Guide to Building a Brick Barbecue

With the summer season fast approaching and lockdown restrictions easing, you might be looking forward to having friends and family round. One of the things we all enjoy in the summer is a good barbecue, sitting outdoors with friends and enjoying some of the rare good weather we get in the UK. 

There has always been a debate around gas and traditional charcoal barbecues, with many preferring the taste of food cooked on a charcoal grill. But if you want to take your grilling game to the next level, you might have thought about building a permanent brick barbecue in the garden. We have put together an easy guide to building a brick barbecue that you can follow along with for your own authentic barbecue pit.

Building your own brick barbecue isn’t as complicated as it might first seem but you will need to get yourself some tools to complete the job. If you are into DIY and home improvements then you might already have some of these tools at your disposal. Below is a list of tools that you will need if you are thinking about putting a brick barbecue together in your garden;

• Shovel - you will need a sturdy shovel for mixing the mortar

• Bricklayers Trowel - this is for spreading the mortar on your brick base

• Spirit Level - for keeping your structure in line and level

• Club Hammer - for tapping bricks into place

• Bolster Chisel - in case you want to cut the bricks to size

• Bucket Trowel - useful for mixing and smoothing your mortar

• Length of Hose Pipe - useful for a neat join between your bricks

There aren’t a great deal of materials you need in order to build your brick barbecue but it is always good to make sure you are prepared. A common question is how many bricks you will need to build a brick barbecue, but this of course depends on preference and if you are also building a preparation table. 

To build a brick barbecue you will need at least 100 bricks but you may need as many as 150 bricks if you want to build it taller or with a prep table. You will of course need a Barbecue grilling set, with a tray for coals as well as at least one grill, potentially two if you also want a warming rack. Building sand and cement is needed for the mortar but you will also need some fishtail wall ties to hold your structure together and make it really strong.

Now that you have all of your tools and supplies you should now be ready to actually start building and getting your barbecue ready for the summer. The last thing you should consider before you start actually building your barbecue is if you have a good paved area to place your brick barbecue on. If you have a large enough area for your barbecue then you can follow our easy guide on how to build a brick barbecue in 5 simple steps;

Step 1: Layout the base of your barbecue with some bricks and try to keep bricks whole where you can to avoid the need for cuts. Once you are happy with the layout mix five parts sand to one part cement adding water until stiff in consistency.

Step 2: Remove the bricks in lines placing your mortar mix where the bricks will be going before laying back on top. Mark the outer edge of your barbecue with a trowel and use your spirit level to make sure your bricks have been laid correctly.

Step 3: Use your metal ties to join the back wall to the middle walls and ensure that your structure is sturdy and held together, while repeating the brick laying process so that your bricks overlap. You will need to cut a brick in half for the ends.

Step 4: Ensure that all of your corners are vertically straight too using the spirit level as you go. Once you have built it up to seven courses, turn some bricks inwards to give you a platform for your grill tray, while repeating this process after another 3 courses.

Step 5: You can use a hosepipe on the wall exterior by running it along to create a smooth mortar finish. Build your barbecue a further 2 or 3 courses up from the grill. Place a paving slab on top of your preparation area and fix in place with mortar to finish.

And that’s it you should have yourself a brick built barbecue in no time! This was a really quick guide but if you are looking for some more direction than this then take a look at this video on YouTube for more guidance. If you are rushing to get your house in order ready for visitors this summer then you might have realised you have too much clutter in your home. We can help with self storage solutions to get your home ready for the summer season.