BBQ Islands Simplified

Modular BBQ Island design allows contractors to maximize their profits by minimizing installation labor, tools and equipment.

By Jodie Carter

This contractor-friendly BBQ Island allows landscape contractors, remodelers, and builders to make high profit margins by offering a modular system that lets them construct elegant, high-quality installations in one day.

It?EUR??,,????'???s no secret that outdoor kitchens are a growing trend in moderate to high-end homes nationwide. In the past, creating a custom BBQ island required specialized masonry labor and tools?EUR??,,????'??+not to mention purchasing and transporting heavy materials, like stone, concrete and wood products, from different suppliers. To address this problem, National Pool & Tile has created a high-quality modular BBQ island that?EUR??,,????'???s easy to construct in record time.

One-Man, One-Day Installation

What makes this type of modular BBQ kitchen so profitable? These modular BBQ islands are prefabricated as modular units that come partially preassembled. The entire unit ships complete with the base unit, including stone, tile or stucco facing, and options including the sink, grill, and stereo. This saves contractors the time, frustration and expense of waiting for delivery of materials from different suppliers.

Maximizing Profits

For residential builders, landscape contractors and other residential construction professionals, adding modular BBQ installation to their service offerings can mean a huge boost to profits. Brandon Holladay is owner and president of Champion Landscaping & Design, a high-end residential landscape contractor in Houston, Texas that currently has eight employees, three trucks, and 2004 gross sales of $600,000 a year.

 

One of the best things about the modular BBQ Island is that contractors get a strong, durable installation with all the top-quality materials delivered to their site or ready for pick up at a local National Pool Tile branch.

Champion has installed traditional BBQ islands since it started up in 2001, but a few years ago Holladay started selling customers on modular BBQ Islands. Because he?EUR??,,????'???s been able to capitalize on the growing outdoor kitchen market, Holladay says he expects to double his 2004 sales this year. According to Holladay, a huge part of that growth is because they?EUR??,,????'???re able to capitalize on the labor and material cost savings by using a modular BBQ system rather than the traditional method of building the BBQ from scratch.

?EUR??,,????'??Building custom BBQ islands is something that more landscape contractors can build into their jobs now.?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'??+author

In addition to BBQ islands, Champion installs custom decks, flagstone patios, paved patios and waterfalls, among other services. ?EUR??,,????'??We?EUR??,,????'???re finding that every one of our customers is interested in the product because of the longevity of the materials, ?EUR??,,????'?? says Holladay. ?EUR??,,????'??I?EUR??,,????'???ve built BBQs for years when we built them out of wood or we built them out of cinderblock, but using the this BBQ Island gives our customers the strongest, sleekest, most durable pit.?EUR??,,????'??

Durable Materials

The BBQ Island?EUR??,,????'???s structure is made of heavy-duty, 20-guage, jet-coated, galvanized steel framework that?EUR??,,????'???s precision stamped for consistency and accuracy. The side panels are made of quarter inch Hardibacker board, with top panels using half-inch Hardibacker board?EUR??,,????'??+all provided by the manufacturer. ?EUR??,,????'??Because of the quality of the framing, the construction is so superior to anything else we?EUR??,,????'???ve used in the past,?EUR??,,????'?? says Holladay.

Installation of the modular islands is easy because everything is provided, including even the smallest items like screws and joint tape. Begin installation by using a standard power drill to assemble the durable metal wing frames and panels to the center module using the predrilled holes.

Easy Installation

Use the drill to attach the side panels, made of strong, durable Hardibacker board, with the provided screws. Attach the bar top module metal frame, top panel and facing strips with the drill and screws. Tape the Hardibacker joints, apply the finishing material and finish the top and sides with options including tile, stone and stucco. ?EUR??,,????'??It would take an immense amount of time to lay natural stackstone on the sides of these pits,?EUR??,,????'?? says Holladay. ?EUR??,,????'??The modular stone looks exactly like natural stone, holds up better and is so easy to put together?EUR??,,????'??+it all just fits together like a puzzle.?EUR??,,????'??

Minimal Tools Required

The tools required to install the BBQ Islands are very minimal. ?EUR??,,????'??Every landscaper should have the tools available to do these grills,?EUR??,,????'?? says Holladay. ?EUR??,,????'??All you need are a couple of diamond blade saws and some masonry tools and basic concrete tools and they can set up one of these custom pits in a day to a day-and-a-half.?EUR??,,????'?? Perezchica agrees, ?EUR??,,????'??If you can spread Thinset concrete and set tile or stone?EUR??,,????'??+and have minor masonry skills you can do it, and you will triple your business?EUR??,,????'??+just because the islands are so easy to put together,?EUR??,,????'?? he says.

Forget about heavy cranes or forklifts, all pieces of the BBQ islands can be hand-carried to the backyard site. One person can off-load, assemble and finish a basic unit in one day. Everything needed to finish the installation is shipped with the modular unit.

With two workers, it takes about eight man-hours, which is about a half a day, to pick up and assemble the grill on a six-foot ?EUR??,,????'??L-shaped?EUR??,,????'?? island that includes a 33- and 54-inch extension. Included in that installation is a stainless steel door, a refrigerator, sink and a 26- to 36-inch grill.

Minimizing Man-Hours

Holladay notes, ?EUR??,,????'??Building custom BBQ islands is something that more landscape contractors can build into their jobs now, because they are so easy to do and the units are so readily available,?EUR??,,????'?? he says. ?EUR??,,????'??Installing BBQ pits from scratch takes quite a bit longer. In the old days, you had to form the island with cinder block or with wood. On top of that you would have to go to different locations to buy the cinderblock and to buy the cement or wood?EUR??,,????'??+and all of those things just take up lots of time and lots of money. Even with all that work, the construction was not nearly as sound, and it would take double the amount of time as these modular islands. The modular island cuts down a mass amount on labor as well as material costs. To do a BBQ island installation using traditional hand-built cinderblock or wood framing from scratch would have taken four guys,?EUR??,,????'?? says Holladay. ?EUR??,,????'??Now I?EUR??,,????'???ve got two guys doing the construction, and I?EUR??,,????'???ve got them for half the time.?EUR??,,????'??

The BBQ Island can be ordered with modular faux stone that?EUR??,,????'???s a lot cheaper, and lighter than regular flagstone.

For the last few years, Holladay has partnered with two major pool companies that together install about a thousand pools a year, which means that Holladay expects to install BBQs for at least 100 to 150 pools a year.

?EUR??,,????'??I put them together in two days with two guys. In the other half of the day, we can come in and add the modular stone to the sides of the island and add tile to the countertop. In less than 16 man-hours, we have completely assembled the grill. Now all we have to do is come back the next day for two hours and grout the tile and clean and we?EUR??,,????'???re on to the next project.?EUR??,,????'??

Everything You Need to Build a Modular BBQ Island

• Power drill
• Four-inch grinder
• Two-foot square
• Utility knife
• Sponge
• Several empty buckets
• Four-foot level
• Torpedo level
• Margin trowel
• Safety glasses
• Latex modified thinset
• Water

For more information, visit www.nptgonline.com