Outdoor kitchen masonry in Torrance CA - a block base built to fit your grill
Grill on a cart and a patio that wants more? We build a kitchen base sized to your appliances and finished to suit your house.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What goes into building an outdoor kitchen in Torrance?
Outdoor kitchen masonry in Torrance means building the base of your outdoor kitchen from concrete block set on a reinforced concrete slab, so the grill, the countertops and the outside finish all sit on one solid frame.
Most people who call us have a grill they like and a patio with a cart on it, and they want something built in that stays put. The price moves with the size and shape of the kitchen, how many appliances need their own openings, and which finish goes on the outside, whether that's stucco, brick or stone veneer. The schedule turns on how soon you settle your appliances, how long the countertop shop takes and any permit steps for your address. Once I've seen the yard, you get a written estimate with the scope spelled out.
How we build an outdoor kitchen masonry base
Pick your grill and appliances before we lay a block, because we build the base around their exact sizes, and a grill that's an inch too wide for its opening is an expensive way to find that out. Once the list is settled, our crew pours a reinforced concrete slab, lays the block base on it with openings where your appliances go, sets the steel and grout, and then puts the finish on the outside. I'll also show you where a plain stucco finish is fine, like the side facing the house that only the hose ever sees, and where brick or stone is worth paying for because it's the side your guests look at.
A kitchen usually connects to the rest of the yard. If you need a path from the back door, our walkway construction work can lead right up to it, so nobody carries a tray of burgers across the lawn. If you want a backdrop behind the counter or a low wall to sit on, brick wall installation lets that wall match a brick-faced base.
Stucco over block
This suits a stucco house, or any side of the kitchen that faces a wall or the house. It's smooth and plain, and it keeps the spending on the counter and the grill.
Brick facing
This suits a brick house or a yard with a brick wall or chimney nearby. We lay it to match what's already there, so the kitchen looks like it was always part of the place.
Stone facing
This suits a yard that already has stone in it, or the front of the kitchen where people gather. Natural or manufactured stone gives the base a heavier, rougher look on the side that gets noticed.
Outdoor kitchen masonry permits and planning in Torrance
In Torrance, the city's Permit Center handles permits, and it takes mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits as separate applications of their own. If a project needs a Zoning Screening, a city review of what you're asking to build, that has to be approved before any permit application goes in, and the city's Planning Division answers screening questions at (310) 618-5990. Whether your kitchen needs a permit isn't something I'll guess at from the driveway, so I check it for your address. If it does, we handle the application with the city and tell you what we learn before any work starts.
We're based in Torrance and work in many of the cities around it. A lot of the yards we build in sit behind stucco houses, which is one reason a stucco base often looks like it belongs, and we see the same kind of yards in Redondo Beach and Lomita. If your city isn't on our list, call and ask.
Why Torrance homeowners call AJ Torrance Concrete and Masonry for outdoor kitchens
I look at your yard myself
I come out to see the job before you get a number, and our own crew does the work with a lead mason running the site while I stop by to check on it. You talk to the person who wrote the estimate, not someone who's never held a trowel.
Building in Torrance since 2013
I started this business in Torrance in 2013, after years at a masonry supply yard hearing how jobs went once the trucks left. That's where I learned which shortcuts come back later as phone calls.
Licensed and insured, worth checking
We're licensed and insured. California lets someone work without a license only on jobs below $1,000 that need no permit and where they hire no help, so it's worth checking anyone who bids your kitchen.
If you've got a grill picked out and a spot in the yard, send us a request or call (424) 318-3093 and I'll come take a look.
Request a quoteGet a written outdoor kitchen estimate for your yard
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come out. I look at the yard, tell you what I see and send a written estimate with the scope spelled out. It's free, and there's no obligation.
What happens after you call about an outdoor kitchen in Torrance?
Call or send a request
We get back to you and set a time for me to come out. Tell us roughly where the kitchen goes and what's going in it.
I walk the yard with you
I look at the spot, tell you what I see and talk through the finish for each side. You get a written estimate with the scope spelled out, so you can see what's in the price before you decide.
Permits, then our crew builds
If you hire us, we take care of any permit steps with the office that covers your address before work starts. Then our crew pours, lays and finishes the base, with a lead mason running the site.
I check it before we finish
I look the work over before we call it done. That means the joints, the appliance openings and the finish on every side.
Frequently asked questions
What's the cheapest finish for an outdoor kitchen base in Torrance?
Stucco over the block is the most economical finish, according to a national contractor guide, with brick facing as the usual alternative. That's why putting stucco on the sides nobody looks at, as I described above, is the easiest place to save.
How long does it take to build a masonry outdoor kitchen?
A national contractor guide puts the masonry for a standard L-shaped outdoor kitchen at 7 to 12 working days. Countertop fabrication adds a 2 to 3 week lead time, so plan for a longer stretch than the block work alone.
What license does a contractor need for masonry work in California?
The state's masonry contractor classification is the one that covers laying concrete block, natural and manufactured stone, fire brick and thin brick facing. It also covers masonry walls for structures, built with or without mortar.
What is the best way to fill the block in an outdoor kitchen base?
Grout, the fill that bonds block and steel, goes only in the cores that hold steel in a partially grouted wall, and in every core in a solidly grouted one. Masonry industry guidance says solid grouting may be faster and more economical when the vertical steel is spaced close together, so the steel spacing in your layout points to which one makes sense.
How do I keep grill heat from damaging an outdoor kitchen?
Put non-combustible insulation between the grill's firebox and the masonry around it, which is what a contractor guide calls for, with calcium silicate board as the standard material. That layer keeps the firebox heat off the block and the finish around it.
When do gas and water lines go into an outdoor kitchen build?
Utilities get roughed in, run into place, after the block structure is done and before the stone goes on, according to the same contractor guide. That puts the trade work in the middle of the job, so the finish closes up around lines that are already in.
Other work that goes with an outdoor kitchen
Walkway construction
A kitchen at the back of the yard needs a solid path from the door, so plates and kids don't cut across wet lawn or trip on a crumbling patio edge.
Brick wall installation
A low brick wall can give the kitchen a backdrop, a windbreak or a place to sit, and done well it ties the new work into the rest of the yard.
Torrance, CA
Send us your grill and appliance list
Call (424) 318-3093 or use the form with your model numbers in hand, and I can check the openings on my first visit instead of my second.