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Cooking Outdoors

Viro grills...can they be built in?

21 years ago

Hi,

We are in the process of building a new home and are planning to have a large built in Bar-B-Q center. I have been looking at the Viking and Dacor stainless built-ins. Needless to say, they are VERY expensive. Can the Costco Viro be built in?

Comments (5)

delray
21 years ago
Look at the thread with pics on the Members Mark built in. This could certainly be done with the Virco as well, and with even more confidence as it is all stainless steel (I would be somewhat concerned about corrosion and rust running mortar/brick/rock up against the steel areas on the Members Mark and outside exposure in general over time). Regardless, that person did an excellent job.
waypoint
21 years ago
Sure, any grill can be built in. With enough determination and a welding machine you can do whatever you want to make a built in. I was the one who made the built in for the Members Mark. It looks a first class and separates it from any ole grill that rolls around. The beauty it that I didn't have to spend $3-5K to get a built in grill. I have great confidence in the Member Mark grill or the Virco grill. Here's the kicker, if in 10 years I should need to replace this grill, I would only have to slide it out and slide in its replacement. Don't be afraid to build it in just because there isn't any info on the net. I search and search for 9 months. All I ever found was retail grill and islands for sale for thousands of dollars. Thats why I decided to do it myself and keep my money.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Built in grill
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I wanted to add I took neither offense or joy at this piece. Just pointing out, in the above post, that it's not a review and how these sorts of stories are quite common. I in no way, shape or form think it's a diabolical Bluestar plot for world dominance or the like, and absolutely see why it's a perfectly good, useful and pertinent piece for people on this forum to read. I've said it before: I have a Bluestar. And I like my Bluestar ... When it works. But I've had some horrendous service problems and found the people at this company, including Mr. Trapp, whom I've had the personal misfortune to correspond with, to be pretty close to awful to deal with and frequently flat-out dishonest. Based on my experiences with the company-not the product itself, per se-I would never buy another range, or anything else, from them, and would never own the one I have without an extended service contract in place, something which has been all-too-frequently called upon these past five years. What Mr. Trapp forgets when he's making his "Rolls Royce" analogy-and I have zero doubt those were his words-is that Rolls Royce is not just a top-of-the-line car, but prides itself on top-of-the-line service, too. In my experience, Bluestar may be TRYING to provide a high-end product, but their service is anything but. And I say "trying" because there have been enough build-quality/quality control issues with the brand to give one serious pause about that level of quality as well. It's possible that, in stove terms, I just got a bad one, but the treatment I received from the company, echoed by others I've spoken with, whom I came into contact with via my distributor, have been pretty much beyond the pale and, yes, those bad interactions have admittedly tainted my view of Bluestar as a whole. Where I stand now is I'm trying to make the range I have work, at least for another five years, when the extended warranty maxes out. My feeling about Bluestar as a whole is: great-in-theory, not-so-great execution, and if you do get one cross your fingers and toes that you'll never have issues, especially more than one (for me it's been: stuck oven door, banging oven floor, bad ignitor modules, etc), because that's when the nightmares begin. And, oh yeah, always, always get the extended warranty. I'm a convert!
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I have a gas module and an induction module. Several of us here do. You do need a few inches between the two, but since you were talking big hood, it should be fine. The trick to looks is symmetry. My induction has a stainless bevel frame which matches the bevelled edge of the stainless gas module, and the black grate matches the black induction. With the Wolf and BS 24" you have size and black in common. You can have a range top shaped frame made for the induction, or you can just do a contrast drawer/apron front to mimic the front of the rangetop. The simplest way would be to do the countertop in stainless (sheet or tile) all around both cooktops, and also clad the drawer/apron with it. That makes them visually one unit with some balance. Wrapping a drawer/cabinet front with sheet stainless isn't a big deal. Or you could just say function is function and let them dance. :) It sounds like it's the solution you were looking for.
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qmanq
21 years ago
I have been thinking about converting my grill to a built in one. The pictures above look so cool!

Last week when I was grilling, the smoke got in my eyes big time. The wind changed direction on me. The yard is kinda like an open field. After working in the smoke for 10 -15 minutes with my eyes barely open...my mom came out and said how come you don't rotate the grill..."duh".

I'm in the process of converting the virco grill from propane to natural gas. I'll get a 12ft hose so I can roll the unit anywhere including disconnecting the hose and move the grill under the patio cover. I guess I'm going for "practicality" over "look".
parcow
21 years ago
I am in the process of building it in. The biggest problems I've run into are:

1) The skirting around the bottom to hide the casters are 1" wide all the way around, 6" high. I have to jog the steel studs to accomodate this. This also will make the unit face flush except for the bottom where it will stick out 1".

2) The deck height is 34". Typically, countertops are at 36". The problem with that is that my stainless fridge I'm building in is wanting a 34" under counter height, so I have to bend over the plate studs above the fridge to get it in, and try to find some other support for the hardibacker and tile to rest on.

3) Rotis bracket is 1" lower than deck height. For this, I am going to form my countertop with a jog where this is needed, slide the unit in, and then use a right angle ratchet or something afterwards to screw it in.

4) Handle and shelf. I can't use these for obvious reasons. Maybe I'll put them up on e-bay or just keep them in the garage.

5) Return air in the back. This is not square to the rest of the unit, but I figure you won't be able to see it on my built-in becase I have a 6" backsplash on it. If you are building an island, you have to jog the back to accomodate this.

Other than these things, it should work fine. I'll post pictures once I'm done.
delray
21 years ago
Parcow, you are a pioneer indeed! Can't wait to see how it all turns out.

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