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Initially, Zuch was thrown by the cost of the appliances that make up an outdoor kitchen, even when incorporat- ing outdoor cooking appliances into an existing structure. "We did a small little outdoor living space for a client as part of a major whole-house remodel. And this was literally just an outdoor kitchen, and they spent $26,000 on appliances alone for it," he remembers. Tat fgure did not include the design fee, the masons, the plumbers and others. Te total came to $52,000 altogether for the space. "It was not an outdoor living space; it was just an outdoor kitchen," he reiterates. Other lessons learned through Capital Renovations Group taking on more outdoor kitchens include being aware of local ordinances and codes. "Make sure to not create a fre hazard and violate building codes with cook- ing appliances, big gas ranges and things like that," Zuch says. "You have to be cognizant of combustible materials. In some cases when those big 48-in. cooktops are under a roof, you have to install a proper ventilation hood to make sure that everything's operated safely so you're not catching anything on fre." One of Headrick's biggest surprises when taking on outdoor kitchens came in the form of waterproofng. "I would have liked to have reached out to diferent water- proofng manufacturers early on. Tat was one of the things that hurt," he says. "Unfortunately, I had some tile manufacturers who said, 'Oh yeah this'll waterproof it great.' Ten once it failed, they were like, 'Oh well, I don't have to tell you that it must have been your installation.' Tey just burned us. Burned us awful." Plumbing issues caught him of guard too. "Clients say, 'Oh, I want a sink.' Well, hey, we can't just let that thing drain into the backyard. We have to tie into our plumbing, and we have to worry about venting," he ex- plains. "I remember the frst one. Tat was a big issue because we didn't think that through early on, so that posed some problems. You've got to be able to work with your particular city, county or whoever you're dealing with and know if you can do a loop vent or a Studor vent. So a little bit of upfront research is really smart." It's one thing to scratch and claw in the interior kitch- en and bath remodel business. It's another to chase after an underserved category using skills you already have for a segment that will continue to grow as the younger generations continue to demand them. At the core of it, Zuch says, "People love to entertain, so they want to do that. Tey want to have the ability to have all of the cooking appliances under cover and a place to gather." | Chris Mordi is a freelance writer who has written about outdoor kitchens and their design for publications such as Casual Living, the field.com, bestinamericanliving.com and more. WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN While there are some similarities when it comes to outdoor kitchen design compared to indoor kitchens, the difer- ences can be jarring and present some big learning curves. Miller shares he needed to get up to speed on grills, refrigerators and the importance of ice. "I was not a grilling expert when I started this. Te biggest learning curve was how drastically diferent each grill is — how the construction of a grill can afect its performance," he says. "Having a better grill actually helps a person cook better because there's consistency in the temperature and the quality of the grates. So that was really a surprise. I went in thinking all grills were about the same, and they're defnitely not." He also underestimated the sophistication of a refriger- ator. "It sounds really silly, but, especially being outside, you need a refrigerator with a fan. If it doesn't have a fan and doesn't move air, you'll get really big temperature swings internally. Tere is value in stepping up. True and Perlick make really great products," Miller explains. "Also, ice is huge. If it's a warm summer day, you could shoot through 40 lbs. of ice really fast outside," he con- tinues. "Ice makers give you the ability to pull ice out, throw it in an ice bucket, throw a bunch of beers in it and set it somewhere else for the party." Paul Zuch of Capital Renovations Group recommends having appliances on-site to check all brick, counter and rough openings are correct while a mason is present. Photo: Ken Vaughan Photography PROJECTS: QR Outdoors 42 March 2016 QR QualifiedRemodeler.com