Building an Outdoor Room

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After a Lake Superior winter of blowing snows, howling winds and shifting ice shards, the first poking of grass through the snow can make local people race outdoors to embrace the beauty of all three months of summer plus however long they can linger outside in sweater-weather throughout autumn. Walkers stroll the beaches searching for agates, sun-lovers relax in lawn chairs reading books and summer chefs throw hotdogs on the grill.

But not all northerners are content to enjoy the outdoors piecemeal. In summer, they prefer to take their living space outside, creating rooms sometimes physically small, but as big as the whole outdoors.  

A Room With a Harbor View

Lynn Wegner’s property in Duluth motivated him to construct an outdoor room. Lynn lives right on the bay side of Park Point. “I have a beautiful view of all the shipping and boating action in the Duluth-Superior Harbor right from my backyard, so it made sense to take full advantage of that, especially during the summer months.

“Obviously, I have beautiful Lake views from inside the house itself, but why not get even closer to that view, and actually get in it and enjoy it?”

Even so, he didn’t immediately leap into the project. The origins of his outdoor room started seven years ago when he had a contractor build an outdoor deck that ran the back length of his house on the ground floor.

But as many homeowners know, remodeling and construction often beget more remodeling and construction. The ground-floor deck was so enjoyable, the next year Lynn had a 13x19-foot deck built off the master suite on the second floor. The upper deck directly above the lower deck covered and sheltered a portion of the lower space.

“I covered the exposed joists beneath that upper deck with cedar, purely for aesthetic purposes, and suddenly I had an open room with a floor (the original lower deck) and a cedar ceiling right off my downstairs kitchen. It became a natural extension of the house.”

Lynn bought a portable grill, which he wheeled outside as necessary. And he began to mull over just what he really wanted to do in the space.

“I entertained outdoors for the next three or four years and gave it some thought. In this case, I found that patience is a virtue, as I let my plan evolve.”

The evolved plan was to build a long stone counter (with a backsplash to cut down on wind), top it with a natural stone countertop, put a 36-inch gas grill into it, add a stainless steel drawer under the grill (for storage) and put in a stainless steel sink. The stonework and masonry was done by Joel Bruckelmyer of Johnston Masonry. Once the custom-cut stones were delivered, it took about four weeks to build the outdoor room.

“My plan was to create a great little dining out spot in my own neighborhood, so I didn’t have to travel far for a nice dinner. I wanted an outdoor area to entertain friends, one that would measure up to the quality of the view I had of the Duluth-Superior Harbor.”

Wegner loves his outdoor room and uses it constantly throughout spring, summer and fall, but less in the winter. “It took me years to work out the design I really wanted, but that thoughtfulness paid off. There’s really nothing I would change about my outdoor room. It’s perfect for me, and as an extension of the house, it works.”

Small Sheds to Mighty Rooms

Before Scott Malko of Thunder Bay set about building an ambitious outdoor room for himself, he built a backyard shed.

Then he built a whole business.

Many in the Thunder Bay area might know Scott by his business moniker: “The Shed Guy,” builder of large and small sheds, gazebos and patio shelters.

Once a general manager at a Woolworth’s, his putterer mentality launched him into his own profitable, and very busy, work about 20 years ago after he built a garage for his home. He soon realized that his car was competing for space with “all that stuff” – like his snowblower and mower. The solution? A shed, which he promptly built and then decided, “Geez, that was easy.”

It was so easy for him that he took out an ad and offered the service to others. The Shed Guy was born. Scott, basically by himself, built 30 sheds the first year. Now with about three full-time and four part-time helpers, Scott builds 200 to 300 sheds, gazebos or patios a year. The crew can build outhouses to garages. Give him about 90 minutes, Scott says, and he can build you an outdoor room. But he advises you to think big.

“It’s unbelievable how some people morph it into something more than it was intended to be,” Scott says. First it’s a simple gazebo, then soon enough it’s “Let’s put the barbecue in here. Let’s put a TV in here. Let’s put a couch in here. … It literally turns into a Texas room.”

The gazebos he builds start at about $1,500 and can go to $10,000. With a basic 8x10-foot structure, you can build directly on the ground, but anything larger and Scott recommends a concrete base on which to attach the gazebo. “You’d be surprised how little wind it takes to push these things over.”

City ordinances determine whether permits are needed for the structures, Scott says.

The demand for such outdoor rooms is growing. Older people, for example, who travel less and can no longer comfortably camp in summer enjoy a simple gazebo for sitting outside. “They get a little piece of outdoors within their own home.”

Scott’s own outdoor room, which he wanted for entertaining, took about two weeks.

“I had an outdoor deck that was getting old, plus it was small, and every time we used it, it seemed like it was either windy, cold or too hot. So I decided to build a larger one with a roof over it and a wall on the north side to protect it from the elements.”

After the wall, he added a large table with a countertop fireplace for ambience, a 42-inch plasma TV on the wall and a surround-sound system (both easily removed for winter), a gas grill for cooking, a refrigerator for refreshments and a 40,000 BTU infrared natural gas heater in the ceiling. “This is the kind of heater you find at hockey rinks, only smaller. But it costs only about 50 cents an hour to run, and it allows everyone to stay in tee shirts in temperatures as low as 5 Celsius (41° F).”

Translucent rolldown blinds around the exterior provide shade and privacy, “plus they keep heat in and wind out.”

Scott did the work himself, but estimates it would have cost $8,000 to $11,000 for a contractor to build. “But it would add $20,000 in value to your house,” he adds.

Scott enjoys his outdoor room and, thanks to his ceiling heater, uses it year-round. “We have a smaller house, so it’s nice to have this optional living space. It’s also great for parties, and – this is hard to explain – but it’s a different type of relaxing when you’re chilling and watching the game, but yet you’re outside. It’s a completely different thing than being cooped up in four walls.”

Lesley DuTemple has Lake Superior as her backyard in Eagle River, Michigan.