Building a kamado in: table, outdoor kitchen or Solo

Building a kamado in is popular for a simple reason: on a trolley it is a barbecue, in a table or outdoor kitchen it becomes a cooking station. You have worktop next to the grate, your tools are within reach and the whole thing looks like one design instead of a loose appliance on the patio.

But ceramic that holds 110 degrees for hours, or 350 for half an hour, makes demands on whatever surrounds it. In this guide you read how to build a kamado in without your table discolouring, your outdoor kitchen running short of air, or having to tear it all out after two seasons. We cover the three ways (table, outdoor kitchen, Solo on a base), the dimensions per Grill Bill size, ventilation and safety, and the choice between buying, having it built and making it yourself.

Three ways to build a kamado in

Which way suits you depends on how much space you have, how permanent the spot is and how much you want to build yourself.

1. In a kamado table. A table with a round cut-out in which the ceramic body hangs or stands on a base. The smallest intervention: the table can be moved, you keep worktop on two sides and you can take it with you later. Suitable for every size, from Small to XL, as long as the frame carries the weight.

2. In an outdoor kitchen. A brick, concrete or timber unit with a cut-out in the worktop, often next to a gas burner, sink or fridge. Permanent, heavy and the best finished, but you choose the spot once. Here you almost always go for a Solo: a kamado without trolley that stands on a low steel base in the recess.

3. Solo in a fixed spot. No table, no kitchen: the Solo stands on its steel base on a concrete plinth, a raised platform of stone or a steel frame you build yourself. This is the cheapest route to a fixed setup and the easiest one to build in properly later.

The Grill Bill Solo versions exist for the Large (21 inch) and the XL (23.5 inch). We do not supply the Small and Medium as a Solo; those go into a table on their own base or stand.

Which cut-out per size

The size of the cut-out follows from the outer diameter of the ceramic plus clearance all round. You need that clearance for three reasons: ceramic expands slightly with heat, air has to pass along the body, and you want to be able to lift the kamado out of the recess one day. Allow at least 5 cm all round; with a timber worktop preferably 8 to 10 cm, or a border of stone or tile between timber and ceramic.

Watch the depth too. Built into a worktop, you want to open the lid fully without the hinge or the top controller hitting a back wall or roof. Measure the kamado with the lid open, not closed.

The table below gives the dimensions of the ceramic body per Grill Bill size. If you are torn between two sizes, first read which size kamado to buy: with a built-in kamado, choosing a size too small costs more than with a freestanding one, because the cut-out goes with it.

Ventilation and heat: where built-in installations go wrong

A kamado controls its temperature with air: the bottom vent draws in, the top controller lets out. Box in the underside and the fire gets no oxygen, so your kamado stalls at too low a temperature no matter how far you open the vent. This is the mistake we see most often in home-built recesses.

How to avoid it:

• Open underside. The space under and around the steel base must be able to draw air. A closed cabinet under the worktop needs ventilation grilles at the front or side, preferably on two sides so that air actually flows.
• Accessible vent. You must be able to operate the bottom vent without opening a door. In a recess in a brick kitchen that means an open front at the height of the vent.
• Ash out. The Ash Collector sits at the bottom. Plan the recess so you can remove it without lifting the kamado.
• No heat build-up. Warm air must be able to rise around the ceramic. An enclosed space around the body becomes an oven for your worktop.

How the vents work together is explained in how to control the temperature in a kamado. If that works fine on a freestanding kamado and not after building in, it is almost always the air supply at the bottom.

Kamado table: buy or build your own

A kamado table is the most chosen built-in form, because it stays movable and needs no planning permission or brickwork. You have three options.

Buy ready-made. There are tables in timber, steel and composite with a standard cut-out per size. Advantage: the size is right, the frame is rated for the weight and you are grilling within the hour. With timber tables, check the distance between the ceramic and the edge of the cut-out: if it is not in the specifications, ask. Also check that the table is rated for a kamado of 90 to 103 kg and not only for a lighter model.

Build your own. With a sturdy frame (hardwood, steel or scaffold tube) and a top you cut a circle out of, you get a long way. Rules that make the difference:

• Cut the opening to the outer diameter plus 5 to 10 cm, not a tight fit.
• Do not let the kamado hang in the top; let it stand on its own base or a separate support. The top then carries nothing and cannot sag.
• Put a non-combustible layer between timber and ceramic: a ring of tiles, natural stone or a steel plate.
• Put the table on castors with brakes if you want to move it; without brakes it will shift when you open the lid.

Have it built to size. A furniture maker or landscaper builds a table that fits your patio. More expensive, but you get the exact size and a finish that matches the rest of the garden. Give them the dimensions from the table above and this article; most builders have never built a kamado in before.

Kamado outdoor kitchen: ready-made, built for you or bricked yourself

An outdoor kitchen with a kamado is a permanent setup: a worktop with the kamado in it, often combined with a sink, fridge or gas burner. Where a table is built around the kamado, in an outdoor kitchen the kamado is one of the components. That changes the order: design the kitchen first, then choose the kamado, then build.

Ready-made modules. Outdoor kitchen suppliers sell modules with a kamado recess. Handy, but the recess is usually made for one specific brand and size. Always ask for the inside dimension of the recess and set it against the outer diameter of your kamado plus clearance. A 55 cm recess is too tight for a Large of 53.5 cm.

Have it built. A landscaper or outdoor kitchen builder bricks or builds to size. The points from the previous two chapters apply in full: open underside, accessible vent, non-combustible around the ceramic, and a lid that opens freely. Have the builder close the recess only after the kamado has stood in it once and you have tested the lid.

Brick or build it yourself. Use stone, concrete or composite for the worktop around the kamado; timber only at a distance or behind a heat shield. Build the recess as an open U, not a closed cabinet, and keep the front clear at the height of the bottom vent. Allow for the weight of a filled kamado plus a pan or dutch oven: with an XL you are then above 120 kg in one spot.

For an outdoor kitchen you almost always choose the Solo version: the same kamado, without the trolley and side tables you would not use in a kitchen anyway.

The Grill Bill Solo: the same kamado, without trolley

The Solo is the Grill Bill Large or XL without Heavy Duty Trolley, side tables and Grate Organizer. What you do get is exactly the same kamado: the same 2.5 cm thick ceramic, the same cast-iron top controller, two half-moon grates in stainless steel and two in cast iron, two ceramic heat deflectors, wok ring, Smart Qooking frame, stainless steel charcoal basket and Ash Collector. Instead of the trolley it stands on a low steel base.

That saves about 25 kg and a good part of your patio, and it is exactly what you need for building in: a body that stands on its base in the recess, without wheels or tables in the way.

• Large 21 inch Solo, Pro III: grate 47 cm, outer diameter 53.5 cm, 90 kg. For 3 to 8 people.
• XL 23.5 inch Solo, Pro III: grate 52 cm, outer diameter 60 cm, 103 kg. For groups up to 12.

Both are also available as Pro II Solo. The ceramic and the cooking performance are the same; the difference is in finish and gasket, as with the complete models. On the ceramic you get up to 20 years warranty: 10 years as standard, and on the Pro II and Pro III 20 years once you have completed the free GB Academy e-learning.

If you buy a Solo and want to use it freestanding for a while, you can: the steel base is stable enough for a patio. Only moving it around is not possible.

Safety and maintenance of a built-in kamado

You use a built-in kamado more often and for longer than a freestanding one, so a few things deserve more attention than on a trolley.

• Roof. Under a veranda or roof you want free height above the top controller and no combustible ceiling directly above it. A kamado at 350 degrees gives off a lot of heat through the top.
• Curing. A built-in kamado is cured first too, preferably before you finish the recess for good. That way you see straight away whether everything runs free and the air supply is right. How that works is explained in curing a kamado.
• Moisture. In a recess, water stands longer than on an open trolley. Make sure rainwater can drain under the base and cover the kamado with a cover when it is not used for a while; the ceramic can take frost, standing water in the ash drawer cannot.
• Gasket and hinge. Check the gasket and hinge every season, just as with a freestanding kamado. The full routine is in kamado maintenance.
• Removal. Build so that two people can lift the kamado out of the recess. Not because it is often needed, but because a recess you have to demolish to get at it is an expensive mistake.

If you first want the basics of buying in one place, read the buying guide; all questions about size, model and equipment are gathered there.