Not All Steel Studs Are Designed For Outdoor Kitchens - Don't Be Fooled                                   

     You want to build your own outdoor kitchen with steel studs and cement board.  For most DIY projects we head down to Home Depot or Lowes, buy our materials and go home and just do it!  But this is a big mistake when it comes to shopping for steel studs.  Home Depot and Lowes usually only stocks 25 gauge interior steel studs. This gauge of steel is only meant to hold up non-bearing sheet rock walls.  It is why you usually find these thin studs close to where they sell the sheet rock in the store.   THE MINIMUM GAUGE STEEL FOR EXTERIOR USE IS 20 Gauge 33 mil.  BBQ COACH exceeds this minimum requirement and uses 18 GAUGE 43 mil structural exterior steel designed to support heavy weights.  BBQ Coach steel studs have a G60 Galvanization coating which is much higher than the G40 usually found on the interior studs.

Hiring Contractors to Build Your Steel Frame

If you are hiring contractors to build your steel frame it my be a good idea to protect yourself and order BBQ COACH steel pro panels for them to use. This way you know they are using the correct steel and engineering to build an outdoor kitchen that will really last and support your investment of heavy appliances costing thousands of dollars.  I have seen many islands built with interior 25 gauge studs by contractors because they know the clients do not know the difference and they can make more profit by using cheap materials.    Many contractors are not steel framers and  are not intentionally trying to use the wrong product, they just are not educated about various types of steel.  Even using 20 gauge can be the wrong material if it is not 33 mil structural.  There is no training or certification program for building bbq islands with steel studs.  I see a lot of misinformation on the internet about how to steel frame a bbq island using dog ears which is an incorrect and not a strong way to join framing together. The forums have a lot of incorrect information as well.  I see some of my diy clients post correct information to the forums but you also get guys that think they are experts because they built one and post incorrect information with 100% confidence it is correct.  It is better to stay away from these forums and seek out professional training. If your building concrete counter tops find a 3 day training with pros like Buddy Rhodes.  If your building an outdoor kitchen frame then seek out a real outdoor kitchen steel framer for training like BBQ Coach.   With BBQ Coach we are giving you the training for free with online videos and pdf instructions when you buy $300 or more of our kits, where for learning to make concrete counters you may pay $1000 + for training and still need to buy the materials.  BBQ COACH is a great value when you consider you are getting the best materials plus professional training.