It isn't exactly hardscape but it will be an integeral part of the backyard landscape once it is completed.

sThese pictures were taken a few weeks ago and unfortunately there has been very little progress since due to a storm that came through and blew over 2 trees in my front yard. I have been derailed since but I'm about to get this going again.

In this 1st photo the BBQ is located on the west side of my backyard facing towards the east side.

The concrete pad to the left is the location for a fire pit which will be the next project after the BBQ is done.

These next 3 photo's are panning across the yard towards the east side.

Next section to the right of the last photo

And this photo completes the swing to the east side of the yard where the raised beds are located.

Back to the BBQ.

I elected to do the framing with steel studs for rigidity and light weight. It is far less prone to expansion and contraction than wood so I shouldn't have any issues with cracks in the mortar of the stone work that will eventually cover the outside walls.

This photo was taken looking into the sun so it isn't very high quality. But it does show the construction aspects of that side of the unit. This is where the propane tank unit will be stored and on the top is a beverage cooler. All of the components are just sitting in place at this time. Eventually there will be a concrete counter top they will rest in.

This is the working side of the unit. I would call this an outdoor kitchen but I didn't put a sink in it. Getting water in is real easy. Getting water out in this case is very difficult not to mention expensive. The kitchen in the house is only a few steps away so we'll just live with that arrangement for now.

Now the next step is to dig a trench to run electric to it from the service box...about 124'.

Water In-Out dilemma sounds reasonable.

Easy to say, not so easy to do. Or in my case it's just too expensive.

I meant to say it (water in/out) sounds like a perk you can do without.

But, everything else looks like its going like dream.

Dan, are you trench digging by hand or will you rent a machine? I'm asking because we need some serious trench digging here.

I originally dug the trench by hand about 8" deep. My original intention was to run conduit around the base of the house and along the edge of the patio.

But then 3 things happened to change that.
1. The cost of the conduit and wire was going to be a little over $3 per foot. Now I'm going to use direct bury wire and save a few bucks.

2. Code requirements dictate that the trench must be 24" deep.

3. The storm we had washed a lot of the dirt back into the trench and what was 8" deep is now about 3".

To answer your question I didn't want to rent a trencher because of the close proximity to the house and there are some places where it wouldn't fit anyway. So I'll contribute to the local migrant labor force and get some physical help to re-dig by hand.

In this photo you can see the trench along the edge of the patio.

Dan, that is going to be awesome! I've been wondering how Deb is doing... not to hijack...

Love the oasis you're creating!

Trenching in the utilities was the toughest part of my BBQ Dan.
I ran natural gas and electric to it.
My hats off to you. That's some tough work.

Dann, I really like the concrete pads in your yard. Nice design and layout. Are you responsible?

Kind of... I saw something similar but on a much smaller scale at a model home once. So I expanded the idea, did a drawing of what I wanted and had the pool company put the pads in when they did the pool.

I bet you did better than the model home. You have a nice loose flow, but useful. The best possible outcome.

Thanks Judy, we're really pleased with how it turned out. I'll see if I have a pic of the whole thing and post it.

I picked up some migrant labor today and got a major portion of the trenching done (certainly the hardest part), before getting rained out. So now I have the electrical wire in from the BBQ all the way across the patio and back along the house towards the garage. From there on it is easier digging and the only obstacle will be the block wall where it attaches to the garage. I'll try to get it under the footing and if that doesn't work I'll use a rotohammer to drill a hole through the concrete and thread the wire through that. The electrical service panel is just a couple of feet on the other side. Once I get it to that point I'll have an electrician hook things up on both ends. Then the fun stuff can start again!