Pool + Outdoor Kitchen: Why Building Both at Once Saves Money
- MTR Contractors
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 18 hours ago
Homeowners routinely build the pool first and plan the outdoor kitchen for next year. It is an understandable way to spread the cost, and it is almost always the more expensive path in total. Here is the arithmetic.
1. One trench instead of three
A pool build already opens the yard for gas, electrical and water. An outdoor kitchen needs a gas line, at least one dedicated circuit and often GFCI protection, a water supply and a drain plan. Run those in the trenches that are already open and the incremental cost is materials plus a little labor. Run them next year and you are paying to cut and re-pour hardscape, re-excavate, and repair irrigation and landscaping that has since been installed.
2. One mobilization
Every trade charges to show up. Excavation, concrete, plumbing, electrical, masonry, and the equipment that has to be trucked in and out. Building in two phases means paying most of those mobilization costs twice, and paying them at next year's prices.
3. One deck pour, one elevation plan
This is the big one. Decking, coping, drainage slope and elevations are designed as a system. Add a kitchen later and you are cutting into finished decking, matching a concrete color and finish that has already cured and weathered, and working around a drainage plan that was designed without a structure in it. The repair is visible for the life of the deck.
4. One permit and inspection path
The gas line, the electrical work and any structure over the kitchen are inspected once, on one schedule.
Pool barrier and enclosure requirements are resolved once, against the final layout rather than an interim one.
The HOA architectural review covers the whole backyard in a single submittal instead of two rounds months apart.
5. One design, actually coordinated
A kitchen designed after the pool is a kitchen fitted into whatever space is left. Designed together, the cook can see the water, the seating faces the right direction, the structure shades the counter at the hour you actually use it, and the equipment pad is not staring at the dining area.
What if the whole thing does not fit the budget
Then phase the finishes, not the infrastructure. Run the gas, the conduit, the water and the drain during the pool build, pour the deck to the final plan, and set the pad for the structure. Add the appliances, the masonry surround and the cover later. You keep the option and you never pay to open the yard twice. That single decision is usually worth several thousand dollars and a much better looking result.
Plan the whole backyard once
Bring your pool plan, or your pool builder's plan, to the Frisco showroom and we will lay the outdoor living scope over it before anything is dug. There are outdoor kitchens, pergolas and cabanas standing outside to walk through at full size.
What an outdoor kitchen scope actually contains
Homeowners tend to picture an outdoor kitchen as a grill and a counter. A real scope has four trades in it, and understanding that is what keeps a budget honest. Here is the anatomy of a typical L-shaped build we have done many times across Frisco and Little Elm, roughly sixteen linear feet in an L of about nine and a half feet by six.
Masonry is the structure, not the finish
The counter is not furniture. It is a built structure: cinder block framing with rebar, then stone and mortar applied over it and professionally sealed. On our builds every piece of stone is hand cut and finished with a hand-scraped technique, which is the difference between a masonry counter and a veneer box.
That framing is also why an outdoor kitchen cannot simply be relocated later. Once it is built, it is a permanent structure on your slab.
Gas, and the question to ask before you plan anything
If there is an existing gas valve near the intended location, the scope is a tie-in and the cost is modest. If there is not, you are trenching a line from the meter, and that changes the project. Same for the electrical: a typical build runs conduit from the nearest source and adds outlets at the counter plus a dedicated location for a refrigerator.
This is precisely why building an outdoor kitchen alongside a pool saves money. Both need gas, water, drain and power crossing the same yard. One trench, once.
Countertops
Lueder stone is the North Texas default for good reason: it is a locally quarried limestone that tolerates our heat cycling and freeze without spalling the way an interior-grade surface would. On the build described above, roughly forty-eight square feet of Lueder bar and counter top, cut and sealed.
Appliances, and one thing worth knowing
Clients frequently buy their own grill, refrigerator, trash drawers and doors. That is fine, and we install them. Two practical notes from having done it many times:
We need cut-out specifications before masonry starts. An opening built to the wrong dimension means demolition, not adjustment.
When you supply the appliance, the manufacturer warranty is between you and them. We warranty our workmanship, not somebody else's equipment.
Permits
Requirements vary by jurisdiction. A counter on an existing slab with a tie-in to an existing gas valve is a different review than new gas line, new electrical circuits, or a structure attached to the house. We pull permits through Frisco, Little Elm and the surrounding cities as part of the scope. Any contractor who tells you an outdoor kitchen never needs a permit has not asked the city.
Ballpark
An L-shaped hand-cut stone outdoor kitchen of roughly this size, with masonry, Lueder countertops, a gas tie-in, added outlets and permitting, has historically landed in the mid five figures range in North Texas, and material and labor costs have moved upward since. Trenching new gas, adding a roof structure over it, or building it into a new pool deck all move that number. Treat it as a planning figure and get a site visit.
Pools and Outdoor Kitchens in Frisco and North DFW
Practical North DFW note: Frisco, Prosper and Little Elm lots in newer communities are tight, and access for pool equipment often runs through the same side yard your gas and electric will follow. Combining the pool and outdoor kitchen means one access plan and one trench. Doing them separately can mean cutting a deck you just paid to pour, and in post-tension slab territory that is not a small line item.
Frequently asked questions
Why is building both together cheaper?
One mobilization, one trench for gas, water and electric, one concrete pour, one inspection cycle. Splitting the projects duplicates all of it.
Can I add an outdoor kitchen to an existing pool deck?
Yes, but you will likely be cutting deck to run utilities, which is the cost you would have avoided by combining.
What has to be decided before the pour?
Every utility stub. Gas, water, drain and electrical locations are effectively permanent once concrete is down.
Keep reading
Learn more about custom pools
Learn more about outdoor kitchens
Learn more about outdoor living
About MTR Contractors
MTR Contractors is a general contractor based in Frisco, Texas, serving North DFW: Frisco, Little Elm, Prosper, Celina, Aubrey, The Colony, Plano, McKinney and the surrounding Collin and Denton County communities. The company holds a 2025 BBB Torch Award for Ethics and Best of Houzz recognition, and you can walk into the showroom at 1647 Witt Rd Ste 101, Frisco TX 75036. Call (972) 432-7011 or request an estimate.
Still have questions?
Our Outdoor Kitchens & Pools section covers what must be decided before the pour, built-in appliances, and adding a kitchen to an existing deck. Same answers we give at the showroom, written down so you can read them at 11pm without waiting on a callback.
Browse the full MTR Contractors FAQ, or come see it in person at our Frisco showroom on Witt Road.
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