First house, smoking patio

antrocks22 · Dec 11, 2015

Good Morning fellow smokers! My fiance and I just bought our first house and to make it even better it was my birthday this week and she gave me a 22.5" WSM! Very exciting times here is west Michigan.

In our new backyard there is a second patio area in the back along the garage that will be a perfect smoking area or as fiance calls it "your outdoor man zone". Here is what I have to work with.

20151210_164737.jpg

antrocks22
Dec 11, 2015

I still had some leaves to rake last night.

20151210_171118.jpg

antrocks22
Dec 11, 2015

Removed the leaves, need to hose it down. You can see the 18.5", 22.5" Weber Kettles, the 22.5" WSM, and the gas. We are a Weber house if you couldn't tell.

20151210_171143.jpg

antrocks22
Dec 11, 2015

The ground is not slanted, I just stink at taking pictures. There is a well in the garage so I was thinking of making a counter/sink attached to the garage as a work area. I also need to add lighting as I found out last night grilling that it gets very dark back there. I am open to suggestions as I just started tinkering with the idea. I'm also a prototype engineer so I will be able to build basically about anything and am open to expanding the area out to make it larger. I look forward to hearing what you guys suggest! Thanks!

bluewhisper · Dec 11, 2015

Congrats! I'm in a similar situation. Last August I bought a place with a covered patio and a second slab behind the garage almost exactly like yours. The offset lives under the patio roof to stay out of the rain but I roll it out back to smoke.

Edited to add, there's a small child's handprint in that back slab. You can only see it when the morning sun slants across it.

I gave my old Weber away when I moved, and I need to get a new one.

sota d · Dec 11, 2015

Congrats on the new house! Looks like you're off to a good start with your smoking set-up. I built a small, but full, kitchen on my back deck a few years ago. A sink is really helpful, for hand washing if nothing else. I also really appreciate the counter space for food prep. And you'll want a roof to keep you out of the elements. Just a few ideas. I love my outdoor kitchen-best investment I've made. Have fun with yours and post pics as you get it going-we love this stuff! Happy smokin', David.

bluewhisper · Dec 11, 2015

It's sweet to have a fireproof surface. I cringe when I see wooden apartment balconies with grills on them.

dirtsailor2003 · Dec 11, 2015

Great Location for the outdoor Man Zone! For me lighting is an issue too. The bigger issue is not having a covered cooking area. With the warming trend now we get more rain then we used too. That makes grilling and smoking not as much fun as it could be.

If I had your space I'd build a simple pole roof. Four posts in the ground at the corners of you pad. Simple stick framed gable roof with metal roofing. Add a light in it and call it good.

crankybuzzard · Dec 11, 2015

dirtsailor2003 said:
Great Location for the outdoor Man Zone! For me lighting is an issue too. The bigger issue is not having a covered cooking area. With the warming trend now we get more rain then we used too. That makes grilling and smoking not as much fun as it could be.

If I had your space I'd build a simple pole roof. Four posts in the ground at the corners of you pad. Simple stick framed gable roof with metal roofing. Add a light in it and call it good.

To add to what DS said, make the poles in the ground just the right length apart that you can bungee a tarp in place if it's more windy than you'd like.

Also, with LED technology these days, you can set up some LEDs that are bettery powered if you don't want to run an extension cord.

Nice setup, keep us updated as to how it goes!

bluewhisper · Dec 11, 2015

Check your zoning rules. Here if it's more than six feet tall and it has a roof, it's a structure and subject to different rules than would apply to a fence, etc..

drewed · Dec 11, 2015

Sticking zoning laws.... lol

I picked up a pop up canopy for the rain - easy up and down and because its temporary, no zoning issues. Get more than one light otherwise you will have shadow issues. If you build a perminate / semi perminate structure make some allowances for sides to block the wind. Tarps and bungees work, but work better with eye bolts to hook the bungees too.

HalfSmoked · Dec 11, 2015

Amen as Blue said stay with in the zoning laws it would not nice be not have to take something down in some areas this can also apply to plumbing and electric. I know you can get away with something's but avoid fines. Great looking area though. Lot of toys there enjoy. And if you are new to sight

HalfSmoked · Dec 11, 2015

Sorry computer locked up and didn't show the Welcome.

bluewhisper · Dec 11, 2015

This is what I got. The patio is covered but the back slab is pretty much like yours. In rainy weather I could run the smoker under the roof but otherwise I'd run it on that open slab. There's room to keep it a safe distance from that vinyl siding. The offset is lurking behind the chairs.

It faces east, so the garage helps to shelter it from the prevailing west wind, though not a north or south wind.

twoslabs.jpg

bluewhisper
Dec 11, 2015

driedstick · Dec 11, 2015

Congrats on the new home!! Hope you Man Pad will come out the way you want it to!! be sure to post pics

A full smoker is a happy smoker

DS

jirodriguez · Dec 11, 2015

Grats on the house and the WSM! You will love the WSM super easy to use and it's nice the racks can go straight from the WSM to your Weber Kettle - that's what I do sometimes to finish stuff up with a hot sear.

You will definately want to build a covered area and I think your idea of putting in a sink and counter is fantastic - wish I had that option. I have a small 8x6 covered area on my back deck where my WSM and kettle live, and I use them both year round rain or shine. Even if you need to get a permit it will be well worth it to set up a nice structure with posts and a good roof... you could almost build something like this (see attached sketch).

antrocks22 · Dec 12, 2015

All good ideas. I had thought about building a roof. Will probably have to wait till the spring. I am going to put an outside outlet on the garage next weekend. Thanks for all the great suggestions.

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