A Dry Stack Barbeque Plan

The plan below is a very simplistic barbeque that you can build in two days. The hardest part of the job is pouring a simple concrete pad that will support your barbeque. The pad MUST be square and level. This is not that hard to do. The pad should be 48 inches wide by 39 inches deep. Make it five inches thick. I want you to install 1/2 inch reinforcing rods as well. Put three in each direction about one foot apart from one another. Pour half the concrete and then place the rods in the wet concrete. Then pour the remaining concrete. It does not have to have a nice finish on top as you will only be able to see an inch and one-half at each edge when you are done.

The key is to make sure the darn thing is level in both directions. When you pour the concrete you strike it off so that there are no humps or depressions. If you goof this up, the brick will not stack properly! Use a standard carpenter's framing square to get your concrete form square.

The bricks are stacked tightly against one another. Alternate the direction of the brick on each row. Failure to do this will make the structure unstable. You should make sure that the grates you will use for the charcoal and food are purchased first. You are looking for grates that are 18 inches wide by 24 inches deep if possible. Any other size will cause you to alter the plan I am showing. The bricks that support the grates must hang over into the opening so as to create a 3/4 inch ledge. This is easy to do. It will not affect the overall stability of the structure. The plan below will produce a dry stack barbeque that is 45 inches wide and 36 inches deep. I used regular white fire brick. These are perfect because they can withstand high temperatures, extensive freeze/thaw cycles and are perfectly square when made. They usually measure 4.5 inches wide by 9 inches long by 2 and 3/8 inches thick. The barbeque will be 26 inches high. If you make your slab stick four inches out of the ground, the cooking surface will be just about 28 inches off the ground. I say we get to work! Don't forget, you need 350 fire bricks to complete this project.

Front View

Front View Notes

The dashed lines are the grates for the charcoal and food. The bricks just below them must be tapped into the open area to support the racks.

The bottom or first course of the barbeque is solid brick. Just make the pattern as shown. The second course to the final course will create the two towers and the back wall. The tower to the right will be a wonderful place to rest cooking utensils, plates, sauces, etc. Don't worry, there will be plenty of room to set a long neck brewsky.

The width of the barbeque as shown is 45 inches. Its height is 26 and 1/8 inches.

Top View Notes

The top cooking grate is clearly shown. The bottom grate is directly below separated by about 10 inches or so.

You can slide the grate back so it touches the back wall. This will keep stray "dogs" and brats from rolling into the fire.

The cooking surface is actually about two inches below the actual top of the barbeque. This works out well as you don't have to worry about things rolling side to side.

The pattern of the first/bottom course is a simple continuation of the alternating pairs of brick. Just put them in and they will work out.