Outdoor Kitchen Costs UK — What to Charge to Build One in 2026

What's Actually Involved in Building One

An outdoor kitchen is a small construction project, not a single product. Before you price anything, you need to understand every element that goes into it — because each one carries its own labour, material and trade cost. Skip one in your quote and the margin disappears.

• A level base and foundations: a concrete slab or properly compacted, paved base that can carry the weight of masonry, worktops and appliances without settling.
• The carcass: either a masonry build in blockwork or brick, or a modular metal/cement-board frame system that you clad afterwards.
• The worktop: granite, porcelain or polished concrete are the common choices — all need to handle frost, UV and heat.
• A cooking appliance: a built-in gas or charcoal BBQ/grill, or a wood-fired pizza oven, sometimes both.
• Sink and plumbing: a supply run to the garden, a drainage point and frost-proofed pipework.
• Mains electrics: sockets, a fridge supply, and lighting on a dedicated garden circuit.
• Gas connection: a fixed gas feed to a built-in grill, which must be done by a Gas Safe engineer.
• Weatherproofing: sealing, frost-proof finishes and often a pergola or roof to keep the kitchen usable in British weather.

The Three Price Tiers

Most outdoor kitchen enquiries fall into one of three brackets. Knowing which tier a customer is really in — before you quote — keeps you from pricing a champagne build on a lager budget, or under-spec'ing a project that the client expected to be a showpiece.

Basic / Compact Build — £2,500–£5,000

A single straight run, built off an existing patio or a modest new slab, with a masonry or modular carcass, a built-in BBQ or grill and a worktop with a couple of storage cupboards. No water, no gas connection and either no electrics or a single weatherproof socket fed from a nearby existing supply. This is the entry point and the most common conversion from "I just want somewhere proper to cook outside."

Mid-Range L-Shaped Kitchen — £5,000–£12,000

An L-shaped or U-shaped layout with a new concrete base, full masonry carcass, granite or porcelain worktop, a built-in grill, a sink with hot/cold supply and drainage, under-counter storage and a proper garden electrical circuit running sockets, a fridge and task lighting. This is where most serious projects land and where you'll do the bulk of your outdoor kitchen work.

High-End Build — £12,000–£30,000+

A premium installation: a large multi-run kitchen with high-end appliances (built-in gas grill, side burner, outdoor fridge and often a wood-fired pizza oven), a stone or porcelain worktop, full plumbing, a complete garden electrical circuit, integrated lighting, and a pergola, veranda or solid roof over the top. Add bespoke cladding, a bar area or a kamado, and these projects run well past £30,000.

What Drives the Cost

Two outdoor kitchens of the same footprint can differ by £15,000 in price. The variables below are what move the number — work through every one with the customer before you commit to a figure.

• Size and layout: a straight run is far cheaper than an L or U shape. More worktop means more carcass, more stone and more appliances.
• Appliance choice: a basic built-in grill costs a few hundred pounds; a premium gas grill with a rotisserie, plus a pizza oven and an outdoor fridge, can be £4,000–£8,000 of kit on its own.
• Running services to the garden: getting water, drainage, electrics and gas from the house to the kitchen is often the most underquoted part of the job. Trenching across a lawn or lifting and relaying a patio adds days.
• Groundwork and access: a sloping garden, poor ground or no rear access for a digger or barrow turns a simple slab into a substantial groundwork exercise.
• Roof or pergola cover: a timber pergola, a louvred roof or a solid structure can add anything from £1,500 to £8,000 depending on size and spec — and may need its own foundations.

The Trades You'll Need

An outdoor kitchen rarely sits with one trade. Unless you carry these skills in-house, you're coordinating subcontractors — and their day rates and availability need to be built into your quote and programme, not bolted on at the end.

• Groundworker: excavation, hardcore, compaction and the concrete slab or paved base.
• Bricklayer: the blockwork or brick carcass, plus any rendering, brick-slip or stone cladding.
• Electrician: the garden circuit, RCD-protected sockets, fridge and lighting — this is Part P notifiable work (more on that below).
• Plumber: the water supply, sink, drainage and frost-proofing.
• Gas Safe engineer: required for any fixed gas connection to a built-in grill. This is non-negotiable.

Many landscapers and builders run the project as principal contractor and bring in the electrician, plumber and Gas Safe engineer as specialists. Price their work as separate, clearly labelled lines so the customer can see what they're paying for — and so you're not carrying their margin out of your own.

UK Rules You Must Get Right

Outdoor kitchens cross several regulated trades, and cutting corners on the legal side is how a profitable job turns into a liability. Three things matter most.

Part P and notifiable garden electrics. Installing a new circuit to supply an outdoor kitchen is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations. It must be carried out (or certified) by a registered competent person, or notified to building control. Don't let a general handyman wire it — the electrician issues the certificate, and that paperwork protects you and the customer.

RCD protection for outdoor sockets. Every socket and circuit serving the outdoor kitchen must be RCD-protected. Outdoor electrics are exposed to water, so the wiring regulations require additional protection — this is your electrician's responsibility, but you should know it is mandatory and check it is in the spec.

Frost-proofing pipework. Any water supply or drainage left exposed in a British winter will freeze and split. Pipework must be lagged, buried below the frost line where it runs underground, and fitted with an isolation point so the supply can be drained down over winter. Build this into your quote rather than leaving it as a callback waiting to happen.

Gas Safe for fixed gas. Any permanent gas connection — a built-in grill plumbed into mains or a fixed LPG feed — must be installed by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Portable bottle-fed appliances that simply sit on the worktop are different, but the moment gas is fixed to the structure, Gas Safe is a legal requirement.

Worked Example — A Mid-Range L-Shaped Kitchen

Take a typical mid-range job: an L-shaped outdoor kitchen on a new slab in a suburban back garden, with a masonry carcass, porcelain worktop, built-in gas grill, sink with supply and drainage, and a garden electrical circuit for a fridge, two sockets and lighting. No pizza oven, no pergola. Here is roughly how the numbers break down.

• Groundwork and concrete base: £1,200
• Masonry carcass (blockwork, render/cladding, labour): £2,200
• Porcelain worktop, supplied and fitted: £1,400
• Built-in gas grill and Gas Safe connection: £1,600
• Sink, plumbing, drainage and frost-proofing: £900
• Garden electrical circuit (Part P certified), fridge and lighting: £1,300
• Weatherproofing, sealing, sundries and snagging: £400

That totals around £9,000, sitting comfortably in the middle of the £5,000–£12,000 mid-range bracket. Push it toward the top of the range if access is poor, services have to be trenched a long way from the house, or the customer upgrades the appliances. The single biggest risk to your margin here is the services run — always survey the route from the house to the kitchen before you price.

Quoting Tips — What to Check Before You Price

Outdoor kitchen quotes go wrong when the builder prices the visible bits — the carcass and the worktop — and forgets the hidden ones. Before you commit a price, check the following:

• Services route: how far is the kitchen from the nearest water, drainage, electrics and gas? Will you trench a lawn or lift a patio? This is the most commonly underquoted element.
• Ground conditions: level or sloping? Soft or made-up ground? A consumer unit with spare capacity for the new circuit? Check before assuming a simple slab.
• Access: can a digger and barrow reach the rear garden, or is everything coming through the house? Restricted access adds labour days.
• Appliance spec: nail down the exact grill, fridge, oven and any extras in writing. Appliances are where customers change their minds and budgets blow out.
• Cover: is a pergola or roof in scope? If so it may need its own foundations and could require building control sign-off depending on size.
• Subcontractor availability: confirm your electrician, plumber and Gas Safe engineer can hit your programme before you commit a completion date.

Quick Reference: Outdoor Kitchen Prices UK 2026