Outdoor Kitchen Project

The other day, I finally started on our outdoor kitchen/grill project.  I already had all the lumber on hand that is seen in these photos...  two 4x4 posts and a bunch of 2x4's...  and it was long past time to get started on this project.  Actually...  since this structure ties in with the playhouse roof, the playhouse is getting a nice upgrade rebuild and renovation so this is really a two part project.

Our dryer broke so that is now slowing me down a bit but I have made a significant amount of headway on this project....  hmmm...  headway...   that reminds me...  I also whacked my head twice during this project already!

On our previous big project, I also whacked my head hard enough to see stars, gray-out and buckle me at the knees.  That resulted in about a month of nothingness as my mild traumatic brain injury healed a bit.  

I had a couple of temporary supports holding things in place on that project.  They were supports that weren't a part of the structure so I forgot that they were there.  I was looking down as I was stepping over something and WHACK...  sparklies in my eyes...  the next thing I remember is I am trying to keep from hitting the ground as my knees buckle.  

The other day, I also had some temporary supports in place securing the structure of this outdoor kitchen as I was building it.  I forgot they were there...  as I was looking down and stepping over something...  WHACK!  Ugggg.  

Yesterday morning, those temporary supports were still in place securing the structure but now I was well aware of them.  I ducked under one temporary support, looked down at my feet so I wouldn't trip over tools or scraps of wood...  WHACK!  This time I slammed into the tail end of one of the rafters and it cut open my forehead.  

The top of my head around the area of the first injury is a bit tingly again but what hurts the most is the small cut from hitting the tail of the rafter yesterday.  That area is a bit bruised this morning.  When I touch the bump from the other day, that is a bit tender too.  This morning, I ordered something called a "bump hat" which is a baseball-type cap with a HDPE lining inside of it to protect from bumps like this.  We'll see whether that helps me in the future.  

In this first photo, below, I have removed the roof and roof structure from the playhouse and installed the two posts and beams for the roof structure over the kitchen grilling area.

Now we can see the temporary supports that have caused me headaches, literally.  The horizontal crosspieces are keeping the posts from flopping apart...  the vertical temporary supports are holding the heavy 4x4 ridge in place.

In the next photo, I am beginning to install rafters.

Here is a shot of all the rafters installed...  and a nice flat roof surface...

There is still one temporary support keeping the posts from falling away from each other and causing the roof to collapse.  I'll be gluing and bolting on small collar beams to help hold these rafters and posts in place.  Plus, I'll be adding an "engineering triangle" between the posts and the tail of a set of rafters in the form of a large bracket.  That will also be glued and bolted.  A triangle shape, if bolted together correctly, is exceptionally strong and won't fail until under extraordinary loads (which we will not have here).  

The grill with its side stovetop are in place.  The metal countertop will not be needed since I will be building the kitchen into a "U" shape...  there will be homebuilt butcherblock wood countertop along the playhouse wall where the metal countertop is currently located and then the side opposite the grill will be another wood countertop with a small sink.  There will be three pendant lights over the countertop and sink...  some outlets...  and the run-off from the sink will water our gardens.  

This last photo shows the roof structure from above which provides a better angle for seeing the valley joint for the hip roof.  Those compound cuts were a pain in the butt!  I cut them by hand and then used a belt sander to get them just right.  

At this point, I need some more materials and we are due for three days of thunderstorms anyway.  I'll cover the playhouse with a plastic tarp for now.  It is looking good though!