Outdoor room projects are for the birds

Regarding “Don’t Add On, Just Go Outside the Box,” Feb. 5: As a Realtor in the south Orange County area for 19 years, I shudder when I see the kind of money that is spent on outdoor rooms.

What I witness in the yards of homes that have installed outdoor kitchens is not pretty. If you live anywhere near the beach, your outdoor kitchen will show excessive wear after several years primarily because of the salt air. Your appliances will be weathered, the cabinet doors warped -- an overall maintenance nightmare. These outdoor kitchens become part of the disclosures in a sale.

I have neighbors who went to great expense to build outdoor living areas, complete with plasma TVs and granite counter tops. It’s rare that I ever see them outside. It seems their older children choose to use that outdoor space when I am sound asleep. Not a great concept for neighbors, is it?

If you live in areas like Palm Springs, Las Vegas or Scottsdale, Ariz., however, you would probably benefit from outdoor space -- although the excessive heat is a problem. New products on the market have made it easier to clean and maintain appliances, but they still won’t outlast the outdoors, regardless of what dealers tell you.

So before you spend $20,000 to $200,000 to enhance your yard, determine the amount of time you plan on spending there.

KATHIE CARMER

Laguna Niguel