I’ve helped a handful of buddies build brick BBQs over the years, and I’ll tell you the same thing I tell them before they mix a single bag of mortar: this is not a weekend project you knock out between naps. It’s a real build. But it’s also one of the most satisfying things you’ll ever do in your backyard, because unlike a store-bought grill, a brick BBQ with a chimney is yours — built to your dimensions, your cooking style, and it’ll probably outlast the house.
A brick BBQ is fundamentally different from a freestanding grill. You’re not buying a box — you’re building a small masonry structure with a firebox, a cooking chamber, and a chimney that pulls smoke and heat away from your face instead of into it. That chimney is the piece most first-time builders underestimate, and it’s also the piece that separates a BBQ that’s a joy to cook on from one that smokes you out of your own yard every time the wind shifts.
What you’ll end up with: a permanent firebox, a stable cooking surface, proper airflow control, and a chimney that actually does its job — pulling smoke up and out instead of pooling it around your food (and your face).
Difficulty: Intermediate to advanced. If you’ve never laid a brick, this will be a steep learning curve — but not an impossible one. Time: Realistically 3–7 full working days, spread over 2–4 weekends once you factor in curing time. Big consideration: Fire safety and building codes aren’t optional extras here — check with your local authority before you dig the first hole.
Andy’s advice before you lay a single brick: don’t start buying materials until you’ve got a sketch and a materials list you trust. I’ve seen more than one build stall out halfway because someone eyeballed the firebox size and ran out of firebrick two courses in.
Quick Project Overview
- Skill level: Intermediate DIY, masonry experience helpful
- Build time: 3–7 days (excluding cure time)
- Main materials: Standard brick, firebrick, mortar, refractory mortar, concrete
- Tools: Trowels, level, mason’s line, saw
- Typical footprint: 4–6 ft wide, 2–3 ft deep, 4–5 ft tall including chimney
What You Need to Know Before Building a Brick BBQ
How a brick BBQ works
Strip it down to the basics and every brick BBQ has the same core parts: a firebox where the fuel burns, a charcoal or wood bed, a cooking grate that holds your food above the heat, a cooking chamber that contains everything, and a chimney or flue that manages airflow and smoke evacuation. Get the relationship between these parts right and the BBQ practically cooks itself. Get it wrong — especially the airflow — and you’ll spend your first cookout fighting the fire instead of enjoying it.
Why build a brick BBQ with a chimney?
A chimney isn’t decoration. It gives you better smoke and heat evacuation, a more comfortable cooking area (nobody wants to stand in a smoke cloud for three hours), more controlled airflow, and — let’s be honest — it just looks like a proper outdoor cooking station instead of a pit someone dug in the yard.
Is a brick BBQ worth building?
Here’s my honest take, no sugar-coating: a brick BBQ gives you a permanent, custom cooking station with real thermal mass, which means more consistent heat retention than most metal grills. The downsides are real too — it’s a bigger upfront investment of time and money, it’s not going anywhere once it’s built, and masonry needs occasional maintenance. Compared to buying a prefab masonry BBQ kit, building from scratch usually costs less in materials but costs you a lot more in sweat equity.
Plan Your Outdoor Brick BBQ With Chimney
Choose the right location
This is where most people rush and pay for it later. You want level, stable ground, distance from your house and any fences, clearance overhead (think tree branches, not just structures), and an awareness of prevailing wind direction — you don’t want smoke blowing straight into your patio seating every evening. Good drainage matters too; standing water under a masonry structure is asking for trouble over a few winters.
Decide how large your BBQ should be
Think through your cooking area dimensions, your firebox size, whether you want counter space on either side, where the chimney sits relative to the firebox, and your overall footprint. Bigger isn’t always better — a firebox that’s oversized for your typical cook (say, weeknight burgers for four) just wastes fuel and makes temperature control harder.
Sketch the BBQ before construction
Before you touch a brick, sketch the build in profile. The basic flow is simple:
Foundation → Base → Firebox → Cooking Area → Chimney
Having this on paper — even a rough one — saves you from discovering mid-build that your chimney doesn’t line up with your firebox opening.
Check local regulations
Look into property line setback requirements, fire regulations for permanent outdoor cooking structures, and any masonry or building permit requirements in your area. I know it’s tempting to skip this step, but an unpermitted structure can become a real headache if you ever sell the house.
Materials You Need to Build a Brick BBQ
Bricks
You’ll need standard masonry bricks for the structural walls and base, plus firebricks for anywhere that touches direct heat. Ordinary clay bricks weren’t made to handle sustained high temperatures — they can crack, spall, or even fail structurally over time if you use them where firebrick belongs.
Mortar
Use standard masonry mortar for the structural, non-heat-exposed sections. For the firebox itself, you need refractory mortar — a mortar specifically rated for direct heat exposure. Standard mortar starts breaking down around 600°F, while refractory mortar handles well over 2000°F. Mixing these up is one of the most common — and most expensive to fix — mistakes I see.
One detail a lot of guides skip: firebrick and fireclay expand at a different rate than the standard brick and concrete around them when they heat up. If you mortar the firebox liner directly to the outer structural wall with no give, that expansion has nowhere to go — and it’ll crack your exterior brickwork. Leave a thin expansion gap (about 1/4 inch, filled with ceramic fiber insulation or simply left as an air gap) between the firebox liner and the surrounding structure. It’s a small step that prevents a big, ugly problem.
If you’re in a cold-weather climate, don’t just grab whatever mortar is cheapest for the exterior walls. Use Type S mortar for anything exposed to freeze-thaw cycles — it holds up far better than standard Type N mortar when moisture gets into the joints and freezes. A breathable masonry sealer on the finished exterior brickwork adds another layer of protection.
Other materials
- Concrete for the foundation
- Rebar or wire mesh reinforcement
- Gravel and sand for the sub-base
- Steel angle iron for structural lintels (more on this below)
- Cooking grate and charcoal grate
- Chimney/flue components
- Dampers or vents, if you’re including adjustable airflow
- Optional countertop materials (stone, tile, concrete)
Structural supports and hardware — don’t skip this list
This is the part that separates a BBQ that lasts twenty years from one that starts sagging after five:
- Firebox lintels — heavy-duty steel angle iron, minimum 3/8″ thick, to bridge the top of any opening
- Cast iron ash cleanout door (optional but genuinely worth it — more below)
- Stainless steel or heavy-gauge steel grate brackets for supporting the cooking grate
- Ceramic fiber insulation strip for the firebox expansion gap
- Type S mortar for weather-resistant exterior walls
- Refractory mortar for the firebox lining
Pro Tip: Don’t treat the firebox like an ordinary garden wall. Everything touching direct flame or ember contact deserves purpose-built materials, not whatever’s leftover from another project.
Tools You’ll Need
- Brick trowel
- Pointing trowel
- Spirit level
- Tape measure
- Mason’s line
- Rubber mallet
- Mixing bucket and mixing paddle
- Shovel
- Safety glasses
- Work gloves
- Dust mask or respirator (essential when cutting masonry)
- Brick or masonry saw, if cuts are needed
How to Build a Brick BBQ With Chimney, Step by Step
Step 1: Prepare the Site
Mark out your footprint, remove any unsuitable soil (organic matter, loose fill), level the area, and establish your finished height. Then prepare a compacted sub-base of gravel.
How deep should the foundation be? Honestly, there’s no single universal answer — it depends on your soil type, local climate (especially frost depth in colder regions), and the overall size and weight of your structure. Check local building guidance rather than guessing.
Step 2: Build the Concrete Foundation
Prepare your base, add reinforcement where the structure calls for it, pour the concrete, level the slab carefully, and then — this is the step people rush — give it adequate time to cure. Don’t start laying brick on a foundation that hasn’t fully cured. I’ve watched impatience here cause cracking that shows up months later.
Step 3: Lay the First Course of Bricks
Mark your layout, dry-fit the bricks before mortaring anything (seriously, always dry-fit first), establish your corners, check squareness, apply mortar, and keep your joints consistent. Check level constantly — not just once.
Why the first course matters so much: any small error here doesn’t stay small. It multiplies as your walls go up, and by the time you’re four courses in, a quarter-inch of drift at the base can throw your whole structure out of alignment.
Step 4: Build the BBQ Base
Build your supporting walls, maintain alignment course by course, and decide now if you want storage space underneath — it’s much easier to plan for it than to retrofit it. Leave openings where you want them, and check level after every single course.
Step 5: Build the Firebox and Thermal Isolation
This is the heart of the whole build, so take your time.
- Use firebrick, not ordinary brick, for anything touching flame
- Lay the firebox floor with refractory mortar
- Build in that thermal expansion gap between the firebox liner and the outer structural wall
- Install the ash pit and, if you’re including one, the cast iron cleanout door at the base
A word on the ash cleanout door: cleaning ash out of a deep firebox with a hand shovel gets old fast, especially once you’re a regular user. An 8″x8″ or 8″x10″ cast iron cleanout door lets you sweep ash down into a collection space instead of scooping it out from the top every time. It’s a small addition during the build and a genuine convenience for years afterward.
How high should the cooking grate sit above the fire? Rather than locking yourself into one fixed height, build in adjustable grate supports if you can. It gives you real flexibility — lower for searing, higher for slow, indirect cooking.
Step 6: Install the Cooking Grate
Set supporting ledges or brackets at your chosen height, and design the grate to be removable for cleaning. Leave enough clearance around the fuel bed for air to actually reach the fire — a tightly packed firebox chokes airflow no matter how good your chimney is.
Step 7: Build the Cooking Chamber and Support Lintels
Continue your masonry walls up, and here’s where the steel angle iron lintels come in — install them over the firebox opening to support the weight of the chimney structure above. Skipping proper lintels is one of the more dangerous shortcuts I see in amateur builds; without them, you’re relying on the mortar joints alone to hold up a lot of weight over an open span, and that’s not a bet worth making. While you’re at it, set your stainless steel shelf brackets if you’re going with adjustable grate heights, and double-check your cooking surface stays level as you build.
Should a brick BBQ have a roof or hood? An open-top design is simpler and cheaper but gives up some heat control. A hooded masonry BBQ traps more heat for low-and-slow cooking. A chimney-equipped design — what we’re building here — gives you the best of both: open cooking access with proper smoke management.
How to Build a Chimney for a BBQ
What does the BBQ chimney actually do?
It removes hot gases, directs smoke away from you and your food, establishes natural draft that pulls air through the firebox, and honestly just makes cooking a lot more pleasant. Anyone who’s cooked over an open pit without one knows exactly what I mean.
Where should the chimney be located?
Position it above or behind the cooking area, with a clean connection between the cooking chamber and the flue. Avoid creating dead zones or sharp corners where smoke can stall and pool instead of moving upward.
Designing the chimney throat and transition
Here’s the piece a lot of DIY guides gloss over completely: your chimney isn’t just a vertical brick tube stacked on top of the firebox. There needs to be a tapered throat — a transition, roughly at a 45-degree angle, that narrows from the wider firebox opening down into the narrower flue. This taper is what actually creates good draft. Skip it and go straight from a wide firebox into a narrow flue with no transition, and you’ll get turbulent airflow and smoke that backs up into your cooking area instead of pulling cleanly upward.
How tall should a BBQ chimney be?
There’s no single magic number here — it depends on your firebox size, flue dimensions, nearby structures, and how much natural draft your design creates. As a general sizing rule, though, aim for a flue cross-section roughly 1/8 to 1/10 the size of your firebox opening. Too small and you choke the draft; too large and you lose heat efficiency.
How to build the chimney with bricks
Narrow the structure gradually through the throat, maintain a consistent flue dimension as you build upward, keep the interior surface reasonably smooth (rough interior walls disrupt airflow), check plumb regularly, and finish with a stable, well-anchored chimney cap.
Add a chimney cap
A cap keeps rain out of the flue, reduces debris buildup, protects the masonry from water damage, and frankly just finishes the look of the whole structure.
How to Improve Airflow in a Brick BBQ
Airflow is the invisible engine of your whole BBQ: Air Intake → Fire → Cooking Area → Chimney.
Why airflow matters
Too little airflow and your fire smolders instead of burning clean, giving you bitter, acrid smoke. Too much and you burn through fuel fast while losing temperature control. Poorly positioned openings create dead spots, and your chimney’s draft ties the whole system together.
Add adjustable vents
Vents or dampers at the air intake let you fine-tune your burn without constantly fussing with the fuel bed itself — genuinely useful once you’re cooking regularly.
Avoid restricting the flue
Don’t let debris, a poorly built throat, or an undersized flue turn your chimney into an accidental bottleneck. If smoke is lingering around your cooking area instead of rising cleanly, your first suspect should be the chimney design, not the fire itself.
Finishing Your Brick BBQ
Once the structure is built, it’s time for the details that make it feel done: point and clean the brickwork, install your final cooking grate, add a countertop or work surface if you planned for one, finish any storage space underneath, and get that chimney cap installed. From there, it’s all optional extras — tool hooks, a dedicated spot for wood or charcoal storage, side shelves, a prep area, a built-in thermometer, even lighting if you’re planning on evening cookouts.
How Long Should a Brick BBQ Cure Before Use?
Give your masonry and concrete proper time to cure fully before you build a real fire in it — trapped moisture and sudden high heat are a bad combination for brick and mortar. Don’t jump straight to a roaring fire on day one.
Your first fire — take it slow:
- Start with a small fire
- Keep it at low temperature
- Inspect for any cracking or issues once it’s cooled
- Gradually work up to higher heat over the next several cooks
How to Use a Brick BBQ With Chimney
Starting the fire is straightforward once you understand your airflow setup — build it small, let it establish, then build up. Controlling temperature comes down to managing your air intake and fuel bed together, not just adding more wood or charcoal. Keep an eye on the chimney as you cook; if smoke isn’t drafting cleanly, something in your airflow needs adjusting. Position food over direct heat for searing and off to the side for indirect, slower cooking. And whether you’re running charcoal or wood is really a matter of preference — charcoal gives you steadier heat, wood gives you more smoke flavor and a bit more of a learning curve.
Common Brick BBQ Building Mistakes
- Using ordinary brick where firebrick belongs
- Building on an inadequate or uncured foundation
- Making the chimney throat or flue too restrictive
- Poor airflow planning
- Skipping the curing process before first use
- Making the cooking chamber too small for actual use
- No cleaning or ash access
- Ignoring thermal expansion between firebox and structure
- Building too close to fences, structures, or combustible materials
- Skipping local fire and building code checks
Brick BBQ Design Ideas
- Simple open brick BBQ — best for beginners, no chimney complexity
- Brick BBQ with chimney — the design covered in this guide
- Brick BBQ with countertop — for a full outdoor kitchen setup
- Brick BBQ with smoker chamber — for more advanced BBQ enthusiasts
- Brick BBQ with wood storage — practical function built into the design
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Brick BBQ?
| Component | Typical Cost Category |
|---|---|
| Bricks | Low–Medium |
| Firebricks | Medium |
| Mortar | Low–Medium |
| Concrete/foundation | Medium |
| Rebar/reinforcement | Low–Medium |
| Steel lintels | Low–Medium |
| Cooking grate | Low–Medium |
| Chimney materials | Medium |
| Tools | Variable |
| Countertop/finishes | Optional |
Your final cost depends heavily on DIY labor savings versus hiring help, the quality of materials you choose (refractory mortar and real firebrick cost more but pay off long-term), the overall size of your build, how much you customize, and whether you already own the tools or need to buy them.
If you’re sourcing materials, here’s what to prioritize
| Category | What to Look For | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Firebox lining | Heavy-duty rated firebrick | Standard red brick can crack or spall under direct, sustained heat |
| Firebox mortar | Refractory (thermal-rated) mortar | Standard mortar degrades well before firebox temperatures peak |
| Grate system | Stainless steel or cast iron | Chrome-plated grates corrode fast outdoors |
| Support lintels | 3″x3″x3/8″ structural angle iron | Prevents sag or collapse over the firebox opening |
| Chimney cap | Stainless steel or copper with mesh | Keeps rain out and stops stray embers from becoming a fire hazard |
| Ash maintenance | Cast iron cleanout door | Makes ongoing cleaning dramatically easier |
Brick BBQ vs Store-Bought Grill
| Feature | Brick BBQ | Store-Bought Grill |
|---|---|---|
| Permanence | Excellent | Low–Medium |
| Customization | Excellent | Limited |
| Portability | None | Usually good |
| Initial DIY effort | High | Low |
| Maintenance | Masonry + grate | Grill-specific |
| Appearance | Custom | Standardized |
| Cooking area | Customizable | Fixed |
How to Maintain a Brick BBQ
Clean the cooking grate after each use, remove ash regularly (this is where that cleanout door really earns its keep), inspect your mortar joints periodically for cracking, check the firebox lining for wear, and give the chimney a look inside every so often for creosote or debris buildup. Protect the masonry against standing water where you can, and repair any damage promptly — small cracks left alone tend to become big ones after a winter or two.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you build a BBQ out of normal bricks? For the structural, non-heat-exposed parts, yes. For the firebox itself, you need firebrick rated for direct heat.
What bricks are best for a BBQ? Standard masonry brick for the structure, firebrick for anything touching flame or embers directly.
Does a brick BBQ need a chimney? Not strictly, but it dramatically improves smoke management, airflow control, and comfort while cooking.
How do you build a chimney for a BBQ? By tapering a throat transition from the firebox up into a properly sized flue, then building the stack with consistent dimensions and a finished chimney cap.
How tall should a BBQ chimney be? It depends on your firebox size, flue dimensions, and surrounding structures — there’s no single universal height.
Can I use concrete blocks instead of bricks? Yes, for structural sections, though many builders prefer brick for appearance and heat performance in the firebox area specifically.
How long does it take to build a brick BBQ? Realistically 3–7 working days of labor, spread across several weekends with curing time factored in.
How much does it cost to build a brick BBQ? It varies widely based on size and material quality, but budget for materials, tools (if you don’t already own them), and time.
How long should a brick BBQ cure before using it? Give the masonry and concrete adequate curing time before your first fire, then build up gradually with small, low-temperature fires.
Can you cook with wood in a brick BBQ? Yes — many brick BBQs are designed to handle both charcoal and wood.
How do I control the temperature in a brick BBQ? Primarily through airflow management at the intake, combined with your fuel bed size.
How do I clean a brick BBQ? Regular grate cleaning, ash removal, and periodic inspection of mortar joints and the firebox lining.
Final Verdict: Is Building a Brick BBQ With Chimney Worth It?
If you’re the type who likes projects that last — the kind of thing you’ll still be cooking on twenty years from now — this is worth every weekend it takes. Building it right the first time, with proper firebrick, refractory mortar, a real expansion gap, and a chimney that’s actually sized and shaped to draft well, means you end up with a BBQ that performs the way it should instead of one that fights you every cookout.
If you’re looking for something you can use this weekend, or you’re not ready for a permanent structure in your yard, buying a quality grill makes more sense — there’s no shame in that.
The biggest challenge isn’t the bricklaying itself; it’s the planning. Get your firebox, chimney throat, and airflow design right on paper before you mix a single batch of mortar, and the actual build goes a lot smoother than you’d expect.
If you’re taking on this project, you might also want to check out our guides on building a BBQ pit smoker, building a smoker out of bricks, choosing the best wood for smoking, and controlling BBQ temperature — they’ll round out everything you need to know once your build is finished and the first fire’s going.