Warm days come and summer residents rush to their sites. It is time for spring worries. But in the general hustle and bustle it is important to feel all the charm of the awakening nature, to breathe with full breasts the clean air, devoid of urban smog and burning. Work is work, but we already devote it for a whole week, and trips to the country should, first of all, give pleasure. Any trip to nature with us is accompanied by traditional barbecue. So why not build a do-it-yourself barbecue on a plot of brick? It can always be used for its intended purpose. After all, he who knows how to have a good rest, and will work with his soul!
Zoning a picnic area
When we only have an idea how to make a brazier out of brick, we should immediately mentally tie this structure to the area. Both the size and appearance of the building may depend on the place where it will be located.
General site requirements are simple:
- the platform should be level;
- take into account the wind rose so that the cooking smoke does not interfere with the neighbors, does not fall into the recreation area or to the house and does not choke the cook;
- the proximity of the site to the house is necessary, because it is easier to provide it with water and light, besides, you do not have to carry dishes and food far.
Immediately it is worth planning the entire area for picnics.
The picnic area in the country should not be overloaded with facilities. All you need is a brick grill, a food stand, a comfortable bench and a portable table
Brazier is not even a barbecue, where a pipe is necessarily present in the design of the stove. This is an open and simple construction. However, there are also complex buildings that have not one working surface, but two, located on both sides of the brazier. The combination model may include an oven, a smokehouse, and a grill. If water is supplied, a washing will be required.
The simplest option is when a brick grill is made in the form of a skeleton, in which a roasting pan and grill for meat or stops for skewers are placed. However, without a work surface it will be inconvenient: there is nowhere to put the dishes, products and spices that are used in the process of making barbecue. Therefore, it also needs to be provided.
Each of the braziers presented is not overloaded with functions, but the one that has a working surface is still a little more convenient
Materials required for construction
In principle, no blueprints are needed for simple brick grills, except for the exact calculation of the need for materials. Use a sketch indicating the size, it will help you navigate.
For construction you will need:
- cement;
- slaked lime;
- reinforcing bars or reinforcing mesh;
- wire to strengthen the brickwork;
- sand;
- metal corners;
- heat resistant brick.
Where the brick will not undergo strong heating, the expensive heat-resistant brick can be changed to ordinary red. For the brazier, a metal pan and grate will be needed. Do not forget about the tiles, which we will use as countertops.
Two types of mortar will have to be prepared: for the foundation and for masonry. You can facilitate your work and use the finished mixture to prepare the masonry mortar
We arrange the foundation of the structure
It is a mistake to believe that it is enough to compact the site, fill it with rubble and lay out paving tiles to consider the base under the brazier ready. Any movement of the soil can lead to the destruction of the structure. It will be a pity spent time and materials. Therefore, we will not rush and fill a reliable foundation.
We select a small but functional structure for which the base is 120x120cm. will be sufficient. We mark the site prepared for construction work with the help of pegs and a string. We dig a hole of the indicated sizes and a depth of 25 cm. We install the formwork, into which we fill in a solution prepared on the basis of 1 part of cement, three parts of sand.
The foundation ensures the strength of the building as a whole, so there is no need to rush during its construction: it will not be ready before two weeks from the date of filling
It is necessary to reinforce the base. Reinforcing bars or reinforcing mesh can be used for this purpose. If we choose a grid, then it will have to be laid twice. First, fill the solution one third of the height of the base, then place the mesh layer, then fill the base one third more and line another layer of the mesh, then fill the base to its full size.
If the rods will be placed in the base, then they are laid after pouring half of the base. Evenly lay out three rods of 100-105cm long, and then fill the rest of the volume. To subsequently rain water flowing freely from the walls of the barbecue, you can make a platform with a small (1 cm) slope. To the foundation gained strength, it is left for two weeks alone.
The first row of masonry
If we want to build a brazier simply, but quickly and accurately, we need to make a kind of “fitting”. To do this, on a foundation ready for further work, we lay a number of bricks dry. Such a preliminary estimate allows in the future to use only halves and whole blocks. If the grill and the pallet were prepared by us in advance, it is necessary to take into account their exact dimensions in the future construction. The line of the future masonry is circled, fixed and will serve as a binding reference for us.
The first row of bricks needs to be laid out for dry fitting, but given the fact that there will be a solution between the bricks
The brick is hygroscopic: it absorbs moisture easily. If it is not previously prepared for the upcoming work, then it can absorb all the moisture from the masonry mortar. The construction will be fragile. To avoid this, the day before work, the brick should be well wetted. It is either filled with water in containers, or well doused with garden hoses. Before starting work, the bricks must be wet from the inside and dried out from the outside.
We prepare a masonry mortar at the rate of 1 part cement, 3 parts sand and a quarter part slaked lime. By consistency, the masonry mortar should resemble thick sour cream. It remains to once again check all the measurements and decompose the prepared brick into the masonry mortar strictly in the manner outlined in advance. Between the bricks the space should be well filled with mortar. To more reliably immerse the blocks in the solution, they should be tapped on top with a trowel handle or a hammer.
We build a brazier base
The first row of the building serves as a guide for all subsequent ones, which will be stacked in a checkerboard pattern: each subsequent rad turns out to be half-bricked relative to the previous one. You need to start laying out a row from the corner, and only then fill the side walls.
The masonry mortar must be distributed between the rows and do not forget about the side surfaces of the bricks, the excess is carefully removed
The planes of the building should be regularly checked using the building level and plumb for this purpose. This should be done at least in three rows, otherwise the building may go skewed. The masonry must be reinforced at the corner joints with metal wire. If additional finishing of the brazier is not planned, you can use a piece of a garden hose to give the seams of the masonry a neat appearance.
Stops for grill and roasting pan
For the base under the roasting pan, it is necessary to place metal corners or reinforcing rods between opposite walls. The base of the firebox made of bricks is laid on them. We have this role played by a metal pallet. The main condition is that the furnace is easily cleaned of ash.
In the area of the furnace, it is necessary to leave the side gaps not filled with mortar in the brickwork. This will ensure that air enters the chamber. Indeed, without the influx of oxygen, the process of burning fuel is impossible.
The construction of a frypot and the installation of a pallet, grate and countertop are the finishing touches. The appearance of the structure and your impression of the work done depend on their quality
The grill can be installed on metal rods, which are pre-mounted in a brick wall, or on the ledges of the brickwork itself. Such protrusions are formed if the bricks are laid not along, but across the wall. They need to protrude into the roasting pan to the same level.
Work surface
The countertop should be in harmony with the general appearance of the resulting stove and be convenient for use. You can take a solid floor or paving tiles. For a work surface, it is important that it is durable and well washed.
The work is almost done, but experts advise two weeks to allow your barbecue to dry before it begins to operate
If it was planned to bring water supply and runoff to the location of the brazier, it is better to plan them in advance, because the pipes are easier to withdraw through the base. So they will be less noticeable, and the general view of the structure will be more aesthetic. Lighting of the site will not be superfluous. In the fresh summer air, it is better to relax in the campaign with the preparation of barbecue in the evening, when it is not hot. Now you know how to quickly and easily build a brazier out of brick.
Another option of a brick barbecue will be introduced to you by the video:
