Contents
Do-it-yourself brazier smokehouse made of bricks can be erected under the supervision of a master or a specialist who is versed in oven masonry. Everything is important here: choose the right building material, prepare it, hammer the solution with the right consistency. In addition to the construction process itself, it is important for the smokehouse to find a suitable place on the site, take care of fire safety.
Varieties of structures
Externally, multifunctional smokehouses differ in size, finish, shape and other nuances. They resemble a large oven. However, this is just a design. The main difference between smokehouses with barbecue is precisely in functionality. It depends on what a brick building is capable of. The more work areas there are, the more extensive the menu for cooking. In a brick structure, you can organize the following options:
- Smokehouse. The working area is considered the main one, since for the sake of it the construction of a brick structure is provided in this case. In general terms, the smokehouse is a closed chamber. Inside there are gratings or hooks for fixing products. In the process of cooking, they are covered with smoke, acquire a golden color and the aroma of smoked meat.
- Brazier. By design, this is an open-type brazier. Barbecue is cooked on hot coals. The sides of the brazier are adapted for laying skewers.
- BBQ. This is the same brazier, but instead of skewers, a grill is provided here. Steaks and other products are baked on it.
- Grill. The device is the same as a barbecue, but the products cooked on the grill are covered with a lid. They are simultaneously fried not only from below, but also from above.Important! In the smokehouse, one zone is made under the brazier and used for its intended purpose: barbecue, grill or barbecue.
- Kazan. To cook pilaf, fish soup and other hot dishes on a fire, you will need a separate working area in the smokehouse. It is made in the form of an oven. The plate is laid not deaf, but with a round cut. A cast-iron cauldron is dipped into the window.
A multifunctional smokehouse is made with several working areas
Of the additional working areas in the smokehouse with barbecue, a countertop and a sink can be provided. They make it possible to cut and wash dishes without leaving the place of cooking. In addition to working areas, niches are provided in the brick building. They are used instead of cabinets for storing dishes, firewood, stove accessories.
In addition to all these nuances, regardless of functionality, all smokehouses are divided into two types:
- A simple device is considered a hot-smoked smokehouse. Food inside the chamber is cooked at a high temperature due to the proximity of the hearth.
- The smokehouse-barbecue made of cold-smoked bricks is more complicated, where cold smoke envelops the products inside the chamber. This is achieved due to the remote location of the focus. Passing through many channels, the smoke cools.
When hot smoked, the products in the smoker cook faster, but due to the heat treatment, they become slightly boiled.
Pros of a homemade brick barbecue with a smokehouse
It is difficult to build a multifunctional smokehouse on your own. It’s not just about laying bricks on mortar. The experience of the stove-maker is important in order to properly equip the smoke channels and other complex nodes. The negative point is also the high cost of acquiring bricks.
A brick smokehouse requires a lot of money, experience in masonry
If we discard all the shortcomings, then the multifunctional brick smokehouse has many advantages:
- long service life;
- Beautiful design;
- reliability;
- cooking comfort.
However, real gourmets see dignity in a completely different area. In such brick structures, food is much tastier than food prepared according to a similar recipe in metal structures. This is explained by the properties of the building material. The brick absorbs heat and gives it evenly if necessary. The product is equally well subjected to heat treatment from all sides, burns less.
How to build a brick smokehouse
For a person who does not understand anything in the furnace business, it is optimal to invite a master for work. Mistakes must not be made here, otherwise the money spent and labor will be useless. If you have minimal experience in building stoves, the instructions will help you build a smokehouse with a barbecue and other work areas on your site.
Model and drawing selection
First of all, they are determined with the model. To do this, you need to clearly understand for yourself which working areas are needed in the smokehouse. For example, one brazier with a barbecue is enough or additionally provide a place for a cauldron. When there is a clear idea of what you want to build with your own hands, it will be easier to develop drawings of a brazier-smokehouse made of bricks. In the absence of experience in this matter, schemes can be found on the Internet or ordered from a specialist.
The drawing will help build a multifunctional smokehouse with shelves, niches, a dishwashing area
According to the scheme, it is possible to build a simple smokehouse with a brazier, which can be used for barbecue and barbecue
Selection of materials and tools
The main building material for the barbecue and smokehouse is brick. It will take several varieties. For combustion chambers where there is a high temperature, only fireclay bricks are used. Adjacent areas are laid out from another material. This is where refractory bricks come in handy. It must be full bodied. For forcing the walls of the smokehouse themselves, two types of bricks are suitable: solid red and decorative. The first material is cheaper, but the walls will turn out ugly. Then they will have to be faced with decorative stone or other material. The walls of the decorative brick smokehouse will cost more, but they do not need to be revetted later.
Additionally, sand, water, cement will be required from the materials. The main masonry is done on red clay.
For construction work, you need a simple tool that will help you mix the mortar and lay bricks.
From the tool you need a level, a plumb line, a hammer, a trowel. For mixing a large amount of mortar, it is optimal to use a concrete mixer. In its absence, you can knead the clay in the basin with a shovel.
Site Selection
A multifunctional smokehouse is not only a cooking structure, but also an architectural structure. Having incurred high costs for the purchase of decorative bricks or facing material, it is unreasonable to build a multifunctional barbecue somewhere in the background of the site. The smokehouse should become part of the architectural ensemble, but not interfere in the yard.
The place of a beautiful multi-functional smokehouse is chosen in the visible area of the yard
Optimally, a brick smokehouse is located near the house or gazebo, so as not to run after the dishes. However, being too close is also unacceptable. The smoke from the smokehouse and barbecue should not interfere with neighbors or get through the windows into your own house.
Do not place stoves under trees, near flammable objects due to the risk of fire. The area blown by the winds is also not suitable. Cooking in a draft is uncomfortable.
Laying order
Creating a barbecue smokehouse with a place under a cauldron, a grill and a brazier with their own hands from a brick, they prepare a detailed scheme of the structure. It should always be at hand, throughout the construction. According to the scheme, it is easier to decide how to lay out each row of smokehouse bricks.
According to the scheme, you can build a multifunctional smokehouse with a cauldron and a brazier
Digging and pouring the foundation
The construction of a smokehouse with barbecue begins with laying the foundation. Massive brick building. You can’t do without a reliable concrete base. In general terms, the foundation of the smokehouse is a monolithic slab with a reinforcing metal frame.
The foundation for the brazier with a smokehouse is poured concrete with an armored frame on a pillow of sand and crushed stone
The size of the foundation depends on the dimensions of the smokehouse. It repeats the shape of a brick structure, goes out with a margin of about 10 cm beyond the walls. First, a foundation pit is dug on the marked area. Its depth depends on the quality of the soil, the expected load on the foundation from the future barbecue with a brick smokehouse. In any case, the minimum parameter is 50 cm.
The bottom of the pit is covered with a layer of sand and gravel 10 cm thick. The pillow is moistened and rammed. On top of the crushed stone from rods 10-12 mm thick, a reinforcing frame is tied with a knitting wire. Formwork is installed along the perimeter of the pit from boards. To make the base monolithic, concrete is poured at a time. The finished foundation should rise above the ground by about 5 cm.
Brick laying begins in about a month. During this time, the concrete will gain its strength. So that the lower rows of bricks do not pull dampness, the foundation is waterproofed with two layers of roofing material.
First level
First of all, a mortar is prepared for laying bricks. You will need two mixtures. The basement is considered the first level of the barbecue with a smokehouse. It can be laid out on a cement mortar. The proportions are as follows: sand – 3 parts, cement and lime – 1 part each. The remaining rows and fireclay bricks are laid on clay. Sand is added to the solution. The amount depends on the fat content of the clay. The quality of the solution is checked by the formation of several balls. After drying, they should not crack, and when thrown onto the floor from a height of 1 m, retain their shape.
The plinth of a brick smokehouse can be laid out on a cement mortar with the addition of lime
The first row of the base is laid out dry without mortar. The contour of the future smokehouse is formed from bricks. The next rows of the base are laid out on the solution. Be sure to observe the dressing of the seams. The top level brick should overlap the vertical joint on the bottom row. Due to the ligation, the strength of the walls increases.
Barbecue laying
After the construction of the basement, they begin to build the barbecue. Here again you need to check everything horizontally and vertically with a level, a plumb line. Masters use special slats with marking division. All these devices allow you to build even walls of the barbecue.
After the basement, they begin to build barbecue walls from bricks
To form a brazier, corners are embedded in the brickwork at the right level. They are needed to fix the base. It is laid out of brick without mortar, leaving 2-3 gaps. Oxygen will flow through the gaps, supporting the combustion of firewood. The body of the firebox is optimally formed from metal. The design similarly provides holes for air access.
The chamber of the furnace and smokehouse is made of metal
At the same level with the barbecue, lay out the area under the cauldron. From above it is covered with a steel plate 10 mm thick. A round hole is cut out in it with a grinder, inside which a cauldron will be immersed.
When laying out the walls of the smokehouse, it is expected that the first 8 rows will form a woodshed and other niches. Next comes the overlap and work areas. On the upper level there is a hot-smoked smokehouse, which is heated from the flame from the firebox. Countertops are formed approximately on the 12th row of bricks.
The final design of the smokehouse is a smoke box. It is laid out from 10 rows of bricks. On the front side of the masonry, ledges of 17 mm are made, and on the sides – up to 35 mm. The last row of the smoke box must match the size of the chimney.
Cold smoked smokehouse
A brick structure with a barbecue and a cold-smoked smokehouse is built according to a different scheme. In particular, change the location of the firebox. It is removed to the maximum from the smoking chamber. It is optimal when the length of the connecting channel is at least 4 m. The firebox is usually made closer to the ground, in the basement of the smokehouse. A channel is laid from it with a metal pipe or brick. Depending on the scheme, it can be straight or curved.
Extra touches
Finishing work is the final part of the construction. If the laying of the walls of the smokehouse with a brazier was carried out from decorative bricks, it is enough just to perform the jointing. Do this before the solution has time to harden.
When using decorative bricks, it is enough to do the grouting
If the walls of the smokehouse are built of ordinary red brick, they have an unpresentable appearance. Of course, you can do the stitching and leave it like that. However, such a brazier is better to hide in the background of the yard. To give the smokehouse aesthetics, the walls are lined with stone, tiles. Countertops are bought ready-made marble or cast themselves from concrete.
Brazier and barbecue with a do-it-yourself brick smokehouse
A smokehouse without a cauldron and a grill, but with a barbecue and a barbecue is also considered multifunctional. It is built in the same way. The difference is the simplified scheme. There is no need to create a stove with a stove under the cauldron.
Foundation
The construction of a smokehouse without a place for a cauldron, but with a barbecue, begins with laying the foundation. First, they dig a pit. The bottom is covered with sand and gravel. Arrange the pillow. From above, a reinforcing frame is connected from the reinforcement rods.
To protect the foundation from high-lying groundwater, a pillow of sand and gravel is covered with a black film, and a reinforcing mesh is already laid on top
After reinforcement, formwork is placed along the contour of the pit, concrete is poured. At least 1 month is allotted for complete solidification. During this time, the concrete is periodically moistened. For less evaporation of moisture, the stove can be covered with a film or covered with sawdust and often watered from a watering can.
Stacking
Brick laying technology is no different from the previous design. First, a waterproofing of two layers of roofing material is laid on a concrete base. The first row of bricks is laid dry without mortar. From the next 8 rows form the base of the smokehouse. A woodcutter is provided here. The hearth of the brazier can be laid out of fireclay bricks or a stainless steel trough can be welded. Be sure to leave protrusions or immure metal rods. Elements are needed for skewers or barbecue grills.
Most often, a scheme is in demand, where the smokehouse is located on one edge of the foundation, and on the other hand, they equip an area with barbecue and barbecue
The next rows form a firebox with a blower, a smokehouse, a smoke box and a chimney. All niches of a brick structure can be made rectangular or arched. In the first case, when overlapping, lintels from a steel corner are laid. To make an arch, semicircular patterns are bent out of plywood. They are placed on the floor, and they are laid out on top. To make the arch strong, a castle brick is always placed in the center.
lining
To finish a brick smokehouse, stone or tile is similarly used. It is best to expel the walls immediately from decorative bricks. Niches that are not exposed to heat can be closed with wooden doors. Cast-iron doors are placed on the firebox and ash chamber. The countertop is similarly bought marble or poured out of concrete.
The finish of the smokehouse looks beautiful if the walls are driven out of decorative bricks of different shades, forming a pattern.
Terms of use
For smoking in a smokehouse, they buy special wood chips. You can make it yourself by collecting shavings after processing fruit wood. Firewood is used for barbecue. Logs are prepared similarly from fruit trees. Oak will do. Less commonly used firewood from other deciduous trees. It is impossible to use spruce, pine and other types of resinous wood for a smokehouse and barbecue.
Smoking and cooking on the grill is done using firewood from fruit or deciduous trees.
In a stationary smokehouse, meat and fish are most often smoked. Poultry carcasses, sausages, bacon are popular. Depending on the recipe, the product is smoked fresh or salted, raw and pre-cooked. If the smokehouse is cold smoked, you can smoke pears, prunes. On the grill, barbecue or grill, the same products are cooked, plus you can bake vegetables.
Fire safety
When a fire burns in a furnace, it is not considered an open source, since the chamber is closed by a door. Sparks can sometimes fly out of the chimney. This disadvantage must be taken into account. To avoid a fire, a spark arrestor is placed on the smokehouse pipe.
The brazier is an open source of fire. In windy weather, you need to be careful or completely abandon cooking. The wind is able to blow out sparks from the barbecue and spread them across the territory. In any case, having a multifunctional smokehouse, it is best to get a fire extinguisher or install a large container of water in case of an unforeseen situation.
Photo gallery of brick smokehouses
The approach to the street barbecue can be covered with rubble so that there is no dirt
Under a canopy, a brazier with a smokehouse is protected from rain
The combination of decorative stone and brick looks beautiful in the decoration of the facade of the smokehouse
The firewood shed and other niches that are not exposed to heat can be closed with wooden doors
When finishing, brickwork can be combined with concrete plaster
Conclusion
Do-it-yourself brazier smokehouse made of bricks cannot be built in a month. The construction will take a whole summer. Only the foundation will solidify for a month. Then there is still a lot of work to be done with the forcing of brick walls and decoration. But the next season you can enjoy cooking on fire.