How to Budget for an Outdoor Barbecue

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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When you are planning to build an outdoor barbecue, you are going to have to consider the costs of the items. If you are doing it yourself, then you won't have to pay for labor. So you can focus on budgeting all of your money for materials. Read on to learn how to budget for an outdoor barbecue.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Tape measure
Calculator

Step1

Think about the kind of barbecue you want to build. If you have a large yard and you like to entertain, then you are going to want an area that's big enough to prepare and grill the food efficiently and safely.

Step2

Decide how much money you are willing to spend on the project. If you want to build the barbecue out of stone, then it will be more expensive than if you want to build it out of wood and tile. Still, stone will make your barbecue look great. It will blend in well with your backyard and will be more resistant to harm from the elements than wood and tile.

Step3

Measure the area that you need to cover to make your barbecue. Don't forget to measure not only the length of the wall you want to build, but also the height and width. You are going to be covering all of this with stone and you don't want to have too few stones to do the job.

Step4

Visit your local home improvement store. You have already decided how big you want your barbecue to be, so you can estimate how much the materials are going to cost. Find a stone that you like and will look good in your backyard. You are building a permanent structure here, so pick something that looks nice.

Step5

Estimate the cost of your project by multiplying the cost of the rocks you have selected by the amount of space that you need to cover. Add the cost of the mortar you will need to fix the stones together.

Step6

Add the cost of the grill you want to buy. If this number is affordable for you, then you are done.

Step7

Consider using less expensive rock if the amount you would be spending on the project ends up costing more than the amount that is in your budget.

Tips & Warnings

Begin the project with a number in mind. If you don't decide how much you want to spend before you begin the project, then you may find yourself paying out a lot more than you expected.
There are always going to be unexpected expenses. Maybe you break your wheelbarrow while you are mixing mortar. There is always a chance that something will go wrong. Allow a hundred or so dollars in your budget for these expenditures.