BBQ Area on a Wood Deck: Update 12/6/15 with pics

Smokin Mike · Last edited by Smokin Mike on Dec 07 2015; edited 1 time in total

Guys,

I'm building a deck for my neighbor and he has requested a section to be allocated for setting up his grill and possibly a smoker. It's going to be 2 x 10 construction for the floor joists. I'm looking for ideas/suggestions on the type of material I could use for the flooring under the grill. It needs to be low maintenance as my neighbor isn't very good at upkeep. It's a clean slate so I'm open for possibilities.

Thanks!
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Snowsmoke · Posted: Nov 05 2014 Post subject:

I would think some diamond plating would be the best, like a loading doc. Easy to clean, weather proof, paint able.

I would link about painting it with an outdoor or cement floor paint.

Get a rubber mat at a big box store to stand on while cooking and you are all good.

or you could just use a metal grating and let all the gross stuff fall right through Cool

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BigOrson · Posted: Nov 05 2014 Post subject:

I use a piece of cement board. Simple and inelegant, but effective (and cheap).

Smokin Mike · Posted: Nov 05 2014 Post subject:

Snowsmoke, thanks for the idea. I considered steel but as you mentioned it would have to be painted and so on. If this were for me I'd consider it since I'm a handy man type but for my neighbor if it involves any upkeep (repainting) then I'm afraid it just won't get done. So I need a material that's impervious to the elements, is heat resistant, and won't require any maintenance. I do like the look of checkered plate though. Let me think about it as the idea is growing on me.

I got a concrete crew out there right now and I hit them up with the question. One guy suggested a slab of blue stone. If it's not too pricy that may be an option.

Big O... I appreciate the feedback but this is a brand new deck and if I do anything it will be 1st class. Gray cement board isn't hitting on me right now.
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My current cookers: 80 gallon vertical tank
The Ultimate New Braunfels Makeover

k.a.m. · Posted: Nov 05 2014 Post subject:

Mike, form up the areas that will have the smoker and grill then pour concrete in those areas. score the concrete like tile and stain it.
Build the deck around those areas at the same elevation.
I hope this helps. Very Happy

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Cat797 · Posted: Nov 05 2014 Post subject:

Mike, you can use the shiny Aluminum diamond plate material, and if I were doing it, I'd by the race car aluminum, as it wouldn't have to be thick stuff. It's pretty reasonable for a 4x8 sheet. You could put this down on top of the deck boards and trim it out nicely.

Like this:

http://www.amazon.com/National-Mfg-N316364-Diamond-Aluminum/dp/B000LNQLHW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415127898&sr=8-1&keywords=aluminum+diamond+plate+4x8
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Tony · Posted: Nov 05 2014 Post subject:

Many of the contractors out here use Patio Pavers butt joined and sand swept to fill any voids should they occur.

As Kevin described , a "Rim" form around all four sides would be necessary to contain the pavers ...They come in an assortment of geometrical shapes, surface finishes and many different color tones.

Should they in fact get messy, they can be scrubbed clean, etc.

Take a look on one of the browsers/search engines and You can see what I'm talkin' about. Of Course, We'll be lookin' forward to seein' some pics of Your Workmanship!

Good Luck, Brother! Cool

Best Regards,

Tony Very Happy

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Smokin Mike · Posted: Nov 05 2014 Post subject:

Kevin: Sounds like an option. Masonry would be good for the application. I suppose I could use that cement board as an underlayment. It's got to be moisture resistant. I could rubber flash the top of the 2 bys to keep masonry from wicking moisture to the wood.

Cat797: Thanks for the idea. Aluminum is definitely no maintenance. The homeowner is a bit "non-glitzy" so I'll have to see if he wants the NASCAR version installed. Laughing

Tony: That's another good idea as an option to the concrete Kevin mentioned. I'll see what I can do about the pics. I should be setting posts by Friday.

All good ideas fellas! I appreciate it. I'll hit up the homeowner tomorrow to see what he wants to do.
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My current cookers: 80 gallon vertical tank
The Ultimate New Braunfels Makeover

Mr Tony's BBQ · Posted: Nov 06 2014 Post subject:

Fire Brick on top of the decking! You can get it in different thicknesses, it yellow/tan in color, and can be arranged to look kinda nice like any brick! Trim the edges with same or similar wood as the decking itself,I.E. cutting a bevel on the edges of the cedar 2x4 thats laid on the 4" side.
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RodinBangkok · Posted: Nov 06 2014 Post subject:

Be careful about diamond plate for a kitchen type areas, light usage may not be a problem but putting it on a high use kitchen area can be a real hassle for cleaning. I know some folks have tore out theirs and put in either an epoxy or vinyl. For a deck I'd look at a two part epoxy, with a very light abrasive additive for non skid.
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Smokin Mike · Posted: Nov 06 2014 Post subject:

Mr. Tony: Thanks! I actually thought about firebrick. You know THAT material is absolutely fire proof. Very Happy

I'm definitely going to border the material with some cut of wood.

RodinBangkok: Thanks for the heads up. This area I'm talking about is going to be in the corner of the deck and it will be allocated to parking the grill and/or smoker there. No traffic or activity there except for the stationary grills. They had a mishap a couple of years ago where a smoker burnt a hole through their old deck. They are lucky it didn't set the whole place on fire. So they're looking to avoid that little situation again.

I discussed this with the homeowner and presented everyone's suggestions and they decided that a thin paver that matched the brick on their house was what they want. While excavating the footers for the posts I ran into some brick the contractors disposed of back in the day, so I'll take that sample to the local brick house and hopefully match something up. It'll be a week or so before I can fab this up so I'll be sure to post up some pics per Tony's request.

Thanks everyone Cool

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My current cookers: 80 gallon vertical tank
The Ultimate New Braunfels Makeover

Tony · Posted: Nov 06 2014 Post subject:

GO FOR IT, BROTHER!!! Cool

I think the Pavers were a good choice for more than a few reasons. Wink

Although the diamond plate steel or polished aluminum plate would have been very attractive, it's down side would have been that they are highly electrically conductive...Pretty much a "Magnet" for Lightning in an electrically charged storm. Shocked

Same /same if an electrical cord were to be damaged and shorted out on the plates-Of course, one would consider that a GFCI would have been installed in the general vicinity of the metal deck...Right Question

We'll Wait Here for the Pics! Laughing

Good Luck and Best Regards, Brother!

Tony Very Happy

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booker · Joined: 19 Aug 2014 Posts: 4

Tony · Posted: Nov 18 2014 Post subject:

Ahem...Mike Question

Your original post was on November 4th...Today is November 18th. Shocked

Haven't seen a progress report yet...Nope, Not-a-One! Confused

What's up with that,Brother? Rolling Eyes

Weather got 'ya down? Holidays get in the way? Got a cold or sumthin'?

Okay, Mike...We know this ain't like You to Slack Off...

We'll wait until You get Your Mo-Jo Goin'! Wink

Best Regards,

Tony Very Happy

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Mr Tony's BBQ · Posted: Nov 18 2014 Post subject:

YEA!! What the other Tony said!!
Ganted, Rome wasnt built in a day, but a DECK??!!
C"MON MAN!
Wink

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Smokin Mike · Posted: Nov 19 2014 Post subject:

Ok both Tony's... ain't no slacking off here. Laughing

I just got this split level deck framed and the lower decking on. Next step is the BBQ area. I'm heading out in the AM to pick up the materials but it won't be until the weekend before I get started in earnest. My *real* job... ya know the one that pays the bills, has had me out of town most of this week. I got my plan together and looking forward to making it happen. Thanks for poking me along! Stay Tuned. Cool

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My current cookers: 80 gallon vertical tank
The Ultimate New Braunfels Makeover

Smokin Mike · Posted: Nov 26 2014 Post subject:

I thought I'd post up a non-update aka lack of progress report. Wink

I ran around town last week and gathered all the materials for this aspect of the project. After consulting with a couple of local pros it was suggested that I take some extra steps to assure stability and water resistance. I won't go into all that at this time but I'll document what I do whenever I get to actually construct this area. The home owner and I decided that we should complete the stairway first before we move on to anything else. That will keep the ladder climbing to a minimum and a better way to get to both decks. I agree. So that's what we did last Saturday and then Sunday was a rain day. This week, Thanksgiving week, has been it's normal crazy self, so not much getting done on the deck... but I do plan to work Fri - Sun on it and ***maybe*** will be able to start on the BBQ area. We'll see. Stay tuned.
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My current cookers: 80 gallon vertical tank
The Ultimate New Braunfels Makeover

Maniac · BBQ Super Pro Joined: 02 Oct 2010 Posts: 2433 Location: Pa

Smokin Mike got your channel on speed dial Wink

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Smokin Mike · Posted: Dec 07 2015 Post subject:

Well fellas, here we are a whole year later and I uhhhh still haven't posted up my progress. Embarassed

I'm definitely bad! But... I hope this saves me from going to the woodshed to get a whoopin.

I started out by putting in some additional framing (not shown) and a 3/4" exterior grade plywood sub floor. The white trim is some sort of vinyl material and it's just a placeholder for now.

Next, I covered the sub floor with some flashing material.

Mounted some cement board. The rubberized flashing is supposed to self seal around the screws.

Next is the application of a water proof membrane. This is typically used in bathrooms to seal up tile floors. Being that this install is outdoors and totally exposed to the weather, I'm not taking any chances and I don't want any call backs on this job.

Got my brick tile laid out with some 3/8" spacers that I made up.

Got the brick tile in thin-set with the spacers removed

And here she is grouted up. I trimmed down the border pieces at a 45° angle (not shown) and caulked them in place to help shed water. Unfortunately I don't have a finished picture but if I can snag one later I will.

That's it!! Job complete. Thanks to everyone for your ideas on this.
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My current cookers: 80 gallon vertical tank
The Ultimate New Braunfels Makeover

missionsusmc · Posted: Dec 07 2015 Post subject:

I realize this project is complete, and that it was a new construction (Great job, BTW! Looks great.) However, for future reference, and to all who may be contemplating adding a live fire cooker (charcoal grill/smoker/etc) to an existing wood deck, there are fireproof mats you can get at Lowes. This link was found by Googling "fireproof grill mats."

http://www.lowes.com/pd_117446-18889-GP-42___?productId=999904481&pl=1&Ntt=grill+mats

Just a FWIW.
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