Eggstatic with the Pergola

Solson005

Living in Oklahoma, "where the wind comes sweeping down the plains" can sometimes be a problem. Two years ago, a 30 year old tree didn't make it through a storm and ended up falling on the roof of the house. After removing it and grinding the stump, the shade on the back porch was gone and a big blank space needing some sort of landscaping was in its place.   We decided to build a pergola to get some shade back to the patio and provide a new area to grill on. After the pergola was done and a purchase of the BGE the patio was too small and the landscaping between the two didn't work, so this summer we decided on the expansion of the patio with a organic flagstone design. It was done just before the 4th of July and makes tending to the BGE even better. Just joined the forum but have been looking at it and using recipes and tips for a few weeks now. Here are a few pictures of our Eggs home and some of the egghead goodies we have. 

Side Table with Electric outlet

Solar Spotlights

Solar Spotlight on BGE

Looft Lighter

DigiQ Dx2 with Pit Viper Fan

Super Peel

IR Thermometer (checking pizza stone temps) 

We are eggcited to join this forum and hope you enjoy our eggs home!

(Obviously figuring out the best way to post pictures, but I'll figure it out eventually...)

yellowdogbbq

Welcome to the Forum, nice looking patio.

bud812

Very nice & welcome to the cult.

nolaegghead

Nice spread, man!

midwestsmoker

Very nice

Coastal_Egger

Great looking space! Welcome

dlk7

Wow - that's beautiful!!!!  Where did you find the shade sail?

Solson005

Thanks everybody, we really enjoy it!

Doing a brisket tomorrow for some football watching and a pizza party on Sunday, using tipo 00 flour for the first time, so it should be great!

@dlk7 I got it at hayneedle they have all sorts of colors and sizes.

http://search.hayneedle.com/search/index.cfm?Ntt=shade+sail

Ellis

005 Looks great, like to hear more about the wood carving on the back wall of the Pergola

Solson005

Thank you @Ellis the carving came from a second hand store as a decorative item from a failed Chinese restaurant. It is hand carved from Philippine Mahogany with several coats of spar varnish. It was a gift and took a couple years before we figured out where to put it. I think its found a good home. 

Solson005

Since I didn't know how to post good pictures when I posted this months ago and I have since added to my egg collection with a Small BGE! 

 I thought I would share an updated picture of the Pergola.

Chubbs

Looks great. Was planning on a mini for second egg. Now leaning towards a small. You like the combo?

Solson005

@Chubbs thanks, the mini is too small in my mind. I've done a Small Turkey and Small BGE goes Camping plus now I have a EggCARTen and the SBGE to make it even more portable. Those are just a couple of my posts using my small. I even took it to a friends for a Mobile Pizza Party with the SBGE and like the dual setup very much. 

Chubbs

What is the box mounted next to the large?

Solson005

@Chubbs I assume you mean the stainless one? It is a bottle cap catcher for the opener mounted just above. You have to stay hydrated while egging! Or the rolling cabinet? thats where I keep all the eggcessories and just roll it against the house when I don't need it. 

Chubbs

Nice! I thought so but thought I would ask. I am trying to save up for a swing grate.

Solson005

@Chubbs I highly recommend the Swing Grate I don't even like using the normal grid anymore. The sear marks you can get on a steak are awesome! 

CeramicChef

Very nice setup! Pics show a lot of green for Oklahoma! Must be Spring or early Summer ... sure as the world it isn't August! If it is, I'd hate to pay that water bill!

Solson005

@CeramicChef thank you. The original pictures were in early September and the one with the small BGE was either late September or early October. (I got a good deal at the state fair which is how I can remember) Our backyard is all shade and took 15+ years to get looking the way it does. Now the front yard the grass probably turned color and was burnt in late July. 

This was from a pulled pork post I did in late September. 

Botch

Welcome Solson and thanks!  My back patio is a 2x4 deck that had a nice Reisling grapevine covering the top, but over the years it got too heavy and cracked one of the 4x4 supports a couple months ago.  Early next spring I'll tear it all out (except for the grapevine) and install a pergola for the grapevine to re-grow over, and either a Trex, flagstone or stamped concrete patio "floor".  

Your setup is definitely got me looking forward to it!  

JRWhitee

Welcome and thanks for posting, my wife and I have been talking about extended our patio to where the swingset used to be (kids are in HS now) with flagstone and a pergola. Nice looking patio. JR

jfm0830

Welcome to the board. Thanks for sharing pix of your beautiful back yard and eggcellent grilling area.

I'm curious, do you think that latticework around the sides of your pergola does much to stop the wind. I have a grill gazebo which is open right now on the sides. I am toying with the idea of making some screens out of latticework that I can hang on the appropriate side if and when needed. But I just don't know how much the latticework would do is stop wind rain or snow. TIA

CeramicChef

Solson - I grew up in OkC. I've lived all over the world and I find nowhere better to live than OkC! Except for the occasional tornado, best place all in all. Great winter we're having, huh?

Solson005

@Botch thanks, I will be looking forward to seeing your new deck and pergola! We went back and forth for the extension of our patio this past summer and ended up going with flagstone and are happy with the choice. Not all but some stained concrete can be extremely slippery so make sure to find out if yours will be if you decide to go that route.  

@JRWhitee we were going to build one away from the house, but then the tree fell down in the storm and left us a perfect place for a grilling area. It would have been a stand alone structure and having it connected to the back patio makes pizza night a little easier than running across the backyard (where it would have been) to the kitchen. 

@jfm0830 Thanks for the complements, It might slow the wind down some but is more decorative on my pergola. With one as large as yours I don't know that it would help that much and would make it a one way in/ out. Unless you made a door frame and lattice on the sides. I'm sure with your Architect skills you would come up with something functional as well as pleasing to the eye. 

Oh and guys I did this original post back in September when I joined, but I've never liked it since I didn't figure out how to post pictures without attaching them until my edit time was up. It has always bugged me that people have to click on the pictures to see them properly. Even though this thread has over 11,000 views. So I'm not brand new to the forum, but apparently I need to become more noticeable with my posts. 

Thanks again! 

Solson005

@CeramicChef I agree with you 100% I spent the past 4 1/2 years working at FAA facilities across the country 300+ days on the road a year. So I got to see a fair amount of the country and I will take my backyard and my BGE over most restaurants I've been to. Although I have been to over 50 Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives places, those made being on the road a little more fun. We are in North Edmond in a neighborhood that the builder didn't demolish the trees when it was built in the early 80s. So now we have big full growth trees except the one that fell down to make way for the pergola. I am liking the lack of ice this winter, being able to kayak one day and have to wear a beanie the next, these past couple weeks can make deciding what to wear a little more challenging. 

jfm0830

Thanks @Solson005. I didn't join the board until October which explains why didn't catch this post the first time around. It definitely would've been something I was interested in and would've checked out.

I rather thought the lattice was for decoration, but I figured I'd ask. I need to get some more hands-on time in bad weather with the grill gazebo, before I make any kind of decision. I've got covers for both eggs, so I'm not too worried about moisture and the freeze thaw cycles. And I stayed dry where I stand, So for now my attitude is, to quote a famous architect: Less is more. Plus with the price of exterior pendant lighting, it will be a while before sides for the gazebo are even on the horizon.

rbaldwin83

That is an awesome setup

Solson005

Thanks @rbaldwin83 we really enjoy it. 

tdub4

@solson005 would you happen to have any up close pictures of the rolling cart? Maybe a pic inside as well? I am looking for something like this and haven't had any luck. May have to break out the tools!

Plano_JJ

Really nice setup and backyard, what is the lowdown on those solar lights?

Solson005

@tdub4 Here is a closer shot of the front and the inside, I didn't roll it out and take pics of the side and back but I can later if you want. We roll it against the house when not using it. It holds the platesetter, pizza stone, veggie baskets chicken roasters, welding gloves, tortilla maker, and digiq, and IR thermometer as well as all the chips and chunks of wood to smoke, we keep the lump in the garage.