congrats! what an amazing project!

I never thought the day would get here but after 63 days, the flagstone is COMPLETE!

This is what I had left to do today.




Final Pictures:








Now I will take the rest of the week to enjoy it and then start on the kitchen part next weekend.

Here is the before and after:

been lurking for a while on this thread. very impressed.

dp

[This message has been edited by apoColyPticus (edited 7/25/2010 3:37p).]

I'm sure your dog is wondering "what the heck happened to my yard????"

Yeah they may not be happy now, but when I get through replacing the existing grass they should be happy. They are both inside dogs so all they do is go out there to do their business.

I have yet to make a decision on which kind of grass will be put in. I was set on St Augustine until I saw the Zoysia thread. I may end up doing Zoysia now.

looks great! i'm ready to see the kitchen now!

Hats off to you. That was a lot of work.

Thanks for the compliments. Now on to the fun stuff of getting the kitchen framed out and buying a new grill.

I am looking into the Weber Genesis E-320 grill. Any thoughts? Also has anyone tried to remove it from its base to be able to rest on the counters I plan to frame for it. I am trying to find out what dimensions I need for proper mounting.

I will probably go by Lowes or Home Depot to check it out before I buy anything.

That turned out great Olag!! I'm very impressed. Can't wait to see how the kitchen looks.

You're a machine!

This has been a great thread - thanks for sharing.

I went and bought pressure treated lumber to start framing the kitchen on Friday, then started to actually do research on the grills and each grill manufacturer has their own cutouts for the built in grills. So today, I spent all day in Houston driving around looking at different grills. I finally ended up with the Luxor brand bought from a friendly place called Chim-Chimneys in League City. Be prepared though, these "built in" grills do not come cheap. Im not sure I even want it being in the weather and elements , but they do come with a lifetime warranty if you get the better brands.



Now that I have the grill picked out, I know the cutout needed for framing the grill insert. I am also taking back the pressure treated lumber and getting the metal studs, which I had originally planned to get but they seem to be hard to find. I asked around and finally found a place but they are not open on the weekends so the framing is going to wait until next weekend.

I also bought some umbrellas from Chim-Chimneys that can be tilted so it can be allowed to follow the sun. The chairs are the anti-gravity type I found at Kohls.

very nice, have a cool beverage or two on me

I went by and got the metal studs and track today. Now I have to figure out how to start the framing. I might start with the island since it is square and probably the easiest type of framing you could do.

awesome grill!!

I played around with Google Sketchup and came up with the design I am shooting for.

This doesnt show the island but it will be there and where the open charcoal grill is will be faced with the white stone, I just didnt spend a lot of time trying to get it right.

The charcoal grill will also get a hard cover so it can be used for extra counter space when not in use.

I'm in awe of you! I hope you never have to move!

An Aggie's Wife

Keep up the good work. Nice Sketchup skillz, BTW.

you could make a wood butcher block to drop in over the pit. It would be a great place to do any cutting and double as counter space

A tree would like nice in your yard.

quote:

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ou could make a wood butcher block to drop in over the pit.

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Good idea, I will look into that.

I have started the framing. I got the bottom plate installed and 4-5 studs cut.



I also received the access doors and will take delivery of the refrigerator tomorrow.

Latest Pics:

Put the framing on hold to get the open fire grill going since it is easier to frame the metal to the cinder blocks than cutting the cinder blocks to the metal.

Drilled the holes and inserted the rebar and now I get to mix the mortor and begin laying the blocks.

Finished the island framing and got up to the second level of cinder blocks.

Awesome project and now your getting to what I want to do on my existing patio.

Couple of questions:

1. Do you buy the metal frames pre-cut, or do you cut them yourself just like lumber? Are you using a hacksaw to cut or something else?

2. After putting the metal frames together would you still recommend going that route or would you go with lumber?

Thanks, and I'll probably continue looking in and asking some questions.

I bought the metal studs from Action Gypsum in Bryan and they came in 8', 10', and 12' lengths. They talked me into using 18 gauge due to having a heavy concrete counter going on top. 20 or 25 gauge would work and be a lot easier to cut. I cut them to the needed length using a circular saw with a metal cutting blade. With the lighter gauges, tin snips probably would be sufficient. When doing the notches in the headers for the access doors, I am using tin snips and it is pretty difficult cutting the 18 gauge but it works.

During the framing process, be sure to account for all the 1/2 inches needed when adding the hardie backer board, veneer, plywood etc. This could be a real problem if it isnt compensated for. My hardie backer board will slide in front of the concrete since I do not want to see the concrete when finished. However if I was going to make it where it sits on the slab, my framing would end about 1" inside the concrete. This would allow a 1/2" hardie board and the 1/2" thick veneer to be installed and it would be flush with the concrete edge. Same considerations with the counter top heights.

Another consideration is to elevate the framing using composite decking. I would cut the composite decking in 5"x5" squares placed under the vertical studs. This will allow for water to drain under it and not sit against any of the framing. You can see the decking in this pic, however it isnt cut to the squares yet. I will also place one square in the center to support the bottom hardie board.



As far as lumber or metal goes, it is really against manufacturer suggestions to use lumber for the framing of the kitchen. There needs to be a minimum of 3' around the grill using non-combustible material. So really you could use lumber for any long runs of counter but near the grill it needs to be framed in metal. Also the lumber would not last as long as the metal studs, even pressure treated. I havent had any problems with the metal framing and would do it again in the future. However, be sure to get some C clamps, at least 2, to hold the flanges of the metal studs together. With self tapping screws, both pieces of metal need to be clamped so it holds it in place. A rivet gun would work also, but that calls for pre drilling all the holes, so I went with the low profile self tapping screws. The low profile head will help when putting the hardie backer board on and it wont have "bumps" where the screws are.

Sorry for the rambling. Just my 2 cents.

Awesome info. Really appreciated. Now if I can get off my arse I'll present my little project.

Latest Pics. Would have gotten more done but rain came this evening.



A lot of studs needed to be cut and not through:

Latest Pics:

The doors are not levelled out yet, just dry fitted to make sure they would work..

This thread is amazing. I don't even own my house right now, but I find myself fervently taking notes on everything. Hats off to you Olag!

It is starting to come together...

Here are the latest and I did a dry fit of the fridge too.

Tomorrow I have to try and figure out how to get the grill mounted at the angle. It would have been much easier to frame had I put it on one of the straight sides, but oh well.

Also wanted to point out, if you ever get the metal framing screws, USE THE DRILL BIT THAT COMES IN THE CONTAINER. I didnt for the first container, but for the second one I decided to give it a try. So much easier with the supplied drill tip.




EDIT: Also dont read too much into the small island being unlevel, I borrowed one of the footings for something else.

[This message has been edited by Olag00 (edited 8/13/2010 6:23p).]

Latest pics:

I plan to put 2x8x16 cinder blocks on top of the metal studs in the open grill to hold the charcoal or wood being burned. And I will be leaving out the middle block for a cleanout/vent. There will be a piece of metal stud spanning the opening to support the next row of blocks.




And I started the framing for the grill:

Finished the open grill, at least until we start with the counter that will be covering it and either stucco or veneer will be applied also.




Here is the backside of the vent/cleanout. I will try to find some type of door to cover it while not in use.


And I was able to get a little bit of framing done also.