Can You Enclose an Outdoor Kitchen? Here’s Everything You Need To Know! 🥂
If you’re thinking about enclosing your outdoor kitchen, you’re not alone! Many homeowners want the best of both worlds—an outdoor cooking space that can be used year-round while also being protected from the elements. The answer is yes, you can enclose an outdoor BBQ area, but there are important factors to keep in mind to ensure your garden kitchen is safe and functional. ✨
One of the main challenges of enclosing an outdoor kitchen is ensuring proper ventilation. Most outdoor kitchen appliances, such as gas BBQs, charcoal grills, Traeger smoker BBQs, and pizza ovens, generate heat, smoke, and potentially harmful fumes like carbon monoxide. If an outdoor kitchenette is enclosed without proper ventilation, the lack of airflow can create serious safety risks. Here’s what you need to consider:
Appliance Placement
Gas appliances typically produce less smoke than wood, wood pellet, or charcoal BBQ grills. This means gas appliances can be positioned more flexibly within the outdoor barbecue kitchen, as long as there is sufficient ventilation. 💨
As wood, wood pellet, and charcoal barbecues generate more heat and smoke, they should ideally be placed near open sides of the enclosed BBQ kitchen, as this allows for the natural flow of air to carry away the smoke. If placing them near an open space isn’t possible, it’s important to invest in a good ventilation system or extractor fan to prevent the build-up of heat and smoke inside the enclosed outdoor kitchen and BBQ area. 🔥
Similarly, pizza ovens, especially those burning wood, require a flue or chimney system to vent the smoke when placed in a fully enclosed space. A flue ensures that the smoke is directed upwards and out of the shelter, keeping the air inside clean and safe for cooking and socialising. 🍻
Space and Airflow
Even with proper ventilation, there needs to be enough space around the outdoor kitchen grills to ensure that airflow isn't restricted. This ensures that air can circulate around the outdoor kitchen freely, which will help cool down the outdoor cooking appliances. 🤩
When designing your enclosed space, consider leaving partial openings, using retractable walls, sliding doors, retractable pergolas, leaving gaps in roofs, or installing windows that can open to allow for fresh air circulation when needed. 🪟
Enclosing an outdoor kitchen is entirely possible, but it requires careful planning around ventilation, airflow, and safety. The right design can give you a great outdoor grilling station that can be enjoyed year-round without compromising safety. 👍
We hope this post was helpful! If you have any more questions about enclosing an outdoor kitchen and ensuring proper ventilation, be sure to contact us. 📲
Sizzle on,
Team AOS