How to build an outdoor fireplace with a barbecue yourself

Until recently, an outdoor fireplace was considered a luxury, but now it is found in many private homes and summer cottages. This design allows you to cook tasty and healthy dishes in the fresh air and over an open fire. If you want to make a barbecue fireplace with your own hands, any man can do it; to do this, you need to order a ready-made project or develop it yourself, and then strictly follow all the stages of construction.

General information about outdoor fireplace

A modern outdoor fireplace is a multifunctional complex, which is the central object of a recreation area organized in the open air. Next to it, a gazebo or canopy, swings and comfortable places to sit are built. Here you can hide from the rain, so even bad weather will not interfere with your rest.

The appearance of an outdoor fireplace differs from that installed inside the house. Often, such a structure has not only a place for cooking over an open fire, but also an oven, a hob, a cutting table, and a storage for firewood.

Correctly located, originally designed and organically integrated into the landscape, an outdoor fireplace becomes a favorite place for relaxation for the owners and guests.

Main Features

Before starting to build an outdoor fireplace, study its features that affect the choice of installation location. To prevent foreign odors from entering the house, do not place the fireplace close to the living space. It is also necessary to take into account the wind direction so that in most cases the smoke goes towards non-residential buildings.

An outdoor fireplace is built in an open area so that it is not covered by a fence, trees, etc. Then it will become a decoration of the site, and it will be convenient to control the process of burning wood from any point in the yard.

Functional purpose

A fireplace-barbecue in the courtyard of a private house is a multifunctional kitchen complex. Meat, fish and vegetable dishes are fried on an open fire. They are baked in the oven, pilaf, fish soup, etc. are cooked on the hob. Depending on the design used, various products can be smoked and dried in the fireplace.

In addition, burning logs provide additional heat, and you can warm up near an open fireplace in cool weather, and the atmosphere created by the fire helps to lift your mood, feel cozy and comfortable.

Advantages

By building an outdoor fireplace in your yard or garden, you will have a place where you can have a pleasant time with your family or friends and have a hearty meal.

Main types

There are many types of outdoor fireplaces, and each owner can develop their own design and install it on their property. The most commonly used types of outdoor fireplaces are listed below.

BBQ oven

Its main purpose is to cook meat, fish or other products on smoldering coals, using a grill or grate. In order for the dish to be well and evenly fried, it will have to be turned over often. The design is large in size, it is built from brick, stone or concrete. A chimney is made above the brazier.

Barbecue oven

It is similar to a Russian stove, in which dishes can be cooked using different culinary techniques. It is convenient to fry meat on skewers on a grill. The shape of the brazier of such a stove is rectangular, while in a barbecue it is most often round.

In addition, the depth of the grill is less, so the meat is closer to the coals and cooks faster.

Externally, the structure resembles a barbecue oven, and the presence of replaceable braziers allows you to quickly change them in the niche and, thus, transform one structure into another. Often, the barbecue is equipped with additional elements.

Russian stove

Externally, this is a familiar Russian stove, only installed outside. To reduce firewood consumption, the side walls of such structures are insulated. This allows you to retain heat well and cook any dishes - from pastries and kebabs to soups. The most common method is long simmering. To be able to process products with smoke and fire, the stove is supplemented with a grill, smokehouse or barbecue.

This type of fireplace has a complex design, and its location outside slightly limits the possibilities. The classic Russian stove is large, so its simplified version is often created. It is similar to the original and allows you to cook meat, fish on a grill or barbecue.

Tandoor

This is a jug-shaped oven, which is mainly intended for cooking meat. Here, unlike a grill or barbecue, the products are not fried, but baked. Due to the uniform distribution of temperature, the meat does not need to be constantly turned over. There are mounts for skewers on the inside of the lid. The principle of operation of the tandoor involves minimal use of firewood. Often such an oven is created as an additional element of a fireplace-grill.

Smokehouse

This type of grill is designed for processing products with cold or hot smoke. Firewood burns in the woodshed, smoke enters the chamber where the products are located through channels, and then exits into the pipe. Sawdust is used for cold smoking - it is poured into a metal container, which is placed on the fire.

Popular manufacturers

If you don't have time to make a fireplace yourself, you can take a ready-made version. The market offers a wide range of models from both domestic and foreign manufacturers.

How to make a barbecue fireplace with your own hands

If you have some free time and skillful hands, you can build a fireplace yourself. To do this, you need to prepare materials, tools, make a project and get to work.

The main stages of creating a barbecue:

• 

  choice of location;

• clearing the surrounding area of ​​branches and bushes;
• development of a drawing, project or search for a ready-made one;
• creation of a pit;
• pouring the foundation;
• walling;
• chimney construction;
• finishing.

If you don't have much experience in construction work, it's better to choose a simple design - a grill or barbecue without a chimney. To create a Russian stove or tandoor, desire alone is not enough, you need to have the appropriate skills, so beginners should not take on their construction.

In finished projects there is always a step-by-step description of the work with a detailed order, which cannot be violated.

If you know how to do beautiful masonry, then you can simply expand the walls, otherwise you will have to plaster them and then paint them or cover them with ceramic tiles.

Preparatory activities

If you are planning to build a stationary oven, you need to choose the right place for its construction.

The following factors are taken into account:

• fire safety requirements (the structure must be erected at a distance from other objects on the site);
• the arrangement of buildings (swirls are created between them, so the air movement is almost always the same);
• the principle of convenience (you need to watch the fire in the fireplace, often approach the hearth, bringing and taking away food);
• the location of neighbors so that smoke does not create inconvenience for them.

Design

At this stage, documentation is prepared, which displays the drawings of the selected model, its configuration, the purpose of all components and the dimensions of the future structure. If you have never done such a project, it is better to find a ready-made solution, which indicates all the nuances and the row construction scheme.

When making a project yourself, it is important to correctly calculate the draft so that combustion products are well removed to a safe distance.

Style solutions: design

Before building a fireplace on your property, you need to decide what its size, shape, and contents will be, and correctly assess your capabilities.

The most common design solutions:

• A simple option. Even a beginner can make such a fireplace. It does not require a strong foundation and there is no chimney. The walls are built from any brick, then they are finished. The firebox is laid out of fireproof material. A grill grate is placed on top. The disadvantage of this solution is that the fireplace is open: when it is not in use, it will have to be covered with waterproof material.

• Fireplace under a canopy. This is a more complex construction, but the presence of a roof not only protects the stove from rain and sun, but also allows you to hide from bad weather, so you can cook at any time.

• Recreation center. In this case, they create a multifunctional stove, which includes a barbecue, oven, hob, tandoor, etc. They make a cozy gazebo, places to sit, swings, a pool, creating a corner in which you can not only cook delicious food, but also relax, enjoy the beauty of nature.

Selection of materials

To build a barbecue, prepare the following materials:

If water and sewerage systems are to be installed, then pipes, fittings and valves are prepared.

List of necessary tools for masonry

To perform the work you will need the following tools:

Stages of construction

The process of creating a fireplace on your own consists of several separate stages. If you have little experience, you cannot deviate from the finished scheme and make changes to it.

Foundation

Stationary barbecues are very heavy, so they require a strong base.

The reinforced concrete foundation is created in the following sequence:

1. The pit is marked and dug. The hole is made 40-60 cm deep and 15 cm wider than the future structure. After that, the bottom is leveled and compacted.
2. A sand and gravel cushion is created. Its thickness is 15-20 cm. To increase the density, the cushion is moistened with water.
3. The formwork is installed. It rises 10 cm above the ground so that the foundation protrudes 5-7 cm above the surface.
4. They create a frame from reinforcement. The rods are welded together or twisted with wire or plastic ties.
5. Concrete is poured. This is done continuously and the remaining air is removed using a steel rod. Then the surface is leveled with a rule.

After creating the foundation, you need to wait 20-25 days for the concrete to gain the required strength.

To ensure uniform hardening, the surface is periodically watered during this time, and in the summer it is also covered with a thick material so that the moisture does not evaporate quickly.

Walls

If you follow the developed ordering exactly, then there will be no problems when erecting walls. First, roofing felt is laid on the foundation to protect the walls from moisture coming from the ground.

After laying 3-4 layers, it is recommended to take a short break to let the mortar harden a little. The structure is not subject to heavy loads, so the walls are made in half a brick. The necessary strength is provided by the "staggered" laying. If the creation of shelves is envisaged, ledges are made for them, bricks or metal elements are laid across the row.

Laying out the grill

The grill pan is installed on the completed projections. It should have holes through which air will flow to the flame. The grill chamber is made of fireclay bricks; if you use a simple one, it will quickly collapse due to the high temperature. Some craftsmen use natural stone paving stones for these purposes.

The masonry is carried out only on clay mortar, if you use cement, it will quickly crack, and the tightness of the brazier will be broken. After creating the barbecue, a corner is laid on the brick and a chimney is built on it.

To create a barbecue, you can use a cast iron insert, which is placed in the fireplace structure if necessary. Such a box with legs can also be made of thick-walled metal. Its bottom is made of grates, which are located at a small distance from each other so that air passes through, but coals do not fall out.

A pull-out ash tray is installed underneath. This solution allows the stove to be used as a barbecue and as a grill.

Chimney arrangement

Simple outdoor fireplaces do not always have a chimney. It is necessary in the case of an extension of the stove to a gazebo, canopy or terrace, when it is necessary to remove smoke.

There are several ways to make a chimney:

• From brick. This work is quite complicated, requires precise calculations, because the masonry gradually narrows.
• From concrete elements. First, they make templates for the formwork, then create a frame from reinforcement and pour concrete. After that, the structure is assembled into a single whole, and the seams are covered with mortar.
• Made of metal. The steel frame in the form of a truncated pyramid is made of reinforcement, the rods are installed every 10 cm. It is fixed to the stove and then covered with bricks.

Finishing works

When the structure is completely ready, they begin to finish it. If the jointing is planned, it is done on fresh mortar - when it hardens, this will no longer be possible. In most cases, decorative plaster or ceramic tiles are used. Additionally, the fireplace is decorated with drawings, ornaments, your own or ready-made design elements.

Operation and maintenance

Taking care of an outdoor fireplace is easy, just follow these rules:

1. Clean the grates after each use. If you don't do this, they will quickly become dirty, which is unsightly and dangerous to your health (excess carbon and soot end up in your food).
2. When the fireplace is not in use, it should be covered with a waterproof fabric cover to protect it from the negative impact of external factors.

Useful tips and general advice for beginners

To make not only a beautiful but also a durable fireplace yourself, you need to follow the recommendations of experts:

• although the foundation hardens on the outside on the 2nd day, it is still not strong on the inside, so you cannot build walls right away;
• First, it is better to place a row of bricks without mortar, see how they fit, make the necessary cuts, and only then fix them;
• constantly monitor the horizontality and verticality of each row;
• the solution on which the firebox elements are laid is prepared for several days, this is due to the need to sift and soak the clay;
• The barbecue can only be used 2 weeks after the construction is completed, so that the masonry can fully harden.

Interesting examples in the landscape of the site

It is not necessary to allocate a separate place on the plot or in the garden to create a recreation area with a fireplace. If the territory is small, an open fireplace can be built on the terrace.

If the size of the estate allows, then a gazebo with a fireplace is chosen as an alternative option.

They are installed away from living quarters, so there will be no smell of smoke in the house. The entire recreation area is designed in the same style so that it looks beautiful and fits harmoniously into the overall design of the site.

Disadvantages of a fireplace-barbecue

The floor in the gazebo or on the veranda will not support the weight of a stationary fireplace, so a separate powerful foundation has to be made for it. If it warps or settles, the entire structure will be deformed.

One of the undeniable advantages of private home ownership is the ability to cook food over an open fire. From a wide variety of outdoor fireplaces, you can always choose one that suits your size, cost, and manufacturing complexity.