Grilling out has become a pastime for most folks. The smell of freshly grilled chicken, hamburgers, and hotdogs makes mouths water for miles around. If you are a barbecue chef, building your own barbecue pit would be the piece de resistance.
Building a brick barbecue is not for everyone. If you don’t know anything about brickwork, find a friend or relative who would be willing to help. If you promise them the first steak off of your new grill, they may consent to do the labor for free.
The barbecue pit should be located near the house. Make sure that there are no trees or overhangs in the vicinity of the barbecue pit. The grill should be faced in the direction of the wind. The person using the grill will not want the smoke to blow back in his face or in the direction of the house.
Start with the base. For a simple base, remove grass from the area that you intend to use for the barbecue pit. Level the ground by adding a layer of sand and tamping it down. Cover the sand with large stone pavers. Make sure that the area is large enough for the size barbecue pit that you are designing.
For a more detailed base, you will need to dig a square area that is at least four by four feet. The area would then be filled with wood pieces that are level with the bottom of the hole. Cement will cover the wood followed by rebar for reinforcement and another layer of cement.
Once the base that you choose is finished, begin to design the actual barbecue pit. Take into consideration that you will need a place for the fire pan and the grills. There should be ample space between the fire pan and the grills for proper cooking without burning.
To get the correct positioning of the bricks, lay them down (without mortar) to make sure that the base is level. Set two layers of bricks in the design that suits you. When the bricks are in the desired position, draw a chalk line to outline the bricks.
Mix your mortar. Mix and spread the mortar inside the chalk outline in an even layer. Put down a layer of brick. Add mortar between each adjacent brick. Once the first layer is finished, check again to see if the bricks are level.
Layer your bricks. Continue to layer the brick until you get to the height for the fire pan. Place several pieces of rebar between the layers of brick to create that space. Add two more layers of brick and layer more rebar for the grills. Build up the sides until the design is finished.
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