Brick BBQ with cupboards - DPM?

[Blokky27]

Hi all

I'm building a BBQ with an adjacent granite worksurface supported on brick with a pair of cupboards below, one for general storage and once for a fridge.

I'd like it all to be as dry as possible inside, both for the stuff in the cupboard and also for the fridge. The whole lot is being built on a concrete slab I laid a couple of weeks ago. Should I put a DPM below the first layer of bricks to stop damp coming up into the cupboards or is this pointless? Would it need to cover the cupboard floors too and then have something (clay tiles, perhaps?) laid on top of it there?

I have no knowledge on the subject at all - learning everything from google, youtube and of course DIYNOT.

Thanks all

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

The risk is that a DPC detaches what's above from what's below. Not a problem normally, if you lean on a house then it isn't going to slide sideways as it weighs a hundred tons or so. But it would be very possible for someone leaning on your BBQ to slide or tip it sideways.

 

[Blokky27]

Having thought about it a little I did wonder if it might affect the strength - any thoughts on an alternative solution? DPM the cupboard floor only? Or would this be pointless without something in the brickwork? A waterproof additive to the mortar perhaps, that does the job of the DPM?

 

[noseall]

Having thought about it a little I did wonder if it might affect the strength - any thoughts on an alternative solution? DPM the cupboard floor only? Or would this be pointless without something in the brickwork? A waterproof additive to the mortar perhaps, that does the job of the DPM?

A cupboard in an external BBQ is not a good idea. Open slots - yes. This is an external construction that WILL get wet form all directions, no matter what.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Having thought about it a little I did wonder if it might affect the strength - any thoughts on an alternative solution? DPM the cupboard floor only? Or would this be pointless without something in the brickwork? A waterproof additive to the mortar perhaps, that does the job of the DPM?

Anything outdoors, will get damp, irrespective of anything you do to attempt to prevent it. Moisture in the atmosphere, will condense out, especially on a morning, when the surfaces a still cool from the night air, and the atmosphere warms up - that's why we get morning dew.

 

[Blokky27]

Anything clever I could do with piping whatever comes out of the fridge as it keeps the contents cool into the neighbouring cupboard???

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Anything clever I could do with piping whatever comes out of the fridge as it keeps the contents cool into the neighbouring cupboard???

I don't understand what you are asking?

 

[Blokky27]

The fridge makes the air inside it cold, so the heat it takes out, could that help to balance the cold morning air in the adjacent cupboard?

Perhaps if I built the wall between the fridge compartment and the cupboard compartment with air gaps, then that heat might pass through and help prevent condensation?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Perhaps if I built the wall between the fridge compartment and the cupboard compartment with air gaps, then that heat might pass through and help prevent condensation?

Waste heat from the fridge will be absolutely minimal.

 

[Blokky27]

A cupboard in an external BBQ is not a good idea. Open slots - yes. This is an external construction that WILL get wet form all directions, no matter what.

So what is the difference between a cupboard in a bbq area, and a box outside for cushions to keep them dry. Why don’t the cushions get wet based on what you’re saying?

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Build a kitchen. Put a cooker and fridge in it. Job done.

 

[Iwilldoit]

So what is the difference between a cupboard in a bbq area, and a box outside for cushions to keep them dry. Why don’t the cushions get wet based on what you’re saying?

I think the cushions will still get damp in a box.
If by cupboards you mean like kitchen cupboards made out of chipboard then they wont last outside even assuming you are putting a roof over everything.
I would build the cupboards out of brick which will also be the support for the work top and then fit a stainless steel door on the front. But I dont think you will to stop damp in there - as said it will mostly be from condensation.
By all means store your your BBQ stuff you need in there during the summer but empty the cupboard and bring it all inside for the winter.
Also I dont think fridges play nice outside, even if you have one in your garage it has to be a special one for that environment - or something like that.

 

[noseall]

So what is the difference between a cupboard in a bbq area, and a box outside for cushions to keep them dry. Why don’t the cushions get wet based on what you’re saying?

I doubt anything, that lives outdoors, year round in the UK, stays dry.

 

[Blokky27]

I think the cushions will still get damp in a box.
If by cupboards you mean like kitchen cupboards made out of chipboard then they wont last outside even assuming you are putting a roof over everything.
I would build the cupboards out of brick which will also be the support for the work top and then fit a stainless steel door on the front. But I dont think you will to stop damp in there - as said it will mostly be from condensation.
By all means store your your BBQ stuff you need in there during the summer but empty the cupboard and bring it all inside for the winter.
Also I dont think fridges play nice outside, even if you have one in your garage it has to be a special one for that environment - or something like that.

Yes, that was the plan, brick built for cupboards to support the granite (which is insanely heavy!) and then put doors on the front. I’ll probably not do the stainless doors, simply because it would look so out of character (old rustic house and garden), but make up doorframes and doors from hardwood, in the full knowledge that they’ll need repainting from time to time. In the cupboard will only ever be dry goods and crockery etc so any damp won’t actually matter too much, but just be an inconvenience I was trying to avoid.

As for the fridge, I’ve looked into this and accept that it is completely the wrong environment for a regular fridge. However it won’t be on 24/7, but only on the random days when we’re out there enjoying the sun (so pretty bloody rarely, then!). And the fridge I’m putting in is a secondhand one that cost £20 off Facebook Marketplace so if it just lasts one season and then has to be switched out for another similar one next year then so be it. Hopefully I’ll get 2 or 3 summers out of each one.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

You could use HPL (high pressure laminate) for the doors, get it cut to suit, it would be completely impervious to moisture, its the same stuff they use for toilet cubicle doors and external cladding amongst other things.