After visiting a few home shows and BBQ stores, I found that you could spend a lot of money on a wonderboard built island.  Wonderboard is that stuff that is sort-of like concrete in a board (like plywood, only harder and much more durable).  But, when complete, they are hollow sounding and they just don’t feel that sturdy.  For some reason, I have this crazy idea that it needs to be sturdy enough for me to jump up and down on.  A grill made from block was for me, but these islands are more expensive than Wonderboard.  The answer?  DIY

 

Keep in mind, I am not experienced with masonry other than laying a brick border around my grass in my last house.  After reading through a couple good Sunset books on BBQs, I decided that I would make it out of cinderblocks with a concrete poured top.   Check out Sunset Building Barbecues & Outdoor Kitchens and Beehives, Barbecues, Fireplaces, and More: How to Build an Inviting Outdoor Entertainment Area. I bought 2 doors and a side burner from Barbeques Galore so I would have exact measurements on everything.  With graph paper in hand, I spent a week or so trying to get a design on paper, and even drew out brick-by-brick how it would be built.  I was ready for action!

In Mid-October I rented a concrete saw and jack hammer from the orange store and began cutting away the portion of my patio where my island would go.  Since the concrete was only about 4 inches thick, I needed a deeper footer for the grill.   It took me 4-5 weeks in tiny spurts of time to get the piece of the old patio cut out and and hauled to the dump.

Impatience prevails (Mom/Dad, which of you did this come from?).  In the beginning of December, I called Martin to get the job done quickly.  He did most of my landscaping at my new house, so I knew I would get a good deal.  So much for DIY!

Martin’s crew poured a footer about 12 inches deep directly beneath where the cinder blocks would go and about 8 inches deep in the remaining area.  The footer is reinforced with rebar.  The bricks were pretty quick to lay after the footer set.

Even though the curved bench was in my original plans, they seemed to have made it an afterthought since the footer was not poured at the same time as the grill’s footer.  I hope it doesn’t crack because the footer isn’t very deep…(sigh)

 

A piece of plywood was kept in place with 2×4 legs to act as the bottom of the countertop pour.  A form was built on top with holes for the grill and side burner.  The counter top is about 4 inches thick.

 

One thing to notice is that the door opening is too tall.  I am wondering how the solution is going to hold up to cracking, but a second pour was done to create a concrete “shelf” above the door hole.

 

After the counter top cured, the cinderblock backsplash was added.  The brick got a layer of stucco and it was ready for tile.  The finishing on the tile is a bit sloppy, but otherwise, I am pretty happy with the job….especially for the price. 

Electric is a must have, so I had them wire a permanent light (Designers Edge L-856 Fixed Mounting Bar-B-Que Grill Or Workbench Utility Light) on the counter, an outlet on the side of the grill, and an outlet underneath the grill.  The one underneath is where I plug in my transformer for my landscape lights.

One thing to note is that I am still using propane due to the cost to install natural gas from the front of my house to the grill island.

Below is the second grill that I added recently (about a two years after the original island was built).  I replaced the side burner since I only used it once.

 

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-GrillDude