Building a Brick BBQ Smoker
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- Опубліковано 22 лип 2016
- This video shows how an individual with no masonry or sheet metal skill ("Joe Novice") was able to build the brick BBQ / Smoker seen in the video. A DVD is available that contains not only this video, but the following:
1. AN 87 PAGE DETAILED CONSTRUCTION NARRATIVE WITH 122 FULLY ANNOTATED PHOTOS IN PDF FORMAT
2. A High Definition Photo Gallery (over 260 photos) of every step (and misstep)
3. A list of "Do's and Don'ts" learned from this one year journey of construction
4. A chronological list of materials purchased, including costs and vendors used
5. A list of all the main dimensions of the design
GO TO www.ebay.com/itm/333238245470 - Авто та транспорт
Dear lord, that is a piece of art! Very well done sir! A build that you proudly can show to your friends!!!
Hey man, I appreciate the accolade. Thanks!
Dang that's sweet. I hope you're still loving it. I imagine that thing may very well survive for generations with proper upkeep.
thanks. yep, it's gonna last pretty well
Really great work... it looks FANTASTIC
Thank you, Kevin. I enjoy using it. Fortunately I have an endless supply of oak around here.
Beautiful work my friend...glad you done it for yourself, carpenter and Mason's know customers usually get much nicer things than what they actually have at their own homes
Thanks guy !
very nice job you did. Looking forward to doing something like this soon
Wow this is really impressive. Extremely fine job here sir. I bow down to you.
Many thanks for the kind words!
Wow! You are very talented for a novice. I'm very impressed. You've given me a lot of idea. Thanks for such a great video!
many thanks, Midnight. you might want to consider buying the dvd - it's loaded with photos, ideas, (and my mistakes ). good luck on your project
The damper handle is wood and aluminum (cedar sandwiched around aluminium bar stock) so it's not too hot to touch, and yes, I do occasionally make adjustments to get the temp where I want it during a cook. After I adjust it, the temp usually moves in less than a minute in the smoker column. I've been pretty pleased with the main damper device - I was worried that the smoke and heat from the main pit might not draft well into the smoker column, but it works perfectly.
That was an awesome job, thank you for taking the time out to share your ideas, I'm looking to start on making one myself....
mighty fine, Kevin. It's an enjoyable effort. you can take your time.
You do better than most professionals, very nice job
many thanks for the compliment, Kay
Well done! Thanks for posting!
Thanks James !
You are NOT Joe Novice. You are a talented welder and woodworker with a high level of creativity. Thanks for sharing!!!! Huge help!
Many thanks. Great for the old guy's ego !!
Many thanks, Rafael.
Gorgeous, beautiful job. I'm impressed.
Many thanks!
Wow! Very nice, Joe. Perhaps a bit advanced for my craftsman skills, but very awesome looking indeed!
Many thanks, Toby. Yeah, there were a few points in my "journey" where I wondered if I'd taken on too much for my novice skill level! Even at that, I've told some folks that even if the thing looks too imposing, that doesn't matter: I think my construction "journey" would probably provide some tips (and warnings) for the construction of any size masonry pit.
That is awesome, man you paid attention to all the details, bravo awesome job.
Many thanks, Jason. cooked on it yesterday, as a matter of fact..
I just bought a house and have really been wanting to build something just like this!! I love it! Awesome job!! Great design!
thanks, and congratulations on the house.
@@billthames9564 thanks Bill!
Novis? Really? If you are this good at all this just think how good you would be if you were a professional. Great job Joe. Really good creativity and attention to detail. Wish I had one of those in my back yard. Great job.
Many thanks, Jim
Thanks so much for the detailed video! Can’t wait to get started
Good Luck ! will be rewarding
That’s awesome exactly what I pictured something like that very well designed
Many thanks!
thank you... this video is going to help me. i didnt know about the fire bricks and that amazing fact about cedar wood... i love cedar wood especially the smell.
Thanks Dereka. Even more info available in the DVD. Lots of info on the concrete bricks, the firebricks, and the proper mortar for a BBQ pit, etc etc
Dereka Heath :h
Best design Ive seen on youtube
Thanks, man. You are great for the old guy's ego !
Cool video. Thanks for your narration.
Thanks Christian.
Great job Sir.
Beautiful project!
Many thanks, James!
That's freaking awesome.good job.
Thanks Tob
This is gnarly, love it. Inspiration!
Great! thanks for watching, Omar.
Many thanks baldwinandbeacon
Just saw the end of the video with the link 👍🏼
Very nice job Joe!
Thanks Fred.
I really love this smoker, I bet it is well insulated.
yes, it is. also takes a long time to heat during a winter cook, but it works fine.
Wow - that is impressive. I also think calling yourself a "novice" is heckuva an understatement.
If I can figure out where to put something like this in my yard I will definitely be ordering your DVD.
Nice job.
Thanks for the complements!!
nice job, perfect for the back yard
Thanks Rob.
I’d like to have one big enough to do a whole hog in. You did a great job on yours.
Did you find a design for it? Or any ideas?
Nice video, thanks for sharing
Yes Sir! Thanks for watching.
You made your own Brick BBQ looks so great feels like I want to smoke some meat thanks for sharing
thanks !
Great job, looks good.
Thank you Sir.
Brilliant build 💯🔥
Many thanks, man !
great work !
Many thanks, James
Wow, Nice job 😎
Joe is the man PERIOD
Ain't it da trut !! thanks Justin
great job. thinking of building one. this was helpful
Many thanks, Al, and good luck on your build.
Thanks
Novice? I don't think so. More like a journeyman. Great job.
Many thanks Z !
Work of art 🍺
Many thanks, Titan5 !
Great job Joe!!! A well constructed smoker, video, and commentary!!! I particularly enjoyed the quality of your delivery. You might consider venturing into performing readings, and put that great voice to work. You have a very welcoming quality.
Thanks Henry. Appreciate the kind words.
Great job!
Thanks Masta.
Awesome - I was looking for idea on how to make a something that function as a grill and smoker. I ordered the plans. I'm going to figure out how to add a rotisserie...
Thanks. I have your order ready to go out Monday.
you did a great job
Many thanks, Carlos!
Very nice looking and functional. I love it. Not including the slab pour, what was the cost of materials for this build?
Wow that is nice!!!
Thanks Ivan !
awsome job 😀.
Many Thanks !
that's pretty friggin smart for a novice. very impressive
many thanks..... I didn't have to start over too many times....
Looks amazing very impressed with your skill set any videos of meat after being smoked?
Never thought to take any food photos, however that's a good idea. I'll take some next time I do ribs or a pork butt. thanks
Post a video of the cooking!!GREAT JOB!!
Will do. next time I have a pork butt or ribs, etc, I'll take some photos.
This is amazing
thanks !
How hot does your damper door handle/adjuster get ?
do you adjust it (while cooking) w/ an ove-glove ?
great job
thank you Sir
very nice job
Many thanks !!
Wow!!! Wanna come to Alabama and build another !!!
Thanks for the invite, Jason. Think I'm getting too old to build another one of these....
Damn. That’s gorgeous. Damn.
thanks David.
Good job.
many thanks Samir
now that is nice!!!!
Thanks Andre !
Very nice 👌
thanks, Peter
Also Did you make it so that you can cook on the right hand side also smoke in the box or is the smoker box and the other one separate
How much does something like this cost to make? If you don't mind telling me. Looks awesome 👍🏼
Waoooo.😮!!!👍 Yo. Kiero. Una. Igual. 😊
SWEET!! Big Bertha
Many thanks, BB
nice job
Thanks blues.
Nice video
thanks Carlos
Will you be making a video cooking on your grill that you made and your smoker I would love to see one
Thanks David. Haven't thought about making a cooking video. might have an opportunity in December...when the crowd gets here.
I wanted to build a bowl to skate in my backyard and thought it would be sick if i had a brick bbq smoker right next to it i can skate the back wall of it
How did you first season it... 😂. That's an awesome, detailed build.
I just built a medium sized fire in the BBQ pit side, closed the fire door, then the lids after a few minutes and let the smoke go up and out the smoker side. Not much to it. The expanded steel grates which I use for a cooking surface also required some seasoning. I brushed olive oil on the grates and allowed the initial fire to season them up. Could also use PAM on the grates as well I guess. that was all that was done for seasoning.
great vid, i bet it was pricey though, well worth it!
Yeah, it cost more than I thought it would... you know how that goes. But, I enjoyed every minute, and still take some pride every time I fire it up. Thanks for the comment, Tommy.
Try to lay the bricks in zigzag not straight... For better connection... 👍
What temperatures do you get in the main pit and smoker on average? Like what is the easiest to maintain in there? I am about to build something like this at home but a bit larger and love this video.
generally speaking the temperature in the pit is double that of the smoker. For Example, if I have 600 degrees in the pit (where the fire is at), the smoker temp will be at 300. I use the unit mostly for smoking meat, so all I usually need is 220 to 275 depending on the meat, so the temp in the fire box is about double this value. As you could see in the video, my adjustable damper between the fire pit and the smoker handles 98% of my temp adjustment needs. I can also close the damper on the chimney for more smoke, or open the two vents in the deck lids for cooling, neither of which are hardly ever needed. In the winter, it takes about 45 minutes for the fire to get up to cooking temp in the smoker, even with the propane pipe lighting the logs. I thought that having thick walls (one ft thick) would make the temp easy to maintain for long periods, but generally I have to make upward adjustments every 45 minutes to one hour in cooler weather. If this thing was being operated continuously, like in a BBQ restaurant, I think it would probably hold temp for hours after all the walls were fully heated, but most of my smoking is not longer than 3-6 hours.
And you want us too believe this was your first time time building one of these😁
Yep, its true. However, it took me a year and two months to get it done...
Very nice build! Couple of questions…..With this build can you smoke from the grill area into the tower as well as what I would call a hot smoke directly below?
Also….ever tried baking in the tower section or a pizza? Thank You
thanks. I've decided to do all my smoking from the BBQ grill into the tower. Just putting a fire into the bottom of the tower was my original thought for smoking, but it's too small of an area for building a fire that will need to go on for 3 or more hours at 230 to 275 degrees. I guess if I was doing one of those "slow smokes" of 205 degrees or thereabouts it might be OK in the tower but would still require a lot of wood replenishment for long hour smokes. No, I've not tried using the tower for a pizza oven - it might work, even though there is no dome shape, per se, above the pizza.
Hey Joe,
I really liked how you put this thing together! I've watched a lot and I do mean a lot of videos the past 2 weeks on building my own smoker and nobody comes close to this! I hope your right when you said you had no previous experience in construction work... cause that line motivated me to want to try this design out.. so I purchased it off of eBay yesterday. I do have one question... Why did it take you a year? I don't want mine to take that long but would it require a full year of work to get it done? thanks
Good Question. One reason is that I had never done ANYTHING like this before, and I would sit quite a while planning the next move. Plus, this pit has basically 3 structures, the outer white bricks, the concrete blocks ("CMU's") in the middle, and a full lining of firebricks inside. The outer white bricks, a requirement of my local HOA, could be skipped altogether (kinda plain looking) or you could use a decorative version of the CMU's, ie., one facade is finished out in a design of your choosing; see examples at www.westbrookblock.com/cmus/. The real reason for something that a professional could probably do in two or three weeks (?), is that I was newly retired and was in no hurry, and also when you get retired, your relatives, your wife, and your friends think you have nothing to do, so you get loaded up with all kinds of jobs and activities that you wouldn't have to do if you were still working.
Hey Joe, great project, something I was waiting for! I've try Ebay link on your website but didn't work, is that DVD you mentioned still available?
Yikes ! Man, I appreciate you letting me know the link was NG. I will look into getting that fixed. Yes, the DVD is still for sale
and is under "How I built a brick BBQ Smoker" in Ebay. Here is the URL - I'm not sure it will display in this reply, but the label in the previous sentence should work. www.ebay.com/itm/How-I-Built-a-Brick-BBQ-Smoker-DVD/333238245470?hash=item4d968c185e:g:uiwAAOSwjXRXbUoz
Great thanks, seems I'll be busy for a year or so now🤔
@@andybrodziak5906 yeah, but it'll be fun all the way. take your time and enjoy your creation.
Nice job be cool to see you in a video using it and do a bit of smoking
Thanks Ben. I just might do that. some other folks wanted to see some smoked meats.
Incredible! How is it working for you?
been working fine for over 6 yrs. most enjoyable project i've ever done. took a year to build. fortunately I live in an area where oak is very abundant.
too cool
Hi John. thanks for watching the video.
I really like what you've done, but do you find the grill doors slamming shut in big gusts of wind?
no, they're way too heavy for anything other than a tornado to blow them down. It takes a pretty good lift just to get each one of them up and reclining on their "feet". I can do it with one hand, but it works better with two hands. That 3/16 inch steel plate is really heavy: I'm glad I didn't opt for 1/4 inch. I still favor the two hinged doors rather than one single door that would have to have a significant counterweight and pulley system, etc., over in the woods behind the BBQ pit. Thanks for the comment, Miles.
Hello Joe, Since youve had this a few years is there anything that you would change? I would use it as a smoker only and would like room for 4 briskets, 2 pork butts & 6 ribs.
Thanks
David Harmon
It's been working OK, but I rarely use it for grilling. 90% of the time I use the smoker column after having built the fire in the BBQ side - can't beat the real wood smoke. I occasionally finish off smoked meats on the grill to crisp them up, but most of the time I just put the finished meat in foil (or red butcher paper) and let them stay warm on the grill as the coals go out.
If all you want is to smoke, one of the pellet smoking cabinets, ie Traeger or their competitors, would be a much cheaper way to go than to build a $2K brick smoker. I've seen some as low as $300. I've not tasted any pellet smoked meats, but I'm told they do very well, and you don't have to watch the fire as closely as the standard wood-fired BBQ pit.
I still like mine because it has curb appeal.. it looks good (and you get to build a REAL fire). the pellet smokers are just another ready-to-rust metal box on your patio.
very cool build! How's the pit doing these days?
not much action here in the summer. it's 103 degrees before you even start the fire.
Wow that is impressive. How many hours of labor did it take i have dreamed of building one of these since i bought my house 4 years ago
thanks. I spent a whole year (March 2011 - Feb 2012, approx) working on this part time. enjoyed every minute of it, except for the record 105 degree heat in the summer months. Had a barrel fan blowing on me in the summer. Don't know how many hours I spent. I'm guessing it would take a pro's team about 3-4 weeks to do this, if he had multiple people cutting the sheet metal, laying bricks, pouring slab, etc.
Any chance of getting a copy of the how to guide? It looks like it is no longer available on ebay. Thanks.
Glenn, many thanks for letting me know the listing had "expired". Ebay did not notify me, which is a shocker, as they are always want sellers to relist things. Anyway, I just put it back up. You should be able to find it at www.ebay.com/itm/333238245470
Years ago while working in Denali National Park some friends and I gathered around a primitive outdoor fire pit lined with basalt stone. After the fire died down that stone retained heat for an amazingly long time. Do you think basalt could be used for a bbq pit? You wouldn't need fire brick for one.
probably so, since basalt makes up a some kinds of lava. however, it is rock-like in shape, as opposed to the formed, rectangular firebrick, which lends itself to being cased inside of a firepit with other dimensional stones, ie., bricks, etc.
I would love to get my hands on a digital download, as you don't ship to Europe, willing to pay the regular fee! Somebody help a man out that wants a decent BBQ/Smoker combo in his garden
send me an email to joe@joenovice.com and I'll work out some way to get you a digital download of the main document using your email address.
Absolutely amazing! Any prints or sketches for this that you would share?
Thanks. I don't have any sketches per se, but there are some additional still photographs at my web site, www.joenovice.com. Also, the DVD I'm selling on ebay has all the dimensions, and some addt'l 200+ photographs and an 87 page description of the build. heckuva bargain I think
Thank you Joe Novice for your instruction, I am hoping to use your design skills in my project. I am converting my brick gas bbq into a smoker. all of the bbq components have been removed so I am working with a firebrick lined structure into which I have mounted angle iron supports for three levels of shelves. My question concerns the fire pit which is 9 inches below the lowest shelf. I plan to burn various woods (hickory, cherry, charcoal etc.), sitting on a replaceable grating supported by 3/8" X 2" in angle iron struts which sit on 1/2 " angle iron mounted along the wall. This arrangement would hold the burning wood 1" off of the fire brick base. I would truly appreciate any advice you would be kind enough to offer for the design of my fire pit. I have never done anything like this before so Joe Novice in Spades!! :))
Bernie August 16, 2017.
Hi Bernard. Congrats on the conversion to wood fuel! When you move from BBQ grilling (300+ degrees) to smoking, the size of the firebox and the fire therein bear some consideration. In your case, you will be operating a "direct" smoker as opposed to an "offset" smoker. You'll need your fire box to produce heat in the 210 to 275 degree range, approx, so since the first rack is 9 inches from the fire, you will probably need a fairly subdued fire to keep it from burning or drying out the meat. Of course, you'll probably be using the higher racks most of the time, so that will help. You will notice that I had a firebox in the smoker column of my rig. As a practical matter, I discovered that long cooks, ie., 3 to 8+ hours at the minimum, would require a lot of maintenance of the fire in the little smoker firebox, so I prefer to draft the smoke/heat from my BBQ pit, which has a 4 times larger fire, through the variable damper into the smoker. So yours will work, but you'll have frequent visits to the firebox. I also added a small propane burner pipe in my smoker column to help keep the heat up for really long cooks (shameful to use gas at all, I'm told by the purists). use joe@joenovice.com for addt'l notes or photos.
is this good and safe for smoking chicken, brisket etc? whats the avg temp of the smoker part? do you have to smoke those meats for extended hours? thanks
Yes, it will smoke all the meats you mention, and it can be used for grilling also. You set the smoker temp where you want it, using the damper between the bbq pit and the smoker column. I hang a temp probe down into the smoker column. briskets take about 12 hours, pork butts 6 hours, pork ribs about 3 hours. I usually cook between 230 and 260, favoring the lower number. In the case of chicken, its' better just to BBQ it, because smoking tends to dry it out.
thank you and GREAT JOB! will try this but on a smaller scale.
That look great, how well has it work for you
no complaints. it's 7 years old now, and works fine.
Joe Novice quick question, how did you seal the doors on the BBQ side of your smoker, the ones over the fire box.?
there is no sealant. the metal frame holding the lids simply lays into a fairly precise opening and overlaps the edges by about two inches, thus there isn't much heat leakage. If I was going to seal the edges, I'd probably look for some kind of high-temp rope caulk. You notice that I have two adjustable vents, one on each lid, in case the fire in the BBQ pit gets too hot, which is not usually the case. The unsealed lids allow for some minor leakage, so I hardly ever need to open the lid vents.
You need to look up the definition of Novice. I’m pretty sure your use of the word was completely inaccurate.
Thanks, John. I don't know, it took me a YEAR to build this thing...
He's a novice at wording
I would like to know where did you get the door at
I cut all the doors out of 3/16 inch steel sheet, hanging off the tailgate of my truck - cut with a skilsaw and a metal blade. The door frames were made from angle iron and the doors cut to fit them. I didn't cut the frames until I had finished the brickwork surrounding the doors/lids: in that way I could cut an exact fit into the brick doorways
Joe! Could you tell me how much it cost to make the basic smoker and approximately how long it took? My husband and I are looking to build a few. Also, have you used it to smoke beef/ribs? how did that go?
It cost 1900. Estimates to have somebody else build it were $4,000 to 8,000 incl the materials. It took me a year but I was in no hurry and I had to think through every step, since I'd never done anything like this - it was my first retirement project - enjoyed it very much. Yes I've done beef ribs and pork ribs - 3 hours. Anytime the family comes out, they always want pork ribs - I've got that down pat. Also smoked pork butts (6 hours) which are super good, in addition to the items like chicken and hamburgers that you can do on the BBQ grill side of the unit. This thing will feed an army if need be. Fortunately I have unlimited supplies of Oak wood.
.When we have visitors, we always seem to gather around the patio where this unit stands, smoking away.
You can buy metal smokers for less bucks (and some for more bucks), but this is a permanent fixture on my property and I believe it adds to the value of my home. And, it ain't gonna rust away....
Thank you for your reply! My husband and I are in the process of preparing to open a bbq joint in Costa Rica and we are more interested in having permanent smokers in the back of the restaurant instead of buying metal ones. We definitely need a smoker that can feed an army. Thank you and God bless!
Torch will cut that sheet metal in no time. Move quick use a guide like 2x4 clap that down and smooth cut. Get the ol grinder, debur , grind and sand her down of needed.
I didn't think my torch could cut a straight line. Now we have plasma cutters that are fairly cheap, but my multi-pass of a skil saw worked ok.
What kind of brick do you use for the outer part, and where do you find it?
Arturo, That white brick on the outside was a manufactured brick known as "River Stone". You just have to call the brick suppliers and ask if they have it, I don't know if its still made. There's nothing magic about it: you can use any brick. I had to use it because the homeowner restrictions where I live require any structure on the property to be built with the same brick as the house, which mine was.
@@billthames9564 I'm asking because I think it looks great. Looks like it was a lot of work, but well worth it.
@@ArturoGarzaID Thanks. Yep, enjoyed every minute of building it, even though it took about a year at my pace.
How has it held up over these years? Anything you would have done differently?
Still going strong - works fine. One of the colored bricks in the front, near the BBQ pit door, developed a crack in the mortar when the BBQ pit is at full heat. Doesn't interfere with anything. I have presumed it was because I used a 1/4 inch thick, 4X4 inch Brick Lentil over the main BBQ pit door (see photo #29 from my DVD) - That's a lot of iron to get hot. I should have used a simple piece of 3 inch wide flat iron to lay bricks over the main door. Only other thing that didn't work was my use of little short lengths of iron pipe (see photos 126 and 128 from the DVD) embedded in the walls of the BBQ pit to hold the lengths of rebar that support the expanded steel cooking grill. Those little pieces of iron pipe rusted out and made it more likely for the rebar to fall out of their support holes. Should have used brass, or thick aluminum, or something that doesn't rust.
How long do you anticipate the wood smoker rack supports will last?
The rack supports in the smoker column are "split" firebricks, turned on their flat edge and jutting out into the smoker column about an inch to form a shelf. These racks are supporting expanded steel cooking grate, which shows no hint of giving up, especially since they are always being "oiled" by the meat being smoked.
the 1/2 inch rebar rods used to lay across the width of the main BBQ pit are removable and are inserted loosely into three inch sections of 1/2" steel pipe that are embedded into the firebrick walls to act as a support for the rebar rods. These rebar rods are then supporting the same kind of expanded steel cooking grates that are in the smoker column (I think it's called "3/4 Inch" grating), and neither have given any indications of failure. they've been in use now for 7 years with no hint of failure, or even sagging. I would not use anything smaller than 1/2 inch rebar because it might sag under the heat of the startup fire.
You can see the rebar rod installation details (w/o the expanded steel grate in place) at www.joenovice.com. Look for photos numbered, 130, 143, and down at the bottom, for photo #128.
Joe Novice Nice! I mistook the split bricks for wood. Long live your cool smoker/BBQ!