A summer kitchen in Fort Pierce is a working kitchen outside the house, usually under the lanai roof or a covered patio by the pool, and its countertops are the part we make: stone tops cut for the grill, sink and prep space, chosen to live with heat, humidity and wet swimsuits.
Summer kitchens are one branch of our outdoor kitchen countertops work. Compared with a stand-alone grill island, they tend to run longer, carry a sink and refrigerator, and sit against the house where venting and outlets need planning. Many also end in a seating ledge, which our outdoor bar countertops page covers.
The counter base, gas, plumbing and wiring come from other trades. We cut the stone to what they build, and we're glad to look at the space beforehand so the base is sized for the top you want.
Part of our outdoor kitchen countertops in Fort Pierce services.
What's Included
A summer kitchen top is often the longest run of stone on the property, so most of the work happens before anything is cut. We visit the lanai or covered patio, measure the full run, check the base for level along its length and note how far sun and blowing rain reach under the roof. You choose the stone with samples held up in that light. When the grill, sink, refrigerator and any ice bin have arrived, the full run is templated, seams are placed and each piece is sized to pass through the screen-enclosure door. The estimate itemizes the stone, every opening, the edge on the open side and any backsplash against the house wall. On install day we carry the pieces in, set and seal them, check each appliance in its opening and leave the lanai and pool deck clean. Venting, gas, the sink drain and outlets stay with licensed trades.
- A site visit under your lanai or covered patio to measure the base and note how far sun and rain reach the counter
- Help choosing a stone for that exposure, with samples viewed in your own light
- A written estimate with run lengths, sink and grill openings, edges and any backsplash against the house wall
- A template of the full run with the appliances or their cutout sheets on hand
- Fabrication, installation and sealing, with the pool deck and lanai cleaned before we go
Is Your Lanai Ready for a Summer Kitchen?
Owners tend to start planning a summer kitchen once the lanai is already doing a kitchen's job, just badly. The signs are familiar:
- Trips through the slider: every platter, tool and drink carried back and forth from the indoor kitchen
- A portable grill parked by the screen: smoke drifting into the enclosure and grease spotting the pavers
- An old tiled serving counter: stained grout and loose tiles on a ledge added decades ago
- A rolling cart for prep: wood or laminate that swells and peels in summer humidity
- A hot house: the indoor kitchen heating the whole home every time the oven runs in August
Point2 Homes puts the median Fort Pierce build year at 1982, so many local lanais went up long before anyone planned to cook on them. A summer kitchen gives that space a proper stone work surface sized to the way you entertain.
What Separates a Summer Kitchen From a Grill Station?
In Florida, "summer kitchen" is the name builders and home listings use for an outdoor kitchen meant for full meals rather than just burgers. That extra function changes the countertop in practical ways.
- Longer runs: a grill, sink, refrigerator and prep space side by side often outgrow one slab, so seam placement becomes a real design decision
- A wall side: many summer kitchens sit against the house, which brings a backsplash into play to keep grease and rain off the stucco
- More openings: sinks, ice bins and trash chutes add cutouts that a simple grill station never needs
- Access: inside a screen enclosure, slabs come in through a door that is usually narrower than the front entry, so piece sizes are planned around it
None of that makes the job slow; it just means the template visit carries more decisions than a single island would.
Planning a Lanai Kitchen: Venting, Drains and Outlets
Cooking under a roof is the main difference between a summer kitchen and an open-air grill. Heat and smoke rise into the lanai ceiling, so grill makers publish clearance and ventilation requirements for covered installations, and some call for a vent hood. Your grill installer or builder works from that manual; we leave the opening exactly where the plan puts it.
The sink needs a drain path, which on a slab-on-grade Florida house can mean real plumbing work. Outlets near water have their own code requirements. Both require licensed contractors and permits, and permitted work will fall under the 9th Edition of the Florida Building Code from Dec 31, 2026 (Florida Building Commission). Countertops themselves require no state license (Florida DBPR).
Which Summer Kitchen Countertop Works Beside the Pool?
A pool summer kitchen gets splashed, leaned on with wet arms and hit by sun that bounces off the water. Light granite and quartzite are dependable choices: they hold color, tolerate grill heat and, once sealed, shrug off chlorinated drips. Porcelain is the low-maintenance alternative, with almost no absorption and fired-in color, though its thinner edges need protection where chairs and coolers bump the counter.
Quartz is the one we talk people out of. Even on a covered patio, low sun reaches the front of the counter in the morning or evening, and over time that can yellow the resin. If you want the quartz look, we'll show you porcelain and pale quartzite side by side in the same light.
Talk to the shop before you buy a slab.
Free in-home estimates · Mon–Fri 7:00–4:30 · weekend estimates by appointment
How the Job Runs, Step by Step
- Start with a call. Tell us where the summer kitchen sits, whether the base is built, and which grill, sink and refrigerator you've picked.
- Visit under the roof. Victor measures the run, checks the base and notes where sun reaches the counter through the day.
- Estimate on paper. You receive a written estimate itemizing the stone, openings, edges and backsplash.
- Template the run. Once the base is done and the fixtures are on site, we template the full length and size the pieces around the screen-enclosure door.
- Install and clean. We carry the pieces in, set and seal them, check that each appliance fits and clean the lanai.
Questions about summer kitchens? Call the shop.
Free in-home estimates · Mon–Fri 7:00–4:30 · weekend estimates by appointment
What Affects the Price
A summer kitchen top is quoted in writing after we've measured the base and know the appliances. On a lanai, the house wall, the screen door and any corner turn shape the price as much as the stone does. These are what move it:
- Run length and any L or U shape that turns a lanai corner
- Openings for the sink, grill, side burner, ice bin and trash chute
- Backsplash height against the house wall
- Stone type and color
- Access: tight screen doors or steps that limit piece size and add seams
- Seams on a run longer than one slab, placed clear of the sink and grill
- The edge profile on the open side, where people walk past and lean
- A seating ledge at the end of the run and the supports beneath it
- Removal of an old tiled or concrete serving counter before the new top goes on
Lanai Kitchen Permits: Which Office and Which Trades?
Permit fees are usually small next to the build: City of Fort Pierce fees are figured at half a percent of the job's value, with $100 as the floor (Jaspector, 2026), and the St. Lucie County minimum is $75 (Pineland Engineering). Villas and condos that share lanai walls often need association sign-off too, so ask before the base is built.
Why VD Quality Design for Summer Kitchens
- From Metzger Rd in Fort Pierce North, our family-run shop is about 25 minutes from most of Port St. Lucie
- Pricing on one customer's outdoor kitchen tops was "very competitive," according to their Google review
- Customers mention crews who clean up after themselves, which matters on a pool deck
- A Better Business Bureau rating of A+ sits beside our 4.9-star average across 31 Google reviews, both open for you to read
- Owner Victor measures the run himself; estimates are free and written, weekend visits can be booked, and payment can be cash, check, Zelle or card
Reviews From Summer Kitchens Customers
V.D Quality Design Granite & Marble holds a 4.9-star average from 31 Google reviews (checked November 2026).
“VD Quality Design did an amazing job on the tops for our outdoor kitchen! The service was quick, and very professional! They measured on Saturday and installed on Tuesday. We would recommend them to everyone. Pricing was very competitive. A nice family business.”
“VD Quality Design Granite was professional, reasonably priced and got the job done in no time. They cleaned up after themselves. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again and appreciate their quality work.”
“I am quite satisfied with the work performed by VD Quality Design. They are professionals, they give good price and a reasonable work time.”
Where We Install Summer Kitchens
We measure lanai summer kitchens in Port St. Lucie, about 25 minutes from our shop, and in the older neighborhoods of Indian River Estates and White City. We also make the trip north to Sebastian, roughly 40 minutes up the coast.
- Port St. Lucie: Pool homes on 1960s-platted lots and in Tradition, where a lanai kitchen can extend the screened pool deck.
- Indian River Estates: 1970s–90s homes in the unincorporated belt near the lagoon, where an older lanai can gain its first real work counter.
- Sebastian: 1980s–2000s GDC-era homes about 40 minutes north, where the city's own building department handles lanai utility permits.
- Vero Beach South: Established neighborhoods south and west of Vero Beach, where Indian River County handles permits for unincorporated lots.
- Florida Ridge: 1970s–2000s subdivisions along US-1 south of Vero Beach, about 20 minutes up the road from our shop.
- West Vero Corridor: Newer gated and golf subdivisions off SR-60 near I-95, where an HOA may need to approve a lanai kitchen first.
- Roseland: Wooded riverfront lots on the Sebastian River, where shade under a lanai roof keeps a long stone counter cool.
- Tequesta: Riverfront homes on the Loxahatchee and 1970s–80s neighborhoods, where an older lanai may need its first stone counter.
- Hobe Sound: Quiet south Martin County neighborhoods about 50 minutes south, where Martin County handles permits for lanai utilities.
- Wellington: Wellington estate lots have room for covered summer kitchens, where stone has to handle sun, dust and rain.
Summer Kitchens FAQs
What is a summer kitchen in Florida?
It's the Florida term for an outdoor kitchen built to cook and serve whole meals, usually under a lanai roof, a covered patio or a pool cabana instead of in open sun. Beyond a grill, most include a sink, an under-counter refrigerator, storage and a long stone prep counter. The countertop is the piece we fabricate and install; the base and utilities come from other trades.
Does a lanai summer kitchen need a permit?
The stone countertop by itself generally doesn't, and countertop work needs no state license (Florida DBPR). The utilities usually do: running gas to a grill, adding outdoor circuits and plumbing a sink each involve licensed trades and permits. Within the City of Fort Pierce, electrical and plumbing permits come separately from the city; in unincorporated St. Lucie County it's the county. We'll flag what your plan triggers at the estimate.
Which stone stays coolest in the sun?
Lighter colors stay cooler. A pale granite, light quartzite or white porcelain absorbs less sunlight than black or deep brown stone, and a honed or leathered finish cuts glare. Shade matters even more: under a lanai roof most tops stay comfortable, while a counter that catches full afternoon sun gets warm whatever its color. We bring samples so you can feel them in your own light.
Can full stone pieces get into a screened lanai?
Yes, with planning. Screen-enclosure doors are often narrower than a house door, so at the template we choose piece sizes and seam locations around how the stone will travel to the counter. Now and then a long piece means a screen panel has to come out; we'll tell you in advance if that's likely so you can arrange it with your screen contractor.
Should a summer kitchen have a backsplash?
Where the counter meets the house wall, yes. A 4-inch stone splash or a taller slab backsplash keeps grease and rain splatter off stucco or siding and hoses down easily. Along an open screen side, a backsplash isn't needed. If the grill sits on the wall run, check the grill maker's clearance-to-wall figure before settling on the splash height.
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