This has been a pretty fun process and something the wife and I are really excited about, so I figured I would share some pictures. In August of last year, we moved into a new home that we had built in Katy. We have always dreamed of having a large covered patio with outdoor kitchen, so that we can enjoy our evenings outdoors, watch football games, and entertain our friends/family, which we love doing. Additionally, we plan on having kids in the near future and want to be able to relax outside while they play around the back yard. Out thoughts were to do our own research prior to finding a contractor so that we had a good idea of what we wanted entering the process. We spent months looking at thousands of pictures online and settled on our basic design criteria. Next step was bringing in 4-5 reputable contractors to find out who we wanted to run with. Figured that out over a 10-14 day interview process and got our initial drawings finalized in late May.



We made a couple adjustments to this drawing. We removed the pendant lighting above the kitchen and added in a 3rd fan so that there would be plenty of air flow. Several people we talked to that had built patios regretted not putting in enough fans, so we weren't going to sell ourselves short on that. Also extended the sink-side of the kitchen another 3' left to give us more room for bar seating. The red dots will be hockey puck accent lights that run to a dimmer switch by the back door.




[This message has been edited by txaggie02 (edited 7/14/2014 10:49a).]

NM, I didn't see the 2nd pic

[This message has been edited by CrossBowAg99 (edited 7/14/2014 10:52a).]

Started the forms the first week in June.



Knocked out the column so that the existing patio could be capped. Rebar supports put in place.


Slab was poured the 2nd week in June. We wanted something rustic for a surface finish, so we decided on a rock salt finish. Stone stamping really wasn't an option since the kitchen was going to be done in stock. Our concrete guy highly recommended using stamping over rock salt to accomplish the pitted look. If the chunks of rock salt didn't completely come out, then when we applied the stain, it wouldn't get down into the pits. Several months later when the pieces of salt finally decided to come out, there would be bare concrete without stain. Near guy in the below pic is throwing down the release and performing the stamping.



[This message has been edited by txaggie02 (edited 7/14/2014 11:03a).]

We are going with exposed beams in the ceiling.


Kitchen started and roofing going on.

Keep em coming

Kitchen framed out in aluminum. TV will go above the double window. Behind the TV is attic space and I will have a framed out glass piece that is about 20" x 14" above the back door. There will be a shelf behind the glass where the receiver and satellite box will sit. Glass will be tinted so that the electronics aren't really visible.





[This message has been edited by txaggie02 (edited 7/14/2014 11:24a).]

Here are the water, drain, and gas stub outs that I had run when we built the home. I also had 3 dedicated electrical circuits run into the attic space behind the TV. This saved us a ton of $$$ on the patio build.



Gas grill cut out with burner on the left.


Recessed counter top for charcoal pit.


Sink and bar area with cut out for mini fridge in bottom right.

Came home from work one day to see the amigos taking a siesta. I think the guy on the ground is MS-13.


Area where the electronics will sit. They moved the stud over. I already pulled the speaker wires (white ones). Also had eletrical outlet installed in the attic for power to all electronics.



They lipped the back side similar to a picture frame so that I can just drop a piece of glass in with some silicone glue.


The left main beam doesn't run all the way back to the door, so I didn't have anywhere to set the two additional hockey puck lights by the back door. They ended up building a couple small shelves that the lights will sit on. Turned out nice and you won't even really be able to see it once its stained.




[This message has been edited by txaggie02 (edited 7/14/2014 12:30p).]

That looks awesome. We have a similar setup and have enjoyed it a ton. Only thing I would recommend is running a piece of cove moulding on the bottom on the interior roof line walls. Then tuck rope lighting in there. It makes an awesome glow at night and everyone that has seen ours really likes it.

Concrete stained...


And sealed twice.....



Yesterday, the stand for the charcoal pit was bolted to the concrete.



We picked out the wood stain colors last night and they will start staining either this afternoon or tomorrow. We are going with a really dark brown stain on the beams and rafters and a lighter brown stain on the ceiling. The two tone should give it a nice effect. After that comes the brick columns, then granite, and then stone around the kitchen. Should be done in the next 3 weeks. Just in time for the A&M vs SC game! More pics to follow.

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Only thing I would recommend is running a piece of cove moulding on the bottom on the interior roof line walls. Then tuck rope lighting in there. It makes an awesome glow at night and everyone that has seen ours really likes it.

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Instead of the rope lighting, we are having 14 hockey puck lights installed on top of the main beams in the interior. Similar to what you would see above and below kitchen cabinets in a home. Should give a really nice ambience when watching football games at night. If you look at my first post, they will be placed where the red dots are drawn. I think I have 16 shown on that drawing, but we are only putting 2 on the middle truss instead of 4. In this picture, you can see the boxes where they pulled power for each of these lights to sit. Box on the far right is for the light that will sit on that side of the middle truss.



I bought these wood cover plates to go over the boxes. Once the wire is pulled through and cover plate is stained, you won't even be able to tell.


However, we are having LED rope lighting installed below the bar counter on the exterior side and on the under lip of the granite along the interior side.

[This message has been edited by txaggie02 (edited 7/14/2014 12:41p).]

That looks awesome. Mind if I ask for a ballpark figure for what you paid?

Love that concrete stain. The whole project looks great!

Looking great.

Did you consider using cedar for your exposed beams?

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Mind if I ask for a ballpark figure for what you paid?

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Expensive but way less than a pool. Until we buy the patio furniture. That stuff is more expensive than what we have in our living room!!! Actually, we are supplying a lot of the stuff ourselves to cut cost (stone, all kitchen stainless items, sink/faucet/disposal, and grills, fans, and lighting). BIL owns a plumbing company so he ran our drain, water and gas. I did the stain outside my contractor. When you can do this, it trims a lot off.

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Did you consider using cedar for your exposed beams?

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No. We are staining them dark so it's not gonna matter when it's all done. Plus, the ceiling is pine so we wanted everything to be the same. For a really short time, we considered cedar columns with the stone/bricks bottom. The problem is that the columns wouldn't match anything else on the home. We really stressed to the contractor that from the outside, we wanted the covered patio to look like it was built when the house was built. We didn't want something that screamed add-on. And so far, everything is perfect.

[This message has been edited by Txaggie02 (edited 7/14/2014 2:05p).]

Awesome!

Quick question that I have been wondering. Is there any detriment to staining the ceiling plywood before you lay them on the beams? It just seems like a lot of work to come back through and stain around all the beams.

Good question. We actually had a last minute change of plans. We were going to stain all the wood a dark color, so the staining once built wasn't a big deal. They would have come in with a sprayer, hit it with a stain/sealer combo and been done in several hours. However, a couple weeks ago, we realized that if we stained the whole thing dark, the beams and rafters would get lost in a "black hole". We want them to stand out and after looking at more online pictures, we decided to go two-tone. They are going to spray the ceiling and then roll the beams and rafters afterwards. Gonna cost us about $350 more but it is what it is, at this point. If we would have made our change before everything went up, then yes, staining would have been done earlier in the process.

[This message has been edited by Txaggie02 (edited 7/14/2014 2:37p).]

Very Nice!

Swell.

Looks good... The guys did great work.

Only thing I'm wondering about is that space for the electronics. From what you described and the pic, they're essentially sitting in attic space. Given the heat up there, your electronics may not last long.

Thanks for the reply, txaggie02! I appreciate it.

Staining is mostly done. They will have to come back out and touch up some areas where the wood didn't accept the stain consistently (cross beam on center truss), but we think it turned out well for the most part. Fans and accent lighting was added today. Can't wait for the sun to go down so I can see what it's going to look like. Brick columns are going up tomorrow. Can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.



[This message has been edited by txaggie02 (edited 7/24/2014 7:24p).]

Looks great!

Jealous!

Accent lights turned out awesome. Gonna move the two on the center truss a little more towards the center so they light up the vertical supports, but other than that, they are exactly what we wanted. Can almost smell the steaks on the pit already!




[This message has been edited by txaggie02 (edited 7/25/2014 12:32p).]

What did you use for concrete staining & sealing? DIY?

Nice!

I had 3 different companies come out to look at the concrete staining/sealing and ended up going with One Awesome Concrete. Napolean was easy to work with, had plenty of color options to chose from, and ended up doing a very good job. Prior to staining our patio, he made a couple trips to our home to put several color options down (in areas that wouldn't be seen) to make our decision-making process easier. This was very settling for us, as all concrete accepts stain differently. I would definitely recommend him.

http://oneawesomeconcrete.com/

Went to Costco last night to get a JVC 55" LED tv since it was on sale and had very good reviews. As always, ended up with more than I was looking for, so I came home with the 65" version. It was also on sale, so not a bad pick up for $1000. I guess if you are gonna do it, then do it right! Don't want to watch football games on a little pee wee tv. Only thing left to purchase is the patio furniture.



[This message has been edited by txaggie02 (edited 7/26/2014 5:10p).]

Looks awesome.

That project looks great. Can’t wait to see the finished columns and the bar. Will it be brick too?
Looks a lot like the one I put in last year. Smaller patio but included a pool. Lots of fun.








Went with flagstone coping and walls.






Cedar cabana and built in grill/fridge.


50 inch flat screen. And my personal addition on the cover – Hill Country arrowheads I dig up years ago.




Finished product: