Tulsa Pools : Right Choice For You
Cody Albright: Welcome to The Dive Time Show. Tulsa Pools I’m your host Cody Albright and here with me, as always, is my beautiful lovely wife and co-host Rachel Albright.
Rachel Albright: Hello.
Cody Albright: Together we are the owners of Sierra Pools and Spas of Tulsa and you can find us online at sierrapoolsandspas.com or you can give us a call at 918 884 8427. Again, that’s www.sierrapoolsandspas.com or give us a call at 918 884 8427. Today, we’re going to be talking about choosing the right site, choosing the right location for your outdoor kitchen. This may seem obvious to you, but you really want to take time and consider all your options and really make the right choice because if you ever made a big investment and regretted something, it’s not really fun Tulsa Pools.
I stress out when I buy the wrong pair of shoes and they don’t fit right. I can’t imagine spending all the money on an out-
Rachel Albright: It’s easier to take back a pair of shoes than it is to take back an outdoor kitchen.
Cody Albright: Wise words. Words of wisdom by Rachel Albright. We’re going to quote that and write that down in our office. Again, it may seem obvious to you where you want your outdoor kitchen, but again, you want to take time to examine all your options. You want to walk around your property and take note of your feelings. Ask yourself, “Hmm, how do I feel about this? How do I feel about this?” You just really want to examine your innermost feelings of how you feel.
Rachel Albright: It’s very emotional, choosing an outdoor kitchen site.
Cody Albright: A really important note about it, when you’re taking notes and you’re walking around your backyard, Tulsa Pools you want to think about direction. I’m trying to point you to the right direction, pun intended, but think about the direction in which you want to be facing while you cook, how you have it set up, where your cooking location is where … how that relates to your dining location, where you guys are going to be eating, and also when is it sunny, and when is it shady outside? Do you think you’re going to be using your outdoor kitchen mainly in the evening time? Think about the sun and how that’s going to maybe prohibit you to do certain things.
Rachel Albright: It’s not fun to cook when the sun is blinding you.
Cody Albright: Right. There’s some people that maybe they’re more of a morning person, they do maybe some breakfast outside and that might help determine their location. Also, you want to think about harsh winds and directions where you’re located at. You want to think about where the harsh winds come from. Think about windbreaks maybe from trees or other structures that maybe could break down that wind for you and …
Rachel Albright: A fence or something like that.
Cody Albright: Yeah. Also, you want to take note of where it’s at and of will the neighbors see you? Will the neighbors see your outdoor kitchen? If so, will that bother you? You want to be aware of that, that maybe you might be out there grilling some patties, grilling some hamburger patties and the neighbor’s watching you.
Rachel Albright: Yeah, and if they see you, they might invite themselves over. I don’t know how I feel about that. [crosstalk 00:03:51] Although, if they smell it, they might … There might not be any way to prevent that. You’re going to get friendly with your neighbors if you have an outdoor kitchen. Tulsa Pools They’re going to want to come over.
Cody Albright: Consider your electric and gas hookups and your water hookups. Sierra Pools and Spas, we’re ready to help you out in any situation you need, and that’s something that …
Rachel Albright: Yeah, you’ll want to think about if you’re going to have a fridge, or if you’re going to have a gas stove, or an electric stove, and what kind of access to those things … if you’re going to have a sink, access to water.
Cody Albright: Yeah. What you’re going to have is a big question too, because is the space that you’re thinking, is it big enough to hold the appliances or the countertops that you are wanting? Are you going to have enough space that you desire. Are you going to be Tulsa Pools happy with the location that you choose? You don’t want space to prohibit you for doing what you want to do. You don’t want to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars if you’re not going to be happy with the location. Again, it’s not fun to invest in something that you’re not going to be happy with.
Think about how close do you want it to the house, or how far do you want it away from the house? Consider building close to your … If you don’t think you’ll do much cleanup outside, or install a sink, if you think you want to do that inside, then maybe you do want it close to your house. Maybe you want it further away. You want a getaway. Maybe you want it away with your pool or something, away from your back porch or something, that you just want a, I don’t know, a little getaway. A little vacation away from the house.
Think about maybe for a better view. What’s the best view that you can imagine with your outdoor kitchen. Do you want to see the pool? Have a good look at the pool? Maybe there’s some sort of scenic view, whether it’s … Maybe idea of camping or something that you’re far away from your house and it feels like a sense of camping? You’re cooking outdoors. You’re swimming. Again, it’s like a vacation away from your house Tulsa Pools.
Also, you want to think about, do you want a future bathroom? Do you want a outside bathroom that you can bring to with your guests? You don’t want to be getting wet in the pool and tracking all that water inside the house, so maybe an outside bathroom would be a great necessity that you can add to your outdoor kitchen.
Rachel Albright: Yeah. You’ll want to think about that, because you’ll want to think about where you want the kitchen in relation to the bathroom and the septic and all that. You may not want it too close or you might want it nearby depending on what you want.
Cody Albright: Also, you could think about do you want a future cottage out there? Again, more of a camping vacation feel. You can put a cottage out there. You have a bathroom. You have a kitchen. You have a pool. It’s like a home away from home. It’s in your backyard, so how cool is that? Also, you want to think about is are you going to have overhead dining roofing? A roof is always a good thing to have over your head, but maybe that’s just not … Maybe that’s not your thought, but maybe you’ve thought about if you’re going to have a roof over your kitchen, just to protect your … whatever you got. Of course we want outside appliances and countertops and stuff like that to be weatherproof and okay to be outside, but roofing is also a great way to protect those things, and also protects you from the rain. You can cook outside and enjoy your time even in bad weather.
Also, you want to think about a fire pit. Maybe you want it near the fire pit. You can have s’mores or something real close, or you can roast the weenies out on the fire pit, or maybe you want it further away from the fire, but you don’t want all the smoke maybe while you’re cooking or eating. Tulsa Pools You maybe don’t want all that campfire smoke to be all up in your face, but that’s just the joy of camping.
Yeah, again, like Rachel said, your septic field, you want to be aware of what’s underground, what’s going on under there so we can build the best … Of course, we’ll know that before we start …
Rachel Albright: You don’t want to build your deck or your concrete patio over a septic field. That would be bad. They’ll be setbacks of usually 15 to 20 feet that are required to be away from that.
Cody Albright: Also, you want to think about if you’re building an outdoor kitchen, if you have a grill, ventilation is a really good thought. Maybe a ventilation unit over your grill or your stove, or whatever you got going on out there, because over time, you could discolor the walls near your grilling station, or you could even damage it.
Rachel Albright: That really would only be necessary if your grill’s backed up to a wall Tulsa Pools.
Cody Albright: Correct.
Rachel Albright: It is a good thing to think about.
Cody Albright: Yeah. Again, you want to think about your sun exposure. If you’re facing the south … south facing the sun is almost all day, just the way how our earth works. We’re in the northern hemisphere. Also, east or west sun is morning or evening respectfully, depending on which way you’re facing. Then, southeast or southwest is longer periods of the sun. That leaves you with facing the north. You’ll receive less amount of sun, and less extending out away from the house. Just be aware of the sun and how it’s going to relate to your outdoor kitchen. Think about breakfast times. Maybe the southeast or east facing maybe not the greatest choice there, with the sun rises from the east, or southwest or west for the evening.
Also think of shades from trees or walls if that … You really want it to face a certain direction and the sun’s going to be a problem, you can always think about trees or walls or other buildings that could help you with shade. Adding a gazebo is a great shade structure to help you with the sun problems Tulsa Pools.
According to Hearth Patio and Barbecue Association, also known as HPBA, more than 75% of all US households include an outdoor grill or smoker. Add an outdoor kitchen to that. That would be a great way to enjoy the outdoors with a grill. Got a couple of things from concretenetwork.com also, I’d like to share. They’re real big about the views. Just five points, and we brushed up on them earlier, but I just want to reinstate. It’s crucial to consider views and sight lines when choosing placement for the counters, house windows and door views from rooms that face the rear yard. Guest views when standing or sitting at counters, or chef views. After all, we are usually most concerned about taking care of our clients, number one.
Also, again, like we stated, privacy from neighbors. You can screen views with trees, hedges, shrubbery and provide privacy while respecting your neighbors. Also, you want to think about the wind, like I said earlier, but the smoke that blows downwind of the grill, you want to be a good neighbor and plan accordingly to that as well, considering that smoke will blow downwind of prevailing, found most commonly, or having the most power or effective an area. Wind location Tulsa Pools .
Consider proximity to windows, doors, and balconies that are downwind, because maybe it’s nice outside and you have the windows open. You got some smoke going in the house, it’s not always a good thing, but you probably shouldn’t have the windows open anyways, if you’re doing some grilling, or smoking some meat.
Again, sun and shade. Outdoor cooking often takes place during the day in hot summer months, so place your outdoor kitchen under existing shade or plan on adding new sources of shade to provide comfort year round. Natural shade’s always a good thing from trees or vines, and ventilates real easy.
Let’s see. Shades. Trellises may be required. Those are always good. Check your local building codes of course for setbacks, of course. Homeowners’ associations, et cetera. Homeowners’ association. Always a fun thing to mess with. Okay. Also, consider sun angles when placing shade bars. The sun moves, so wherever you place your overhead structure, you want to be sure to … What time of the day? Where do you want that shade? Of course, it seems obvious, but sometimes we forget. You can go as simple as using a built in umbrella. That’s always great to add to your [inaudible 00:13:39] countertops.
Two more things. Proximity to the house. Keep your outdoor kitchen close to the indoor kitchen to avoid long hikes and more barbecue. They recommend keeping your outdoor kitchen close to your house so you’re not making long hikes to whatever you forgot in the house, but hopefully if you keep all your things in the outdoor kitchen, that’s why you have your storage for your own needs outside. Like I said, you can keep it close or you can keep it away from your house if you want more of a vacation camp-like feature to your backyard Tulsa Pools.
Also, access to utilities. Gas, electric lines maybe play a part in choosing the ultimate location of your building site, but you can always mess with that and get to … We can make whatever you want. We can do what you want at Sierra Pools and Spas of Tulsa. We can make your dreams come true. We’ll figure something out for you.
Rachel Albright: We will, when we come out for a consultation, we will look at your yard and we can definitely help you pick the best location based on your yard and where your pool’s going to be, and where the sun is, we can figure all that out with you.
Cody Albright: Yeah. Big action thing for this podcast is location, location, location. It matters. We put all those things online. We think about all those things when providing you with ideas of your outdoor kitchen. We’ll talk you through it. Again, we’re Sierra Pools and Spas. We’re here to help you with your outdoor kitchen needs, and it looks great with your beautiful custom gunite pool. We highly recommend building one next to your pool. It’s just a perfect outdoor festival, festivities. I don’t know what I’m trying to say there, but yeah. All right. I think that concludes today about location for your outdoor kitchen. Think about it. Location, location, location Tulsa Pools.
As always, I’m Cody.
Rachel Albright: And I’m Rachel.
Cody Albright: We’ll talk to you next time. See you divers.