Outdoor Kitchens in Southlake: Planning One That Actually Gets Used
The stonework is what people see. The rough-in decides whether you love it or fight it for ten years.
4 min read · April 21, 2026
What We Build
Outdoor Kitchens
An outdoor kitchen is a plumbing, gas and electrical job wearing a stone jacket. The stonework is what people see. The rough-in is what decides whether you love it or fight it for ten years.
Built around how you actually cook.
We build outdoor kitchens as part of the structure that covers them, not as a countertop bolted on afterward. That means the gas line, the water and drain, the dedicated circuits and the vent clearances are all planned while the walls are still open — which is the only time they are cheap.
Then we build the island out of masonry, not a steel frame and stucco, and cap it with a surface that will not chalk out in the Texas sun.
- Masonry islands with stone or brick veneer
- Built-in gas grills, kamado cutouts and side burners
- Licensed, permitted and pressure-tested gas lines
- Sinks with legal drains and reachable winter shutoffs
- Dedicated circuits for refrigeration and outlets
- Correct vent clearance under covered structures
- UV-stable granite and porcelain surfaces
- Bar seating with real knee clearance
Start with the cook, not the catalog
Before we draw anything we ask what you actually cook. Somebody who runs a Big Green Egg every weekend needs different clearances and a different landing surface than somebody who wants a 36-inch gas grill and a side burner. If you smoke briskets, we need to talk about where the smoke goes before we put a ceiling over it.
Counter height, working space either side of the grill, and where you set the platter down are the details that decide whether the kitchen gets used. Fancy doors are not.
Gas, water, power and vent
Gas gets run and pressure-tested by a licensed plumber and inspected. Grills under a covered structure need vent clearance to the ceiling — this is a real code requirement and a real fire issue, and it is the single most common thing we find wrong on kitchens somebody else built.
Sinks need a drain that actually goes somewhere legal, and a shutoff you can reach in January when it freezes. Every outdoor kitchen we build gets a labeled shutoff and a drain-down plan, because North Texas will freeze hard at least one week a year and a burst outdoor line is an expensive lesson.
Surfaces that survive here
Full sun, 105 degrees, and hail. Granite and porcelain hold up. Some quartz yellows in direct UV — the manufacturer will tell you it is rated for outdoor use and the warranty will tell you a different story. We will steer you toward what we have actually seen last.
Stone veneer or full masonry on the island base, stainless doors and drawers rated for outdoor use, and a bar overhang deep enough that people can actually get their knees under it.
Gallery
Outdoor Kitchens we have built.
Our Process
How a project actually goes
No mystery, no moving target. Here is exactly what happens from the first phone call to the last sweep of the driveway.
01
We walk your yard
Nathan comes out, looks at the space, and asks what you actually want to do out there. Where the sun lands at four in the afternoon, where the gas and power are, what the HOA will allow. No sales pitch, no pressure, no charge.
02
A real design, not a guess
You get a drawing with dimensions, material specs and stain colors — enough to see it before it exists and enough to hand to an HOA architectural committee.
03
One number, in writing
An itemized, fixed bid. Everything that is included is on the page. If something genuinely changes, we tell you before we do it, not after. No change-order games.
04
Permits and inspections
We pull the city permit, schedule the inspections, and handle the HOA submittal packet. You do not chase paperwork.
05
We build it and we clean up
A start date you can plan around, a crew that shows up when we say, and a site that gets swept every evening. When we hand it over, it is finished — stained, sealed, and ready.
Common Questions
About outdoor kitchens.
Can I put a grill under a covered patio?
Yes, if it is done right. You need adequate clearance from the grill to a combustible ceiling, and often a non-combustible surround or a vent hood depending on the appliance and your local code. We size that clearance before we frame the ceiling, not after. If somebody offers to just slide a grill under your existing cover, get a second opinion.
Do I need a permit for an outdoor kitchen?
The gas and electrical work almost always requires a permit and inspection, even when the masonry does not. We pull it. An unpermitted gas line is a problem for your insurance and a problem when you sell the house.
What happens to the plumbing when it freezes?
We install an accessible shutoff and set the lines so they can be drained down, and we show you how before we leave. North Texas gets at least one hard freeze most winters. An outdoor kitchen sink that cannot be isolated and drained is a burst pipe waiting for a cold snap.
From the Journal
Worth reading first.
Free Estimates
Ready to talk about your outdoor kitchen?
Nathan will walk your yard, talk through what will actually work, and give you a written number. It costs nothing and there is no obligation on the other side of it.