Honest Answers · When to start

When to start talking — and what to check first

The most expensive moment in a project is the one where the concrete is already poured and the kitchen doesn't fit it. So the short answer is: talk earlier than feels necessary. Below is what we check on site — so you can look at your own yard through our eyes before you call.

Earlier is cheaper

Three moments when a call changes the project

Before the base is poured — ideal

A kitchen in steel and stone weighs a serious amount, and a hung ventilation unit with its fan adds more above it. If the base and the wall are calculated in advance, nothing needs strengthening later. This is also the moment to run the services: gas, water, electrics, drainage.

Before the finishes go on — still good

Tiling and stone are down, but walls and ceilings are still open, so services can be run concealed without cutting anything back out. Most of our projects begin here.

A finished, lived-in yard — also fine

We work with finished yards too: the design then adapts to what exists, and some decisions — concealed service runs, for instance — give way to surface ones. That's normal. The list of compromises is simply longer, and we'll name it before the contract, not after.

Your architect's drawing isn't an obstacle — it's the best possible start. We build to a drawing rather than bending a catalog to fit: if you have a design for the house or the yard, that's where we begin.

Site-readiness list

What we check — and what you might look at

This is the same list our engineer works through on a site visit. We come and check it ourselves; but if you walk it beforehand, the first conversation is specific instead of general.

Services

Gas. Is there a supply, what capacity is the line, where is the point. Propane or mains.
Electrics. Line capacity — for ventilation, refrigeration, lighting and the working-zone sockets.
Water and waste. The supply and, more often forgotten, the drain. In winter, whether it can be drained down against freezing.
Drainage and fall. Where water leaves the area and the terrace.

Structure and place

The base. Load capacity for the weight of steel and stone — and for the ventilation, if it hangs.
Ventilation and prevailing wind. Where the smoke goes and where the wind takes it; for an enclosed room, a calculation against volume.
Access. Whether equipment and assembled blocks reach the installation point: gates, turns, level changes.
Cover. Whether a canopy exists or is planned — it drives both the choice of stone and the ventilation strategy.

If the site isn't ready you'll hear it before signing, not after. That's part of the free visit.

The other half of the brief

Engineering is half of it. The other half is how you live

The technical list says what can be built. These questions say what should be built for you. You don't need answers prepared — just think about them before we arrive.

How many of you

Is an ordinary evening four people or twelve? That sets the length of the run and the number of cooking blocks — not "a bigger size".

How often

Every weekend, or five times a summer? Frequency decides what earns its place: a serious working zone, or a beautiful hearth.

Who cooks

A host at the fire with guests alongside — or a cook who needs not to be crowded? That changes the layout more than the square meters do.

What you cook

Meat over coals, plov in a kazan, pizza, a twelve-hour brisket? Each has its own block, and you don't always need all of them.

Where people sit

At a table, at the bar, or around the fire? That decides where you want a warm surface and where you want a working one.

Winter

Is the yard used all year, or May to September? The answer changes the stone, the cover and the ventilation.

When to start talking — and what to check first

Three moments when a call changes the project

Before the base is poured — ideal

Before the finishes go on — still good

A finished, lived-in yard — also fine

What we check — and what you might look at

Services

Structure and place

Engineering is half of it. The other half is how you live

How many of you

How often

Who cooks

What you cook

Where people sit

Winter

Send photos of your yard