Before
After
Project Overview
Built a roughly 18×24 covered pavilion off the back of a Simpsonville home with a full outdoor kitchen, stone wood-burning fireplace, and cedar-tongue-and-groove ceiling — designed to be the family's main entertaining space year-round, with HVAC mini-split provisions for future enclosure.
The Challenge
The homeowners had a small concrete patio and grilled in the driveway because there was no shade or rain protection behind the house. They wanted a true entertaining space — covered, with a real kitchen and a fireplace for the cooler months — that would tie cleanly into the home's existing brick and roofline rather than reading as a tacked-on add-on.
Our Solution
We engineered the pavilion as a structurally tied addition to the rear of the house — matching brick veneer columns at the corners, asphalt-shingle roof tied into the existing roofline at the same pitch, and a tongue-and-groove cedar ceiling for warmth. The outdoor kitchen runs along the rear wall with a stainless built-in grill, side burner, sink with hot/cold supply, beverage fridge, and quartz counters with a stone-faced front. The stone fireplace anchors the opposite end with a poured concrete hearth and reclaimed-wood mantel. Three ceiling fans, recessed lighting, and weatherproof outlets throughout; rough plumbing and electrical for a future side-wall enclosure and mini-split are already in the wall.
Scope of Work
- Engineered drawings, permits, and HOA architectural review
- Footing excavation and concrete piers for column loads
- Stained-concrete slab pour with embedded utility chases
- Matched brick veneer columns and skirt wall
- Roof framing tied into existing house roofline at matching pitch
- Architectural-shingle roof, fascia, soffit matched to existing house
- Tongue-and-groove cedar ceiling with three ceiling fans
- Stone wood-burning fireplace with engineered chimney and spark arrestor
- Built-in outdoor kitchen: grill, side burner, sink, beverage fridge, quartz counters
- Recessed lighting, weatherproof outlets, gas and water rough-in to fixtures
- Rough-in conduit and condensate line for future mini-split heat pump
Materials & Products
- •Matched modular brick veneer and red mortar
- •Architectural-shingle roof matched to existing
- •Western red cedar tongue-and-groove ceiling planks
- •Stainless built-in grill, side burner, and beverage fridge
- •Quartz outdoor-rated countertops with stone-veneer front
- •Natural stone fireplace with concrete hearth and reclaimed mantel
- •Galvanized B-vent chimney and spark arrestor
Frequently Asked Questions
How long did the pavilion take to build?
About 11 weeks on-site from concrete pour to final inspection, with 3 weeks of permit and HOA review beforehand. The brick column work and the fireplace chimney added time versus a basic pergola, but they're what gave the structure its permanent, integrated feel.
Why rough-in for a mini-split if it's an open pavilion?
The homeowners may eventually screen or glass-enclose the rear wall to extend the season into the coldest months. Running conduit and a condensate line during the initial build adds a few hundred dollars; retrofitting later would be several thousand and involve cutting concrete.
Is the wood-burning fireplace safe under a wood ceiling?
Yes — the chimney is fully engineered with proper clearances to combustibles per code, a Class-A insulated flue, and a spark arrestor at the cap. The hearth is poured concrete with a non-combustible front, and the ceiling is at the engineered minimum clearance. All inspected and signed off on by the building official.