Below you will find photos and plans of a new Outdoor Pizza Oven Kitchen I recently built at my house. The area I chose to build the kitchen is not very big, so this kitchen area is compact… yet loaded with storage and a lot of countertop space. It is essentially a DIY Outdoor Cabinet built out of Pine and Cedar, then finished with a high quality granite top.
I started playing with different outdoor pizza ovens about 10 years a go in my backyard. After eating plenty of sub-par pizzas from the local fast food joints here in Des Moines, I simply had to find a better way to make pizza at home. After playing with Ooni Pizza Ovens and Weber Kettle Pizza Oven setups, I finally purchased a Gozney Roccbox portable pizza oven. It took some experimentation, but after getting the pizza making process dialed in, I decided to build a more convenient outdoor area for making pizzas.
Steps to Build your Pizza Oven Outdoor Kitchen
- Pick a location and define your exterior dimensions to work from
- Frame the cabinet using standard Pine or Pressure Treated 2x4's
- Add Interior shelving and dividers
- Trim out the front, back, and sides of the Outdoor Kitchen Cabinets
- Build the Doors and Drawers for the Pizza Oven Kitchen
- Mount any doors and Install Drawers
- Finish the outdoor kitchen with seal or stain
Picking Your Location for the Outdoor Kitchen
When choosing the best spot for you Outdoor Kitchen, think about the exposure to weather, convenience to the indoors, and other factors that might influence the build. In my case, I picked a spot that was convenient to my indoor kitchen and also had a sturdy concrete base, which made this build really easy. If you do not have a sturdy base to work with, you will want to install a concrete footing prior to framing the pizza oven kitchen.
Other factors to think about: Typical Wind Directions, Sunset Direction, Electrical Access, Gas Plumbing Access if Needed
Framing the Outdoor Pizza Oven Cabinet
If you have a solid footing to work with, the first step is building the frame for the cabinets. Because the area I am working in is covered, I am using standard pine 2×4 construction. If you anticipate the base or floor areas being very wet, then I would build the bottom of the frame out of pressure treated 2x4s.
Interior Shelving and Dividers
After your outdoor kitchen cabinets are framed, then you will want to finish any interior work prior to finishing the outside trim work. For this kitchen, I am just installing 3/4″ plywood for the cabinet floors. You can add dividers, but I did not want to install those prior to using the cabinets, as I wanted to leave some flexibility.
Exterior Trim Work and Siding
After you finish any interior work, you will want to complete the trim work and siding for any exposed sides of the kitchen. I only had two sides to finish, as I built this Pizza Oven Kitchen against my house. You may have more sides to finish depending on your location. As in previous outdoor projects I have worked on, I am finished all exterior wood surfaces with Cedar, which holds up well to the outdoor elements with the proper sealer applied. My favorite sealer is Penofin Ultra in the Transparent Cedar Color. I like to use 18 gauge finish nail guns to install the trim work and the vertical siding… which makes it go really fast.
Build the Doors and Drawers
After you have your cabinet framed and trimmed out with cedar, the next step is building the doors and any drawers you have to install. I typically measure all the door and drawer openings and then build the doors and the drawer face to be 1/4″ smaller in both the vertical and horizontal dimensions. If you are a very skilled wood worker, then you can make this tolerance 1/8″ or even 1/16″. However, I do not aim for perfection and generally use the 1/4″ adjustment.
Below are some links you may find useful for building the doors and drawers:
Finishing Work to Complete the Pizza Oven Kitchen
After you get the doors and the drawers built, you are on the home stretch. After mounting the doors with European hinges and getting the drawer installed, it is time to seal the wood to preserve the look and install drawer pulls for doors and drawer. I recommend using Penofin Ultra in the Transparent Cedar color to finish your cabinets. I have used it a lot and it holds up fantastic. Links for the hardware are above as well.
Is Granite Worth the Price for an Outdoor Kitchen?
After building a half-dozen outdoor grill tables and kitchens, I can definitely say that paying for a granite counter is totally worth it! By installing the granite, you are pretty much making your cabinet waterproof, which preserves the wood and all the hard work you put into this Outdoor Pizza Oven Kitchen. After you write the check, you will never regret the decision. The granite slab for this build ending up being 6 ft x 3 ft.
Plans and Dimensions - Outdoor Pizza Oven Kitchen
I sized this pizza oven cabinet based on the size I had to work with and the finish height and depth I desired for the pizza oven itself. So, it is definitely taller than standard counter heights and deeper than most kitchen cabinets you would find in an indoor kitchen.
The reason I made the height in the 39″ range is I did not want to constantly bend way down to check if the pizza was done. I wanted a pretty clear view of the pizza while standing next to it. I have really enjoyed that feature, and would not change a thing so far. For reference, I am 6 ft tall, so adjust accordingly for your own setup.
Below you will find the framing plans for my setup, which ends up being about 39″ tall after granite is installed. Leave me a comment if you have any questions. A video for this build will be posted on my YouTube Channel very soon!
Interested in other Grill Tables and Outdoor Cabinets? You can find All of My Outdoor Plans Here.
