Custom BBQ Smoker Shed
Do you smell that? That is the smell of a delicious fresh smoked brisket.
If you’ve come to this post, you most likely love smoked meats and want to level up your outdoor cooking experience. Or you’re someone who is looking for their next creative DIY project. Either way, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article we’ll discuss what inspired this project, the unique design concepts, and how assembling this shed was made easy with a few simple tricks.
So, pop that brisket in, set your smoker to 220, and check out how one of our project specialists designed and built a custom smoke shed.
Designing a Custom BBQ Shack
Like many people, our project specialist Nate enjoys the simple things in life. One of those things is slow-cooked/smoked meats.
Naturally, Nate spends a lot of time outside tending to his smoker. While he has a simple setup of it in his garage and moves it out onto his driveway for better ventilation, he wanted to take his meat smoking game to the next level.
So, he set out to design and build a custom smoke shack for his home.
When it came to designing the shack, Nate wanted something tall, as he is a tall man, but also so it’s easier for smoke to rise and vent out of the top of the shed and not collect lower at his level.
Additionally, designing the shed to standard board lengths would also help reduce costs and make the job simpler.
He also didn’t want it to only fit his smoker as he recently acquired a new griddle to take his cooking to the next level. So, he needed it wide as well.
He had to consider the width of both the smoker and the griddle, along with any potential cabinets or storage he plans to add to the shed.
All of this is going on a concrete slab too, so the width and depth of the shed will have to fit on the dimensions of the pad as well.
These are just a few things to consider while planning for a project like this. If you have any questions about design considerations, feel free to reach out to our project specialists with any questions.
Swinging Doors for Smoke Shack
Nate wanted to easily close the shed with two swinging doors outfitted with magents to help the doors stay closed.
He also designed a sloped roof so that rain and snow, which is all too prevalent here in upstate New York, would easily run off the side and not build up.
So, he’s designing a large smoker shack with two doors and a sloped roof. That seems easy enough, but what is a cost-effective and durable solution for this kind of project?
That answer lies in what our company specializes in: industrial pipe and fittings.
Industrial Pipe and Fittings Smoker Shed
Oh boy, we’re about halfway there. I can’t wait to dig into this when it’s done!
Above you can see all the pipe and fittings laid out before they began assembling the shed. This best practice allows you to ensure you received all your materials and order them as needed.
Kee Klamp fittings and Gator Tubing are products that Nate designs and builds with daily. Our industrial pipe and fittings can be used to build almost anything from stair railings to clothing racks and yes, smoker shacks.
The modular system allows Nate to essentially design whatever he wants (within structural reason) to meet his needs for his shack.
Nate also needed to create a roof and walls for it. For this, he used basic sheet metal and pieces of wood that can easily be mounted to the frame of the shed by using these fittings.
Building a Custom Smoker Shack
Looks like our smoked meat is almost ready. Just a bit more before it’s done.
Now that shed has been designed and shipped, it’s time to install.
I mentioned in the beginning of the article that Nate made installation easier with a very simple trick. When designing his shed, he color coded all the pipes and when he received the pipe, he matched the pipe lengths to their color and labeled them as such.
He did this through our design software, Sketchup, but we can do it with other design tools when assisting with your project. This could also be accomplished by using highlighters on your drawing of the materials.
This made install a breeze because if he needed a blue pipe, he knew which one to grab. If he needed a red one, he wouldn’t have to fumble around measuring them to make sure he had the right length one.
A simple trick to make an already easy install, well, easier.
I keep saying “easy” here but what exactly do I mean by that. Well, as previously mentioned we use a modular pipe and fittings system. With this system there is ZERO welding, and all connections are formed by tightening down set screws with a hex key.
Yes, you heard me correctly, that’s it. However, what Nate did here was use a driver with a hex bit to make it just a little bit easier and quicker.
Therefore, anyone and everyone can easily assemble their smoker shed with relative ease. This type of job is more of a two-person job though so that one can support the structure while the other is tightening down set screws.
Another installation “hack” he used while assembling the shed was to assemble the structure in sections. They assembled the walls and put the final structure together on the concrete pad.
While I do keep saying just Nate as if he worked alone, he wasn’t. He had a couple people assisting him with this installation so that putting up the walls was easily managed and could be moved and shifted as needed. So, we recommend at least one other person to assist you with a project like this.
So, find a buddy or a reluctant child of yours to help and you can build in no time!
Now you see that gap along the top. Nate had originally planned for plastic or another material to let sunlight in through the top of the shed but based on cost and actual use this was going to be inefficient. So, he decided to wall it off with smaller pieces of wood.
Now, without sunlight, what happens during overcast days or at night? Don’t worry, Nate thought of that too. He could easily add off-the-shelf solar-powered lights that mount to the roof and inside the shed.
Completed Custom BBQ Smoker Shed
Specs:
- Completely Customizable
Assembly:
- Hex Key and Drill
What's included:
What's not:
Look at that. Cooked to perfection. Grab a plate and enjoy!
With Kee Klamp fittings and Gator Tubing, what you can build is limited only by your imagination.
Contact our project specialists to start building your new smoker shed or any other DIY project you have planned!
