In the section below, we address the owners of gardens and courtyards, who are also passionate about outdoor cooking. A brick grill, which also includes an oven, can be a suitable addition for organizing parties at home, and the construction of this structure can be divided into the following steps:

Do you want a brick grill in your yard? It only takes a little work, and in a maximum of 2 or 3 weeks you may have the entire structure built. The duration is estimated not because the structure is large, but because it will take time to allow the cement structures to dry.

Given that you have the cement, bricks and tools needed to arrange them, here’s what you need to start building the grill:

Casting the foundation

You need: bricks, cement and water for mortar, trowel, air bubble level, an angle grinder, a stiff brush and a shovel or harlet. First of all, you will need to pour the foundation. Ask the local town hall if you will need permission to build a foundation structure such as a barbecue or oven — depending on the area, you may or may not need such a document.

When pouring the foundation itself, you have two options: you can remove the earth with a hoe or shovel, or you can build the foundation in the form of a formwork, above the ground. The advantages are more for the second option, especially when it is raining, but from an aesthetic point of view, an underground foundation is desirable.

Use a bubble level to determine if everything is horizontal, from the foundation to the laying of the bricks, especially when the ground you are working on is wet. After pouring the concrete, let it dry for 48 hours. It is good to opt for building the barbecue in the summer, as the duration of the whole effort will be shorter.

The walls of the grill

Then, it’s the turn of the walls, and for that, we propose brick or BCA. In the case of galvanized concrete, it takes less time to build the walls, but the most aesthetic are the bricks, by far. They will be glued with mortar (cement, sand and water), and after each row, you will have to use the bubble level to determine if you have placed the bricks horizontally.

If their line is not straight, use a planer for scraping, and the excess mortar will be removed with a stiff brush. For the final sanding of the bricks, you can use angle grinders .

The recommended height of the entire structure can vary from 140 to over 170 centimeters, depending on how tall you are and if the grill includes an oven. In terms of width and depth, it is recommended about 70–80 centimeters, respectively 40 centimeters, enough to prepare food for a family of at least 4 members.

Barbecue hearth

If you are done with the walls, it is time to build the hearth of the grill. Here, you will need to make another hearth, 2 meters by 80 centimeters, with equal sides, and on its bottom you will place an iron concrete bar to support the grill. Pour the concrete into the formwork and level with the trowel, checking the level with a poloboc. Concrete with concrete will dry quite hard, about 5 days — a week, so arm yourself patiently before moving on to the next step.

How to build the oven

You will use only refractory brick to build the oven. This material is necessary given its property to withstand very high temperatures. Each brick will be arranged in front of the neighboring ones, so as to create the letter N, seen from the side, and as a gluing material, the mortar mixture will be used again.

As with the construction of the barbecue walls, you will need to pay attention to how horizontal the lines are, after laying each row of bricks, using a level with an air bubble. If a row is not horizontal, chop the mortar with a trowel. At the end, straighten and cut any brick that comes out, with an angle grinder, if necessary.

After letting this structure dry again (also about 48 hours), you will have to make a brick roof. You can choose a right angle shape (like the roof of the house) or make a circular arch, a kind of vault. Do not forget to leave a free channel, where the chimney will come to evacuate the smoke.

About the basket

If you want the exhaust fumes to go as far as possible, you will have to make a high basket (about 50 centimeters would be recommended). You can either use classic bricks for it, or put larger bricks on top of each other, but which have a hole in the middle, the holes being the channel on which the smoke will be evacuated.

As with the other structures, use the mortar to glue the bricks and the excess material will be removed with the hard brush and angle grinder at the end.

Do you need a roof?

If you want a roof or a shade, then we recommend a wooden structure, or wood with a roofing sheet. All surfaces must be treated with fire retardant varnish.

Of course, the roof is optional — it will keep you in the shade on hot days and will protect you from the rain, in case the weather breaks. Boards, nails and planers are all you need, and the horizontal and vertical lines will have to be checked with level, so that the result is as aesthetic as possible.

Finishing the work and adjacent accessories

Did you finish the foundation concrete slab, the brick walls, the oven and the grill, the chimney and, possibly, the roof? Perfect. Now is the time to remove any remaining mortar, but also to polish the corners of the brick that stand out in an unsightly way. Clean the entire area around the grill structure. You can test it, with some coals that you will set on fire.

We encourage you to do all the construction on your own — you will have fun and learn a lot along the way! But, if you are not good at any of the steps, it is good to ask for the help of a friend, or, why not, to use the services of a professional mason, for the construction of the barbecue.