Outdoor Kitchen Design in Philadelphia, PA
A Philadelphia backyard is narrow, shaded and cold for five months of the year. We design outdoor kitchens that fit the yard you actually have and still work in November.
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An Outdoor Kitchen Has to Earn Its Space in a City Yard
Most Philadelphia yards are narrow and paved, and already hold a table, a shed and the back steps. There is rarely room for a second full kitchen out there.
So the design starts with how you cook, not with a product catalog. A family that grills twice a week needs something very different from one that hosts twenty people in July.
Outdoor work can stand on its own or run alongside a full indoor kitchen remodel. The two share the same cabinet, counter and plumbing trades, so it is often cheaper to do them together.
This page covers the parts of an outdoor kitchen, how to fit one into a rowhome yard, the materials that survive a Philadelphia winter, and what the gas, water and power actually take.
Showcase Remodels has been building kitchens for Philadelphia homes since 2002. We measure the yard first, then say what it can hold.
What Goes Into an Outdoor Kitchen Design
An outdoor kitchen is four jobs in one run. A place to cook, a place to put food down, a place to keep things dry, and a place for people to stand.
Leave any one of them out and the space stops getting used after the first summer. Most of the grill islands we are asked to replace failed on counter space, not on the grill.
The Cooking Block
This is the grill and whatever sits beside it. A built-in grill drops into a masonry or steel cabinet with air gaps cut around it, so heat has somewhere to go. A side burner or a pizza oven can share the same run when the yard has the width for it.
Prep and Landing Counter
Counter on both sides of the grill is what makes the whole thing usable. Aim for about eighteen inches on the hot side and about twenty-four on the cold side. Without that you carry hot trays back through the house, which is the thing you built the kitchen to stop.
Storage That Stays Dry
Outdoor drawers and doors hold tools, charcoal, plates and a trash pull-out. The boxes have to be sealed and drained. Anything that traps water will split open in a Philadelphia February.
Seating and Service
A raised bar top along the back of the counter gives people somewhere to sit without crowding the cook. It also screens the working surface from the rest of the yard. In a small yard it saves you from needing a separate table.
Designing an Outdoor Kitchen for a Philadelphia Rowhome Yard
A city yard is narrow, backs onto a neighbor and often has only one way in. The design problem here is not style. It is fitting a working counter into a space that still has to hold a table and a path.
Build Against One Wall
A straight run along the house wall or the back fence keeps the middle of the yard open. In a narrow yard that beats an L shape nearly every time. It also puts every utility on one line, which cuts the cost of the gas and water runs.
Leave a Working Aisle
Keep about four feet clear in front of the counter. That is enough for one person to cook while another walks behind them. Less than that and two people cannot pass, which is when a yard starts to feel smaller than it is.
Plan the Route from the Indoor Kitchen
Food still comes out of the kitchen inside. Put the outdoor run on the same side as the back door so nobody carries a tray the length of the yard. The shortest route is worth more than an extra foot of counter.
Check What Sits on the Property Line
Counters, footings and gas lines close to a line need care, and so does anything that drains toward a neighbor. We check the lot and the access before drawing a layout, so the build does not stall halfway through.
Materials That Hold Up Through a Philadelphia Winter
Philadelphia runs through a freeze and thaw cycle most weeks from December into March. Water soaks into a porous material, freezes, expands and splits it apart.
Picking dense materials is most of the job. The rest is drainage. Cold air on its own damages very little.
Countertops
Granite and porcelain hold up outside and keep their color. Most indoor quartz does not, because the resin binding it softens and fades in direct sun. We pick the slab for the exposure that counter will actually get, not for the showroom.
Cabinets and Doors
Marine grade polymer and stainless steel are the two that last out here. Wood framing and standard cement board take on water and rot from the inside, usually long before anything shows on the surface.
The Base and Framing
A masonry or steel base on a proper footing stays level through the freeze and thaw. A base set straight onto pavers moves, and once it moves the counter joints open up.
Drainage
Every counter gets a slope and every cabinet gets a path for water to leave. Standing water is what ends an outdoor kitchen. We design the drainage before the finishes.
Licensed Remodeling Contractor Serving Philadelphia Since 2002
Find Out What Your Yard Can Actually Hold
We measure the yard, check the wall, the back door and the utility runs, then show you a layout that fits. The first consultation is free and it happens at your home.
Gas, Water and Power for an Outdoor Kitchen
The utilities set the layout more than the cabinets do. They are also the part most people leave until last, which is backwards and expensive.
We settle all three at the design stage, while the run can still move a few feet without costing anything.
Gas
A natural gas line run from the house means no tank to swap in the middle of cooking. The line has to be sized for the burner, pressure tested and inspected. Propane is the fallback when a run from the house is not practical.
Water and Drainage
An outdoor sink needs a supply line, a drain and a shutoff you can get to easily. In this climate the line also has to empty fully before winter, or it splits underground where you cannot see it.
Power and Lighting
Outdoor circuits are GFCI protected and weather rated. Light the counter and the grill on separate switches. One flood light on the back wall puts the cook in their own shadow, which is the most common lighting mistake we are called out to fix.
Permits and Inspection
Gas, water and electrical work all need a city permit and an inspection. The structure can need one too, depending on its size and where it sits. We pull the permits for the work we do and book the inspections.
Why Choose Showcase Remodels for Outdoor Kitchen Design in Philadelphia
Plenty of outfits will sell you a grill island. Fewer will design one around your yard, your gas line and your winters.
An outdoor sink needs a line and a drain like any other. Our kitchen plumbing services page covers that work, and our traditional kitchen remodel page covers the indoor room it usually sits beside.
Showcase Remodels has been remodeling kitchens for more than twenty years. The same cabinet, counter and plumbing trades that build our indoor kitchens build the outdoor ones.
Our customers rate us 4.9 stars across more than 350 reviews. Most of that work came from a neighbor seeing the last job.
The person who measures your yard is the person who draws the layout. There is no handoff to a crew that has never seen the site.
We will tell you when a yard cannot take what you have in mind. A smaller run that works beats a long one that blocks the only path to the shed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Outdoor Kitchen Design in Philadelphia
A straight run against one wall. It keeps the middle of the yard open and costs less to service, because the gas, water and power all come off one point. L shapes and U shapes need more yard than most Philadelphia rowhomes have behind them.
Yes, when it is built for one. Dense countertops, polymer or stainless cabinets and a masonry base on a real footing all shrug off the freeze and thaw. The parts that fail are wood framing, indoor quartz and any cabinet that holds water.
For the gas, water and electrical work, yes, and each of those needs an inspection. The structure itself can need a permit too, depending on its size and where it sits on the lot. Call Showcase Remodels at 215-515-6484 for a free design consultation in Philadelphia, PA.