Case Studies

Jobs we have finished, with what each one cost, how long it took, and what went wrong along the way.

Most builders show you a wall of photographs. Photographs tell you what something looks like on the day it was handed over. They tell you nothing about what the ground turned out to be, what had to change once the old finish came off, or how far past the estimate a gas line put the schedule.

What is in each one

The same five things, every time, including the parts that did not go to plan.

Read any one of these and you will know what working with us actually looks like, not just how it photographs.

The costs are ranges rather than exact figures, because the final invoice on any of these depended on choices made partway through. A range is what we can publish honestly, and it is more use to somebody trying to work out a budget than one number with no context attached.

The projects

Click any one to read how it was built.

Northwest MeridianFrom a Gas Stub to a Full Outdoor KitchenA four year old house with a capped gas stub and a 10x10 paver pad. It came out as an L-shaped kitchen with bar seating for…Outdoor Kitchen Remodel$22,000 to $28,0005 to 6 weeksRead the build →Turning a Bare Concrete Slab Into a Full Outdoor KitchenNo gas, no water, no power. A plain builder slab with a propane grill on it became a straight-run built-in kitchen two people can cook in…Outdoor Kitchen Construction$19,000 to $25,0004 to 5 weeksRead the build →Giving a Decade-Old Outdoor Kitchen New LifeTwelve years of freeze and thaw had cracked the tile counter and chipped the stucco. Demo showed the block underneath was mostly sound, and the mortar…Outdoor Kitchen Remodel$17,000 to $23,0005 to 6 weeksRead the build →Fitting a Full Outdoor Kitchen Onto a Tight Suburban LotA quarter acre, a trampoline, and a 36-inch side gate every pallet had to fit through. Vertical storage did the work the floor space could not.Outdoor Kitchen Construction$16,000 to $21,0004 to 5 weeksRead the build →Building a Fireplace That Anchors an Established YardFifteen years of mature landscaping and nowhere for anyone to gather. A maple canopy moved the fireplace eight feet, and a root under the footing meant…Outdoor Fireplace$14,000 to $19,0004 to 5 weeksRead the build →A Pizza Oven Built to Handle Wide-Open Acreage WindTwo portable ovens had already failed on this property because the wind would not let a fire settle. Orientation was not enough on its own, so…Built-In Pizza Oven$13,000 to $18,0004 to 5 weeksRead the build →A Family’s First Fire Pit, Done Right the First TimeThey had priced up the metal ring kits first. The clearance rules moved the pit twice before a single paver went down, which is a lot…Fire Pit Installation$6,500 to $9,5002 to 3 weeksRead the build →Squeezing a Full Kitchen Onto a Small Historic LotA sixty year old bungalow, a thirty foot deep yard, and a permit search that turned up an undocumented patio extension nobody knew about.Outdoor Kitchen Remodel$18,000 to $24,0005 to 6 weeksRead the build →Getting a Wood-Fired Oven to Draw Clean in Open CountryA test burn on a windy afternoon backed smoke up at the oven mouth. The flue went up another two feet with a wind-resistant cap before…Built-In Pizza Oven$13,000 to $18,0003 to 4 weeksRead the build →Reworking a Kitchen Around an Existing Covered PatioA good covered patio that nobody had planned a kitchen under. Two posts set the layout, and a structural header sat exactly where the vent duct…Outdoor Kitchen Remodel$20,000 to $26,0005 to 6 weeksRead the build →