You’re thinking of building an outdoor kitchen, and you’ve got both a deck and a patio. You might be wondering: should I build my outdoor kitchen on my patio or my deck?

You’ll have an easier time building your outdoor kitchen on your patio. Solid ground is easier to build a more robust kitchen on. It provides more opportunities for appliances, amenities, and is easier to get building permits for. If you only have a deck, you can build an outdoor kitchen, too. But you have to pay attention to how much weight your deck can handle.

We’ll go over the pros and cons of both options and show some examples of kitchens from patios and decks!

Patio Outdoor Kitchen Pros

Building an outdoor kitchen is better with a stable platform, right? Well, patios are on solid ground and that’s the best base for building your outdoor kitchen.

While decks are a solid base as well, they usually are porous, meaning water may slip through the cracks, and the weight of a heavy duty outdoor kitchen is considerable. Building permits may also not allow open-flame barbecues on a wooden deck, but they are allowed on concrete, tile and asphalt. 

Patios are generally larger than a deck, and in some instances, large decks aren’t allowed depending on where you live.

Because of this, you can easily fit a near full-size kitchen right in your outdoors! You’ll have choices to make on what to include. A barbecue, warming rack, mini-fridge or mid-sized fridge, sink, outdoor table, bar stools and bar space, outdoor stove and outdoor furniture are all great considerations.

If your space is big enough, you might be able to fit all those things, as this kitchen below managed!

Patio Outdoor Kitchen Cons

One of the major cons could be where your indoor kitchen is in relation to your patio. Some houses are one floor, and others are two or even three. If your kitchen is on the second floor of your house, transferring food to your outdoor kitchen on your patio may be tedious. Everything will just be a little further away. If this is the case, you may want to consider building a larger outdoor kitchen.

It’s not a dealbreaker by any means; just something to think about if you plan to use your outdoor kitchen with consistent frequency!

You’ll also want to make sure your patio is covered. Most patios will be, since they’re generally under a roof that’s part of the house. This is good because it’ll help protect your outdoor kitchen from the weather elements and give you and your family shade from the sun!

Deck Outdoor Kitchen Pros

One of the major benefits with an outdoor kitchen on your deck is that decks are often right next to your indoor kitchen. This makes the whole process much easier! You won’t need to build as robust of an outdoor space since you’ll have easy access to your kitchen right from your deck. 

Also, if you’re building on a deck, your deck will likely share at least one exterior wall and interior wall. This will make the electrical portion of your job much easier, since all the wiring has likely been done. Otherwise, you’ll need to do some complex wiring through the roof of your deck, and that’ll be expensive. 

Deck Outdoor Kitchen Cons

The biggest con for building your kitchen on your deck is the weight of the kitchen. Lots of outdoor kitchens thrive on different building elements that can’t be used for interior builds, like brick, stone, and beautiful wood.

Without these elements, you’ll still be able to build an outdoor kitchen, but it may not look the way you’d like it to look. You also may not be able to put as many appliances, or pipes in as you’d like. Remember, you’ll need electrical wiring, water hoses and gas lines, depending on what you’re putting in your outdoor kitchen. These are all just more complex when dealing with a deck versus a patio. 

And, as we look through our diverse portfolio of outdoor customer kitchens, nearly all of our customers opt to put their outdoor kitchen with their Proline range hood on a patio instead of a deck.

Our outdoor rated hoods are heavy, and loads of them are island range hoods as well. These need to be securely mounted to a roof or overhang. 

Another con is that some decks aren’t covered. Having a covered kitchen is nice for practical reasons. It’s great to have shade from the sun and protection from the rain for your guests, but it’ll also help to protect your kitchen during the offseason. If you’d like to read more about the benefits of covering your outdoor kitchen, head to our post explaining this topic right here.

We hope you were able to find some inspiration in this article and come to a decision! Remember, your best option is likely going to be the patio. You’ll have more space all-around and getting building permits will be a little easier. Save the deck for drinks and cocktails, maybe a small barbecue, and build the grand outdoor kitchen on your patio.

Are you still looking for more ideas? You can head on over to our Pinterest page! We update our page and all of our boards with fresh new photos and pins constantly, so there will always be something new for you to find. We’ve got boards dedicated to outdoor kitchen design and outdoor living design. Check both of them out and give them a follow!

We’ll see you next time!

Related Articles

4 Outdoor Kitchen Design Styles Explained

Do I need a vent hood for an outdoor kitchen?

What is a good size for an outdoor kitchen?