After 35 years I grew tired of all the maintenance and eventual rusting out of metal grills and the lost of patio floor space. I decided it was time to build a masonry grill adjoined to my patio to reclaim floor space and with minimal metal as possible that would become a permanent fixture that would add value to my home. No matter what masonry product you are veneering with you need to start off with a concrete slab finished off to your floor level height. Most people will choose a width more than plenty to accommodate food prep, my case both sides, when the top is finished off. Now, to know the depth, go on line to www.thebbqdepot.com and choose the grill grate length and width of your choice, mine was porcelain coated cast iron 19”x10” 3each, total 19x30 inch cooking surface. Now that you have the length and width grates in your hand you can calculate the depth of your masonry grill. Bricks are 4” depth plus 1” fire brick mortar plus fire brick turned on its side is 2” thick. The top row of fire bricks, cut down the center of the 2”, no more than ¾” pass, turn the fire brick on its side and cut out the ¾” pass. This will give your finished top fire brick course a way to lock in your grates without added metal hardware. The calculation from the front will be 4” + 1” + 1” total 6” plus your grate length and the rear should match the front measurements. I wanted extra 30” food prep each side so I had a lot of extra concrete filler to add in each side. My 19”x30” took 100 fire bricks and 80lbs of fire brick mortar mix. Add 1” all the way around your grates, this becomes your bottom fire box course, let that course set for a day, now you can begin the side courses, in the front, leave two half joints un-mortared for air vents, the rear, frame out an opening for the clean out door. By the time you clear the top courses of the rear clean out frame, the next course at least 10” from the top, lay a course sideways, this becomes the added shelf for a fire pan. This design lets you fire up with logs at the bottom, or if you want to charcoal with a pan insert near the top as most charcoal grills offer. Finnish the remaining top courses making sure your grates fit snugly in the top course cutouts. Total height of the fire box with grates should equal to a standard grill height, now add your veneer and concrete fillers and smooth off the top mortar with a slight slope the sides so rain water does not run into the fire box. Remember to leave the two joint air vents open on your veneer course, cut a copper sink scrubber down to your vent joint size, this will keep wasps from crawling inside an building a nest. Now find a local sheet metal shop that custom bends, punches holes and welds stainless steel. The edges of your top fire brick course will be the width and length for the stainless steel lid, specify the handle to be 1” stainless tubing, the same stainless tubing will also serve as the smoke stacks, you can find the temperature gauge at this web site, www.kck.com , have the sheet metal fabricator to punch a hole for the gauge. Remove the rear clean out frame and get a 2” thick double wall stainless door made for this with air vent holes punched through each stainless wall, fill this with trimmed copper scrubber. Remember masonry joints needs up to 30 days before its cured good, so be careful removing the rear frame opening. At Lowe’s, I bought 2 sets of stainless steel gate hinges for the sheet metal fabricator to attach a set to the lid and rear door. Set those in place, mark the holes, drill them out, set the anchors and screw your lid and rear door in place with stainless screws. Have a 1/8” thick stainless steel fire pan built to the opening of the course that was laid sideways, get ½” holes punched through spaced 2” apart in all direction for the air to rise from the bottom all the way through the top smoke stacks.
A good stainless steel rotisserie 40lb gear drive kit is at for $65.00 delivered www.4thegrill.com . The attachments will have to be custom fitted to the top surface of your masonry grill, I got lucky, I had angle 3x3 aluminum stock cut in 3” widths that were perfect to drill in the rotisserie attachments and drill the angle plates to the masonry top dead center each side of the grate opening.
Masonry grills well exceed your grilling expectations, clean up is easy and the exposed stainless lid and door will last forever, adds value to your home. The total cost to construct mine was right at $1,350.00, but it is the last grill I will ever need. Should have done this 35 years ago.
A good stainless steel rotisserie 40lb gear drive kit is at for $65.00 delivered www.4thegrill.com . The attachments will have to be custom fitted to the top surface of your masonry grill, I got lucky, I had angle 3x3 aluminum stock cut in 3” widths that were perfect to drill in the rotisserie attachments and drill the angle plates to the masonry top dead center each side of the grate opening.
Masonry grills well exceed your grilling expectations, clean up is easy and the exposed stainless lid and door will last forever, adds value to your home. The total cost to construct mine was right at $1,350.00, but it is the last grill I will ever need. Should have done this 35 years ago.
