Published 16 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 · JIYU SDN BHD
IN SHORT
In a backyard wet kitchen, keep the cooking and washing surfaces in materials that can be hosed down and place them under a proper roof, and keep indoor cabinet board for the dry kitchen inside the house. JIYU's cabinet board and its warranty are for indoor use only, so we would not build our cabinetry into an open backyard.
A wet kitchen at the back of the house keeps heavy frying, smoke and splashing away from the living areas, and homeowners with a backyard or a rear porch sometimes consider building it outdoors. The outdoor setting changes which materials belong where. This guide separates what can go outside from what should stay in the dry kitchen indoors.
A wet kitchen is the part of the home where messy cooking happens: frying with plenty of oil, strong-smelling ingredients, steaming and heavy washing up. Putting it outdoors, at the back of a terrace house or under a covered porch, takes smoke, odours and splashes out of the living areas and leaves the indoor dry kitchen for light cooking, serving and storage. The trade-off is exposure. Rain, wind-blown water, damp air and the heat of the day reach everything outside, and a design that works indoors may not survive there. Before drawing anything, write down what you will cook outdoors and what you will carry in and out, because that list decides how much of a kitchen the backyard really needs.
Think in three groups. Surfaces that take heat, water and scrubbing, such as the cooking platform, the washing area and the floor, can sit outdoors if they are built for it, from masonry, tile, stainless steel or similar materials that can be hosed down. Dry storage, such as crockery, dry goods, small appliances and anything made of board, is better kept in the dry kitchen indoors, where the air is calmer. The third group is equipment that needs power or gas, which should go in only after the trades have confirmed proper routes and a sheltered position. A short list on paper helps: write what must be outside because of smoke or water, and let everything else live in the indoor cabinets.
Cabinet board is designed for the indoor environment, where it sits behind walls and under a roof. Out in the open it meets rain, splashes and long periods of damp air, and edges, joints and screw holes are where moisture gets in first. JIYU's own warranty is limited to indoor use and excludes flooding and excessive contact with water, so we would not suggest building our cabinetry into an open backyard. Boards sold for outdoor or marine use are a different product from the indoor cabinet plywood we supply. If you want storage outside, ask whoever builds it exactly which material is used and whether it is intended for outdoor exposure, and keep the board-based cabinet plan for the rooms under the roof.
Start with the roof, because a covered area stops rain from falling on the cooking platform. Then ask whoever builds the structure how the floor will drain so that water does not pool around the stove or the sink, how smoke will leave the covered area instead of collecting under the roof or drifting into the house, and which lighting and sockets suit a damp place. Walls and counters should be finishes you can scrub and hose down, and the floor surface should grip when wet. Gas, plumbing and electrical routes should be settled at the planning stage, before the structure goes up, because changing them afterwards means breaking into finished work.
The two kitchens work as a pair, so plan the walk between them. Keep the route short and level, with a threshold that does not trap water at the door. Decide what travels back and forth, such as ingredients going out and finished dishes coming in, and give those items a landing surface on each side. In the dry kitchen, put the things you reach for first near the door: serving ware, the rice cooker and the kettle. Because the dry kitchen stays under the roof, it is the right place for cabinet board, and the usual care applies: seal every cut edge, keep the sink base clear of the floor, and ask what the carcass is made of.
Can I build an outdoor wet kitchen with plywood cabinets?
We do not recommend indoor cabinet plywood for open-air exposure. JIYU's cabinet board and its warranty are for indoor use. Ask the builder which material is intended for outdoor exposure, and keep board-based cabinets for the covered, indoor part of the home.
What is the difference between a wet kitchen and a dry kitchen?
A wet kitchen is where heavy cooking and washing happen, with strong smoke, oil and water. A dry kitchen is the cleaner indoor space for light cooking, serving and storage. A layout can treat them as two sets of cabinets, with the heavy extraction on the wet side.
Who builds an outdoor wet kitchen?
Masonry, tiling, plumbing, gas and electrical work are done by the relevant trades. JIYU builds built-in cabinetry such as kitchen cabinets and wardrobes, and plumbing, electrical and ceiling work are subcontracted because JIYU is not a main renovation contractor.
Can JIYU build the cabinets for the indoor dry kitchen?
JIYU builds built-in cabinetry such as kitchen cabinets and wardrobes. Send us your indoor layout and measurements, and we will tell you what we can quote on.
JIYU SDN BHD is an ENF-grade plywood supplier based in Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia. It also builds built-in cabinetry such as kitchen cabinets and wardrobes for homeowners and installs it with its own team.
Send us your indoor kitchen layout and measurements on WhatsApp, and we will quote on your specification. A third-party test report covers a sample we submitted: ENF grade means 0.025 mg/m³ or lower under GB/T 39600-2021, and that sample measured 0.022 mg/m³ (report JC26-WT0087). Board orders leave our Puchong warehouse within 3 days (arrival depends on the courier), and the board carries a 10-year limited warranty on manufacturing defects in the board (delamination, cracking not caused by external force, moisture blistering from a defect).
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