooks outside in January here. The sensible plan is to shut it down properly in the fall, and we can take care of that for you each year.
Compared
What is the difference between a modular and a custom outdoor kitchen in Meridian?
Modular comes in ready-made sections. Custom is built to your yard, on site. Modular is quicker, custom fits better.
| Modular / prefab | Custom build | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | Fixed sizes, so the layout works around them | Built to the space you have |
| Base required | Flat, level, well-drained slab | Footings poured as part of the build |
| Time on site | Shorter | Longer |
| Awkward yards | Struggles with slopes and odd angles | Handles them |
| Extending later | Limited to the system’s parts | Open, if stubbed out at build time |
Your patio usually decides it. Modular needs a flat, solid base to sit on, and plenty of older patios around here are not. If yours has to be redone anyway, custom often works out the better buy, because you are paying for the groundwork either way.
Coverage
Which Meridian areas do you serve?
All of Meridian: Northwest, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast, plus Downtown and Old Town, across 83642, 83646 and 83680.
Northwest Meridian
The newer neighborhoods west of Meridian Road. Yards out here are usually big enough for a covered kitchen, and most have an HOA we work with.
Outdoor kitchens in Northwest Meridian →Northeast Meridian
North of Fairview and out toward Eagle Road. A real mix of older streets and new builds, so what fits changes from one block to the next.
Outdoor kitchens in Northeast Meridian →Southwest Meridian
The Ten Mile side of town. Some of the deepest back yards in Meridian, which is why most of our bigger covered builds end up here.
Outdoor kitchens in Southwest Meridian →Southeast Meridian
South of the freeway, east of Locust Grove. Plenty of homes here already have a patio, so it is more often a cover or a remodel than a build from scratch.
Outdoor kitchens in Southeast Meridian →Downtown Meridian
Old Town and the streets around Main. Smaller yards, older homes, and the part of town where what you are allowed to build works differently.
Outdoor kitchens in Downtown Meridian →Paramount, BridgeTower, Century Farm, Tuscany, Ten Mile Crossing. We work all over Meridian, and we already know how the rules differ street to street, so you do not have to.
We work all over Meridian
Wherever you are in town, we can come out and take a look at the space.
Call (208) 856-3233
Built right, none of this is visible. Built cheap, none of it is visible either, until the second winter.
Quality
What goes wrong with cheap outdoor kitchen work in Meridian?
Almost always the same three things, and none of them show on handover day.
No footingThe structure moves with the ground and the counter cracks at its seams. No cosmetic fix, because the substrate is still moving.
Trapped waterA finish over an assembly with no drainage path holds water against the material. It freezes and pushes the finish off the wall.
Indoor-rated partsStainless never specified for outdoor use rusts from the inside out and the doors seize. Pure specification, and the cheapest to have got right.
Choosing
How do you choose an outdoor kitchen contractor in Meridian?
Get someone out to your yard before you get a price. Anyone quoting from a photo is guessing.
Beyond that, most of it is common sense. Here is what we would look for:
- They came and looked at your yard before quoting
- The quote lists what you are actually getting, not one number for “the kitchen”
- They can tell you what happens about permits without having to check
- They can show you work they have finished nearby
- They give you a start date and a finish date, and explain what could move them
And if the price looks a lot cheaper than everyone else, ask what is going in under it. That is almost always where the money was saved, and it is the one part you cannot fix later.
Call (208) 856-3233
Happy to answer questions even if you are still comparing.
10
years building in Meridian
70+
outdoor kitchens completed in Meridian
RCE-69511
Idaho registration
Common questions
Common questions about outdoor kitchens in Meridian
The things people ask us most, answered straight.
It is if you get enough months out of it, and that comes down to whether it has a roof. An uncovered grill island is a summer thing. Put a cover over it and add a fire feature and you are out there from spring through fall, which is when people say it was worth every penny.
A basic grill island runs $6,000 to $15,000 here, and a full custom build with refrigeration and a pizza oven runs $25,000 to $50,000. Where yours falls depends mostly on whether it needs a roof, how far we run gas and water, and what the ground under it is like. We give you a real number after we have seen the space.
Building it too small. Almost every complaint comes back to not enough counter space beside the grill, or no room for anyone to sit. Skipping the sink is the other one. It costs very little to add at the start and it is a real job to add afterwards.
Usually yes if it has a roof, and no if it is a simple island. Either way you do not have to deal with it. We work out what your build needs, file the paperwork, and handle the city from there.
Yes, if it is built for one. The whole thing comes down to what is under it and whether water can drain out of it. We set the footings deep enough that nothing shifts when the ground freezes, which is the part that goes wrong on cheap builds and the part you cannot fix later.
About four to six weeks for an island, and eight to ten for a covered kitchen. The actual building is only two or three weeks of that. Most of the rest is waiting on materials, and on the city if yours needs a permit. We give you real dates before we start.
Bigger than you are picturing. The single most common regret is not leaving enough counter beside the grill to put things down. Work out how many people you actually cook for, then plan seating for them, and let that set the size rather than the other way round.
If you are on the fence, at least have us run the plumbing and power while the frame is open. Adding a sink or fridge later means opening the whole thing back up. It costs very little now and real money in three years.
Modular if your patio is flat, solid and the shape is simple. Custom if it is not, or if your yard has a slope or an awkward corner. If the patio has to be replaced anyway, custom usually ends up the better value because you are paying for the groundwork either way.
Often yes, if it is a built-in model in good condition. Freestanding grills on legs usually cannot be dropped into a counter safely. Send us a photo and we will tell you before you buy anything.
It helps, particularly in a neighborhood where buyers expect outdoor space. But the honest answer is that most people who are happy with theirs built it because they wanted to use it, not because of resale. If resale is the only reason, tell us and we will keep the spec sensible.
Tell us about your backyard
Fill this in and we will call you back within one business day. If you would rather just talk, the number is at the bottom of every page.
Get an outdoor kitchen quote in Meridian, ID
Tell us what you have in mind. We will come out, look at the space, and give you a straight answer on what it takes.
Call (208) 856-3233