Grill Area

The BBQ grill area had "lumpy" mexican tile with large and lower grout gaps and the surface was lower at the back toward the house wall. When it rained the water pooled toward the back and in the grout lines. The grill was also very old and rusting out. There was also a stupid looking arch of tile.

Before:
I knocked off the arch of tile and had to replace it with something to cover the marks left on the wall. Since I needed clearance for the grill lid to open up behind the grill I didn't have space for real rock (the preferred option) so I used "cultured" rock. I wish I would have used a different kind (dry stack look) but it is done and I didn't feel like spending hours tearing the new stuff down with a hammer drill. Since the top was so uneven I used leveling cement to level the top with a very slight slope so water could run off. I tiled the top with 18" unfilled travertine (called walnut colored). With unfilled travertine you can really manipulate the look by the color of the grout you use for the joint and it also fills in the voids in the travertine. The perimeter edges are tiled with multicolor slate. I still need to get a replacement stainless steel grill. When I install the grill I will finish the top off tile in the grill cutout area. I installed a fluorescent floodlight on top of the ramada column by the grill. A box with wiring was already present but not being used (can be seen in before picture). There was already conduit running to the top of the column. I attached a box, pulled wired and installed the light and switch.

After (but before new grill):