Getting Started with the Brick Oven Build
So last spring I finally decided to build a proper outdoor kitchen after staring at my sad little grill for years. The main goal was that brick oven – always wanted one for proper pizza nights. Started by clearing a patch near the back fence where the old compost bin used to be. Dug out about 8 inches deep with a shovel, took me two full weekends just for that. My back was screaming but whatever.
Materials Hunt & Prep Work
Went scavenging at local salvage yards first. Found these chunky reclaimed bricks covered in mortar chunks – spent days smacking ’em with a hammer to clean ’em up. Bought firebricks new though, cause the internet said regular bricks might explode from heat? Weird. Mixed concrete in my kiddie pool for the foundation slab since I didn’t want to rent a mixer. Looked like grey slop but did the job.
- Pro tip: Use plywood forms for concrete – mine leaked everywhere like a sieve
- Mistake: Forgot slope for rainwater drainage. Had to chip out edges later
Laying Bricks Like a Madman
Started stacking once the slab cured. Thought bricklaying would be like adult Legos – nope. Mortar either dried too fast or slid off like melted ice cream. Had to keep a spray bottle to wet bricks or they’d suck all the moisture out. The arch over the oven mouth was brutal. Built this janky wooden frame to hold bricks in place, but when I knocked it out halfway through curing? Two bricks fell right into the wet mortar. Swore loud enough the neighbors peeked over the fence.
Finishing Touches & Lessons
After sealing gaps with refractory cement (which stains everything it touches by the way), let the whole thing dry for weeks before test-firing. First burn smoked like crazy cause I didn’t cure it slow enough – looked like my yard was on fire. Now? Works like a beast. Cooked 15 pizzas last Saturday, crusts puffing up like little pillows. Still finding mortar splatters in weird places though. My takeaway?
- Double your time estimate. Triple if it rains
- Wear old shoes – concrete doesn’t scrub off
- Totally worth the swear jar emptying every weekend
