If you and your family like to spend time in your yard and host grill nights for yourselves and others, you may want to build a grill surround to dress up your grill. Grill surrounds are the perfect way to level up your basic grill and add some much-needed counter space to create a small outdoor kitchen of sorts.
When you pre-plan for any hardscape project, you should always preplan your design. A grill surround is no different.
A lot of the design is dictated by the height of your grill, where your vents are, and how high you want your counters to be. If you are building a grill surround for a gas grill, you should plan to gap your columns about an inch on each side of the grill to allow for maximum ventilation. We recommend making columns about twenty inches in diameter with something like our Chateau blocks.
If you have factory metal wings on your grill, you can rip them off to make room for upgrading a paver grill surround.
Once you have designed your grill surround, it is time to lay out the first layer of pavers. First, place your grill where you want it to stay, usually on pavers, concrete, or a patio of some kind. Occasionally, you can place a grill on a wood deck—but first, ensure that the deck is rated for the heaviness of the columns you will be building. Note that because you are building the grill surround on concrete or the equivalent, you do not need to worry about any paver base or compaction as you would with other paver projects.
Lay the first course of pavers about an inch away from your grill and three inches away from the face. This way, once you add your cap to the top, you will have three inches of overhang on the top and the sides and one inch in the middle for breathability.
After the first layer of pavers is completed, you can stack and glue the additional courses of pavers. As you go through this process, be mindful of the glue orientation on each layer. If you place glue too close to the edges, it will squeeze out and drip down the face of your columns and be very difficult to remove.
For a column like this, you only need a dime-sized dollop of glue in each paver corner to ensure they are firmly secured to each other.
Finally, after you have stacked and secured your pavers to your desired height, you are ready to finish off with a beautiful capstone countertop. We recommend using something like Murata Capello, a 24” by 24”, three-inch thick cap. Your caps should land perfectly with the height at the bottom of your grill hood. You will have three inches of overhang on the sides and one inch of breather gap beside the grill.
A grill surround is the ideal way to uplevel your outdoor grill area. If you are ready to get started with the installation process, you can click here to make your choice from our selection of products. Check out our DIY with WI page for access to tutorials, guides, and more. Our team will be happy to assist you with any questions or personalized advice you need for your new grill surround or any other part of your hardscaping needs.
Choosing a paver can sure feel overwhelming. You have to consider size, style, thickness, color, and more. That’s why we made a short and simple quiz that asks a few questions about what you’re looking for and, at the end, provides a recommendation, or two, you can start with.
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