Nothing says summer like a pool party accompanied with a great BBQ. Building your own smoke pit is a labor intensive but not impossible. This backyard project is going to require tools, planning, heavy-lifting, and a little bit of assistance never hurts either. Smoke pits are useful year round and surpass the flavor that any gas-fueled grill could possibly cook up. Here is how to construct a BBQ smoke pit for your backyard:
Smoke Pits Materials
Building smoke pits is going to require common tools like a shovel, tape measure, hand tamp, rake, and a leveler. Things you will have to purchase to construct this pit will be:
- Four 2” x 4” stakes
- Two sheets of 4’ x 4’ 16 gauge steel
- One sheet of 2’ x 4’ 16 gauge steel
- One sheet of 48” x 80” expanded metal
- Forty-eight 8 x 8 x 16 cinder blocks (standard size)
- Masonry (“washed” play sand)
Where to Place Your Smoke Pit
After gathering these materials, you’ll need to scout where you want your smoke pit to be placed. Your end result should be around 6 ½ ft long by 4 ft wide, and you’ll need to place it away from any grassy/vegetation areas or wooden structures like patios, decks, and gazebos. Once you’ve found a good region for your pit, use your shovel, rake, and tamper to level the ground there to the best of your ability.
Laying Cinder Bricks for Smoke Pits
Now you can start assembling the base of your smoke pit. Lay out your cinder bricks in a rectangular shape of 5 brings long, 2 bricks wide. Place your stakes at the corners and remove your bricks. Dig 4-6 inches deep in that contained area and refill it will leveled masonry sand. You now have a fire-proof base that you can reassemble your 5 x 2 brick rectangle on again.
On only one short side, determine which side the front of your smoke pit will be where you will store charcoal or wood. Remove the two bricks on this side and stack another layer of bricks on the other three sides of your rectangle. Lay the sheet of expanded metal over this rectangle, then stack 2 more layers of cinder bricks on top of that. Lay both 4×4 steel sheets over this layer. You will lastly, set the 2×4 steel sheet at the front of your smoke pit for ventilation purposes.
More Backyard Renovations
As you can see, making your own backyard smoke pit isn’t as difficult as it may seem! The most taxing part of taking on this project is definitely the physical labor that is required to construct it. There are many different styles of smoke pits that you can choose to create, and any of our contractors at Fix My House can help you pick a design that matches your backyard landscaping the best. Adding new outdoor renovations will keep your backyard feeling lively and provide more of a reason to have more summer BBQ’s!
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