Build your own brick bbq

Not many of us can reject the aroma of a steak grilling on an brick bbq. It beco
mes even better while it's coming from a brick bbq that you constructed yourself
. A brick bbq can be a stunning addition. Here's a guide to constructing your pe
rsonal backyard brick bbq.
You'll want your brick bbq to be relatively close to the house, plus, you will
want to put your brick bbq somewhere that the smoke won't blow back into the bbq
chef's face or directly into the house..
A brick bbq is going to be weighty, so the bbq will call for a strong base. Some
large pavers laid on a bed of sand might be an OK base, but if you really want
to make your brick bbq to be something special, you need to prepare a real base
for the bbq.
And here are the step by step intructions to construct the bbq:
Lay out the first two courses of brick dry (no mortar) to get the barbecue place
d correctly on the concrete pad. Draw a line around the brick when you are happy
with the positioning. Since dry brick will draw the moisture out of mortar befo
re it has a chance to set up properly, spray your brick with a hose. The Brick I
ndustry Association suggests you do this the day before you want to start laying
the brick; that way, the moisture will be right in the brick, but the brick sur
face will be dry. Make your mortar by mixing 1 part Portland cement, 1/4 part hy
drated lime, and 3 parts masonry sand. Mix in enough water to get a consistency
like soft mud. Lay your first course of brick in a row of mortar, making sure th
at the mortar stays inside your outline. Put 1/2 inch of mortar between adjacent
bricks and make sure the first course is level. Continue building up your bbq w
alls by working up at the corners for 3 or 4 courses, and then filling in the wa
lls between the corners. Lay 1/2" mortar bed for each course and apply enough mo
rtar to one end of each brick so the gap will also be 1/2". Set each brick onto
the mortar bed and tap it into place with the handle of your trowel. Scrape exce
ss mortar off the brick as you work your way up the walls. Every three or four c
ourses, check that the courses are level and the walls are plumb. This is also a
good time to "tool" the joints (compress and shape the mortar). Use a short pie
ce of pipe 5/8" or 3/4" in diameter and run it over the mortar joints (both hori
zontally and vertically). This will compress the mortar and give it an attractiv
e concave shape. Insert three or four pieces of rebar in between the courses at
the proper design height to hold the firebox and cooking grills.
Hopefully the sections above have contributed to your understanding of brick bbq
. Share your new understanding about brick bbq with others. They'll thank you fo
r it.