Planning an outdoor kitchen before your measurement.
This guide is the decision list to settle before a free, no-obligation home measurement in the Sarasota area. It is for homeowners who want to arrive with location, cooking, fuel, and storage choices already thought through.
Written by the Pinecraft Barbecue showroom staff, September 2026.
Where the kitchen goes
Start with the patch of patio, lanai, or backyard that will hold the island. Watch sun and shade through a full day. Distance from the indoor kitchen matters for plates, food, and trash. Wind direction decides where smoke travels. Place the cook so the usual breeze carries smoke away from the table and the house.
Some kitchens sit under a lanai or screen enclosure. Read the lanai and screen enclosure guide before you settle that spot. Leave a clear path from the grill to the table. Posts, pool equipment, and door swings eat that path if you leave them off the sketch.
How you cook
The cookers set the openings, the fuel, and the landing space. Name the ones you actually use, then the island can follow.
- A gas grill needs a built-in opening sized to the model. The built-in lines at Pinecraft are Twin Eagles, Delta Heat, and Napoleon. The cutout, fuel line, and lid swing belong on the first sketch.
- Charcoal or a kamado needs room for the cooker, airflow, and ash. Big Green Egg is the kamado line in the catalog. An Egg can sit in a nest, a table, or an island opening, and that choice changes the footprint.
- A pellet grill needs power for its controller and a dry place for pellets. Green Mountain Grills is the pellet line in the catalog. Plan an outlet and covered storage, not only grate width.
- A griddle needs its own flat cook surface in the line. The showroom display puts a Twin Eagles griddle beside the grill and side burner. Blackstone is the stand-alone griddle line in the catalog.
- A smoker is a different job from a weeknight grill. Meadow Creek is the smoker line in the catalog. Many Meadow Creek cooks sit apart from the serving island so smoke stays off the table.
- A pizza oven needs landing space for peels and a dedicated cook station. Fontana Forni is the pizza oven line in the catalog.
- A side burner adds a second opening for pots and sauces. The Twin Eagles showroom island includes a side burner next to the grill.
That island is a showroom display at 3303 Bahia Vista St, not a customer project.
Fuel and utilities
Decide natural gas or propane before the measurement, because the fuel route changes the island. Natural gas uses a line to the kitchen. Propane uses a cylinder location. The licensed contractors we work with handle connections.
Plan electrical outlets if you want lighting, refrigeration, or a rotisserie motor. A pellet controller also needs power. Plan water only if you want a sink. A grill island and a kitchen with a sink and refrigeration need different equipment lists.
Materials for a coastal setting
Gulf Coast kitchens sit in salt air and humidity, so material choice belongs in the first conversation. Read the salt air and humidity guide for stainless grades, cabinet materials, rinsing, and covers.
Counter space and storage
Leave prep space on both sides of the grill. Doors and drawers hold tools, pans, and covers. A trash pull-out keeps waste off the counter during a cook.
Decide whether you want an outdoor refrigerator. Sinks, refrigerators, and coolers keep people from running back inside. If you skip them, the walk to the indoor kitchen has to stay short and clear.
Who does what
We design your kitchen and supply the equipment; licensed contractors we work with install it. That split is the same on the outdoor kitchens page. If you already have an island and only the grill is worn out, start with grill inserts for outdoor kitchens.
What to bring to the measurement
You do not need a finished design. Bring these with you.
- A rough sketch of the space, with doors, posts, the table, and the path you walk today.
- Photos of the area from more than one angle, including the overhead if there is a lanai or screen.
- The cooking list above: gas grill, charcoal or kamado, pellet, griddle, smoker, pizza oven, and side burner.
- The names of any contractors already involved.
Free home measurement
Outdoor Kitchens by Pinecraft Barbecue starts with a free, no-obligation home measurement in the Sarasota area. Call (941) 217-6995, visit 3303 Bahia Vista St, or use contact to send the sketch and photos ahead of the visit.