How to Build Your Own BBQ Pit

The smell of juicy steaks, roasted corn and hamburgers being roasted on a barbeque is simply irresistible. It becomes all the more tempting when the aroma comes from one's own backyard. The history of barbeque mentions popularity in the 1950s, however, building barbeque pits fell out of favor with the masses, as more and more people opted for the gas and charcoal grills that stormed the market. However, people are rediscovering the fun of organizing their own barbeque parties, and grilling meat in self-made barbeque pits as they drink margaritas and sway to the tunes of soft jazz playing in the background.

Location

It is very important to decide on the right spot in your backyard before you plan to build your own BBQ pit. Choose a spot that is not too far away from your house. This is important because covering long distances between the BBQ pit and the kitchen will be tedious. However, do not keep it too close to your house or your neighbor's either. Keep it away from fences, overhead trees or electrical wires. After all you want to smoke your meat and not the structures around your house! Also keep in mind the wind directions, as you definitely do not want smoke getting into your or your neighbor's house. In case your town is prone to strong winds, select a spot for your BBQ pit that is most protected from being beaten down by strong winds or heavy rains. You definitely want your BBQ pit to keep standing for a couple of years at least, don't you?

Size and Design of the BBQ Pit

It always helps to keep in mind if you want the BBQ pit to serve for barbeque parties with your friends, or if you want such parties to be small family affairs. Decide on the size accordingly. You could also decide upon adding hooks to your pit to hang utensils while cooking. Drawing a plan with proper measurements and the points marked where the hooks have to be inserted, would be a good idea to prevent any confusion while constructing the barbeque pit.

Things You Will Need
Hand tamp
Shovel
Cinder blocks
Measuring tapes
Gravel
Dry mortar
Water
Trowel
Leveler
Carpenter's square
Metal Bricks
Grill tip
Bricks

Instructions
First, make sure that pit is about 15 feet square (3 by 5 ft). Clean the area thoroughly and remove stones and bushes. Be accurate about your measurements and mark the area if you need to. Dig that area using a shovel at least 8 inches deep and level the ground with the help of hand tamp. Now cover the dug out place with gravel and level it off properly. Make sure that gravel cover is around 2 inches thick. Now add water on the dry mortar to form a mix. Then spread this mix on the gravel quickly before it gets hardened. On the edge of the mortared area, keep the cinder blocks. Make sure that you leave a wide hole between two cinder blocks in order to drain out the excess water and put in the coal and wood. Use carpenter's square to check whether all the edges are even. After this, put mortar on the cinder blocks and place bricks on top of them and use as much mortar you need to bind bricks and blocks. If you need to make any changes to the structure, then do it before the mortar dries out as it will become solid after drying and will be quite difficult to remove. Keep on adding the bricks and using the mortar to build a pit of your desire. After the pit is done, place metal braces inwards on top of the brick structure while it is still wet . When the mortar is totally dried out, then place the grill top on it.

A self-made BBQ pit looks great in the garden and a brick one further accentuates the look of the backyard. Building it involves proper planning and care. Bon appetit!