How to Build a Backyard Barbeque
- 1). Locate your grill on a stone or concrete slab foundation. Dig a placement plot in the ground, so the slab sits level with the surrounding ground. Check to make sure it's level.
- 2). Pencil a straight line down the middle of the slab. Pencil a perpendicular line at the crossing mid-point using a contractor's square. Spread out bricks on the foundation. Soak the bricks with water 30 minutes before you start laying the bricks. This prevents them from absorbing extra water when you mortar.
- 3). Center the metal grill on the crossing lines. Dry lay one level of bricks evenly around the edge of the metal grill, with ½ inch between each brick as estimated mortar spacing. Mark the outer and inner edge placements with the pencil on the concrete. Mark an extra ¾ inch on each side for where the "grill shelf" bricks will overhang.
- 4). Dry lay the bricks along the back and side edges of the slab to fit in the placement you want. Remove all the bricks from the slab.
- 5). Mix the dry mortar ingredients in a wheelbarrow. Create a hole in the dry mixture and stir in water in small doses. Draw lines in the mortar to check consistency. If the sides crumble, add more water and stir again. If they slide down, add more dry ingredients. Mortar should be thick and smooth, but easily spread, like mud.
- 6). Lay your first line of mortar by gathering a pile of mortar on the trowel, setting the tip at the edge of the foundation slab along your guidelines and pulling the trowel toward you, dumping the mortar onto the slab. Drag the tip of the trowel through the mortar line to create a central valley. Repeat this with a second, parallel line of mortar.
- 7). Push the brick into the valley, right at the edge of the slab. "Butter" the end edge of the second brick and place it tightly next to the first. Scrape off the excess mortar and repeat the process for the first layer of bricks. Check the level every few bricks. Let the first layer dry for at least 45 minutes.
- 8). Stack the next layers in the same way. At the level you want to place your charcoal tray and metal grills, lay a line of chisel-tapped ½ bricks sideways. After you place the wet bricks, check the placement to make sure they sit far enough out to hold the tray/grill. Add as many "shelf" slots as you like.
- 9). Finish the top layer by placing the corner bricks first and checking to make sure they are level. Fill in the rows between them. Let the mortar set for three days. Hose down the finished grill and scrub the bricks with cleaning solution and a scrub brush. Rinse the clean grill with clear water.
Source...