Hancock Park Pool Deck & Outdoor Kitchen

A failing pool deck replaced in Trex, extended to carry a new outdoor kitchen with a hand-built clay oven.

Neighborhood: Hancock Park
Project type: Hardscaping, Pool & Spa
Permit authority: LADBS

The brief

The pool deck was wood, and it had been sanded and re-stained more than once. It kept failing. The pool is a salt water pool, and salt eats the finish from the top down, so every refinish bought less time than the one before.

We replaced the deck in Trex, extended it by about 30 square feet, and built an outdoor kitchen on the extension. The extension mattered. Without it the kitchen would have taken space from the seating area by the pool.

The challenge

The oven was the hard part.

We built it ourselves, on site, course by course. The interior is clay, and we built custom burners for it. It works for baking as well as cooking. It has its own chimney, and we extended the pergola above it to cover the new section.

That kind of oven isn't installed. It gets built in place, and each layer has to set before the next one goes on.

The solution

The old wood came out and Trex went down across the whole deck, including the new extension. Trex doesn't take a finish, so salt exposure stops being a maintenance problem.

The kitchen was built on the extension: a gas oven with a hood above it, a shawarma spit, and the clay oven. The countertops are custom stone, cut and fitted on site. The cabinets are solid wood, built and stained by us rather than ordered in.

The clay oven was finished with river rock as a decorative face.

The work was permitted through LADBS. The project took about a month.

Scope of work

Removal of the existing wood pool deck
Trex decking installed across the full deck area
Deck extension of approximately 30 square feet
Pergola extension over the new kitchen area
Custom stone countertops
Solid wood cabinets, built and stained on site
Gas oven with hood
Shawarma spit installation
Hand-built clay oven with custom burners and chimney
River rock decorative facing on the oven
Custom fabricated and welded oven doors, finished in high-temperature paint

Before & after

The old wood pool deck with the pool covered, before work began — The old wood pool deck, with the pool covered, before any work began.

The finished pool and Trex decking at night — The pool and decking, finished.

The work

The old deck partly removed, with new joists exposed and Trex boards staged for installation.

Workers cutting and installing new Trex decking under the pergola — Workers cutting and installing the new Trex decking.

New Trex decking partly installed over the old deck framing — New Trex decking going down over the old deck framing.

New decking mostly installed, with the pool and spa visible — Most of the new decking installed, with the pool and spa visible and old framing still exposed at the near edge.

New framing for a deck extension built off the side of the new decking — New framing for the deck extension, built off the side of the existing new decking.

Gas and plumbing lines run into new extension framing — Gas and plumbing lines run into the new extension framing.

Wall framing and weather barrier on a deck extension, with new decking down — Wall framing and weather barrier going up on the extension, with the new decking already down.

A view through an extended pergola toward a pool, with a kitchen structure starting — Looking out through the extended pergola toward the pool, with the kitchen structure starting to take shape.

A cement board wall for a kitchen structure, with an extended pergola overhead — The cement board wall for the kitchen structure, with the extended pergola overhead.

Kitchen cabinet boxes and a sink installed, with an oven cavity opening framed in — Cabinet boxes and a sink installed, with the oven cavity opening framed in.

Workers assembling outdoor kitchen cabinet boxes — Workers assembling the kitchen cabinet boxes.

Custom-built burners lit inside a brick-lined oven cavity — The custom-built burners, lit, inside the oven's brick-lined cavity.

A kitchen structure with stone countertops installed and an oven chimney taking shape — The kitchen structure with stone countertops installed and the oven's chimney taking shape, cabinets still unfinished.

A close view of a stone countertop — A close view of the stone countertop, cut and fitted on site.

An oven structure built up, ahead of river rock facing — The oven structure built up, ahead of the river rock facing.

A wide view of a deck with river rock facing starting on an oven — A wide view of the deck, with river rock facing starting to go up on the oven.

River rock facing going up on an oven chimney — River rock facing going up on the oven's chimney.

A close view of river rock facing — A close view of the river rock facing.

A kitchen with sink, range, and complete river rock facing, cabinets not yet stained — The kitchen with the sink and range installed and the river rock facing complete, cabinets not yet stained.

A finished oven structure, lit, with a gas cooktop alongside it — The finished oven structure, lit, with the gas cooktop alongside it.

A close view of a lit oven with a worker nearby, cabinets not yet stained — A closer view of the oven lit, testing the burners before the cabinets were stained.

The result

The finished outdoor kitchen with stained cabinets, a wine fridge, and the oven complete — The finished kitchen, with stained cabinets, the wine fridge, and the oven complete.

The finished clay oven with river rock facing — The finished oven.

The finished gas range and oven — The gas range and oven, finished.

The finished pergola extension with a ceiling fan and heaters — The extended pergola, with the ceiling fan and heaters installed.

The finished outdoor kitchen with the custom welded oven doors in place — The finished kitchen, with the custom welded oven doors in place. The doors were fabricated and welded to insulate the heat, then finished in high-temperature oven paint.

AI-generated animation

AI-generated animation, created from a photograph of the finished kitchen. The photo is real. The motion is not.

A 10-second AI-generated animation made from the photo above, not a recording of the real kitchen in motion.

Common questions

Why does a wood pool deck near a salt water pool need refinishing so often?

Because salt eats the finish from the top down, so each refinish buys less time than the one before. On this project the wood deck had been sanded and re-stained more than once and kept failing, which is why it was replaced with Trex instead of refinished again.

Is a clay oven installed or built on site?

It's built on site, not installed. On this project the oven was built course by course, with each layer setting before the next one went on, and it has its own chimney and custom-built burners.

Can an outdoor kitchen be added without losing pool deck space?

Yes, if the deck is extended rather than built into the existing footprint. On this outdoor kitchen project, the deck was extended by about 30 square feet specifically so the kitchen wouldn't take space from the seating area by the pool.

How long does a project like this take?

This project took about a month, covering the deck replacement, the extension, and the outdoor kitchen build including the clay oven.

Have a pool deck that needs replacing, or want an outdoor kitchen?

Call (310) 717-0432 or request a consultation. We'll look at what's actually failing before recommending a fix.

Call (310) 717-0432