ItÕs 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 toolsÑnot 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 thatÕs easy to construct in record time.
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.
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.
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 heÕs 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 theyÕre 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.
In addition to BBQ islands, Champion installs custom decks, flagstone patios, paved patios and waterfalls, among other services. ÒWeÕre finding that every one of our customers is interested in the product because of the longevity of the materials, Ò says Holladay. ÒIÕve 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.Ó
The BBQ IslandÕs structure is made of heavy-duty, 20-guage, jet-coated, galvanized steel framework thatÕs precision stamped for consistency and accuracy. The side panels are made of quarter inch Hardibacker board, with top panels using half-inch Hardibacker boardÑall provided by the manufacturer. ÒBecause of the quality of the framing, the construction is so superior to anything else weÕve used in the past,Ó says Holladay.
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. ÒIt would take an immense amount of time to lay natural stackstone on the sides of these pits,Ó says Holladay. ÒThe modular stone looks exactly like natural stone, holds up better and is so easy to put togetherÑit all just fits together like a puzzle.Ó
The tools required to install the BBQ Islands are very minimal. ÒEvery landscaper should have the tools available to do these grills,Ó says Holladay. ÒAll 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.Ó Perezchica agrees, ÒIf you can spread Thinset concrete and set tile or stoneÑand have minor masonry skills you can do it, and you will triple your businessÑjust because the islands are so easy to put together,Ó he says.
Holladay notes, ÒBuilding 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,Ó he says. ÒInstalling 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 woodÑand 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,Ó says Holladay. ÒNow IÕve got two guys doing the construction, and IÕve got them for half the time.Ó
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.
ÒI 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 weÕre on to the next project.Ó
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