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adventures in LA- brick smoker

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pjnla

pjnla

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Feb 11, 2013
82
14
Los Angeles, CA
i have been hopping on and off the last few days asking questions about the brick smoker i am building. let me start by saying thank you all for the help and advice. Wes W suggested i start a new thread so here i am.

good news for today. i found a fabricator to make my doors.  i think he got more excited about it than i. he is making three doors for me
  1. 18"x14"
  2. 24"x14"
  3. 24"x30"
1/4" diamond steel plate, 2" angle heavy guage frame, latch and lock for $500. pretty good for LA. not a lot of guys do that kind of work here in the city. i will post some of my less than work of art pics

pj
 
PJ,  Looks like a great start. 

Question.  Is your base just sitting on the ground, or do you have a good foundation under the pavers?   Once built, your going to have somewhere around a ton or better sitting there.

That doesn't sound to bad for the frame and doors.   See if he will throw the racks in with it. 

I'm kinda tall myself, I feel your pain man.  :-)

I'm all in for this one!!   
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cheers.gif
 
good eye. no worries. its an old concrete slab under there. and the hardest clay bed you could find under that. the reason for the pavers over the slab is because of the clay, i added several inches of dirt in the backyard to get anything to grow decently. the brick pavers brought the slab up to grass level. so it should be all good.
 
Sounds good.   You had me a little worried there for a second.   Sometimes people don't realize how much a pile of brick can weigh.   The footing is the most important part of a brick build.  If it fails, theres no way to fix it.

Look forward to seeing your progress

Wes
 
Okay...spent some more time with the paper, pencil, calculator, and measuring tape. time to start building.

let me start by saying my doors came out great. better than i expected. i "borrowed" and idea or two from west and got 2" angle with 1/4" steel plate for the doors.

next i got my materials. paid a guy to help me get the bricks home. giving him a couple bucks was cheaper then the $109 delivery charge i would have had to pay to the store. they get enough money from me anyway.

oly thing i need now is more time in the day. between the wife, and my kid's basketball games, and life in general i can only carve out a few hours per day on the weekend. made good progress today.

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IMG_1212.JPG

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IMG_1213.JPG

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Doors look awesome PJ.  I didn't think of diamond plated doors.  Nice touch!

Brick work looks great!

Once summer gets here the days will be longer.   Haha, when I was working on mine I stayed with it about every week-end till dark.    At a point it isn't fun anymore then it becomes work.  By the end of the summer I was ready for it to be finished.

You might do some price checking with the mortar.   You may be able to buy  your sand and mortar cheaper separate and mix it yourself.  I used type S mortar and mixed it 2parts sand 1 part mortar.   In this area sand is about $45.00 a ton.  Type S mortar is about $17.00 for 80lb. bag.    If your buying from a box store, you may want to compare with the building supply.  Box stores are not always cheaper, even if they say they are. 

Keep up the good work!    Take your time and get it the way you want it.  Once layed, its not easily changed.  :-)

beercheer.gif
   Cheers!
 
 
thanks wes.. much appreciated. brickwork looks easy on youtube!!!!!! lol. but it was slow going. strictly amatuer hour. lol. but it is fun. i work at a college so my 9-5 is mostly cerebral type of work, so it is good to get out and do something with my hands and get dirty. i put a 20'x30' deck on the house a few years ago, so this is my next thing.

"At a point it isn't fun anymore then it becomes work.  By the end of the summer I was ready for it to be finished." --------man i laughed my butt off at that one. i know the feeling.

i looked into mixing mortar myself, but it would be way too much hassle. you would be surpised  how complicated things like that can get here in the LA. since most people don't build and do things like this themselves, getting raw materials can be a real pain. i am originally from texas and i could get my hands on just about anything i needed, but its much different here. and things that were dirt cheap back home cost an arm-and a-leg here.

but its all good though. the first big BBQ will be worth it.

but i do have a question..why did you leave a two inch gap between your firbrick and the outside walls. i seen some others and they didn't do that. any advantages one way or another?
 
Last edited:
PJ,

I never really had any smarts in school.  I was just glad to get out of HS with a diploma.   I've always been hands on.   Never could afford to hire anything out.  I'm glad your enjoying the build.  Its very satisfying  to build something with your own hands and then smoke  the best meat around.  Your brick smoker  will produce a flavor none other can match.  real wood, real fire.  You can't duplicate that flavor! 

The space between the firebrick and block is for thermal expansion.  As firebrick get hot they expand.   It doesn't have to be that much.  It can be as little as a 1/4 inch.  I put fiberglass insulation in the dead air space to keep mortar from filling it up in the bottom, plus its just a little more insulated to keep heat in.   It also will keep the inside of the smoker from sweating.  It provides  insulation cushion between the dampness in the block and the inside of the smoker.  Think of it as a thermal pane window.  Two panes of glass,  cold outside, warm inside, no sweating.  I'm not saying you won't get a little moisture inside but not enough to be a problem factor.  I think in the 6 months I've been using mine, only a couple  time I seen moisture and it was after a hard wind driven  rain  and wind driven snow that got water inside the flue. 

I hope that answers your question.  

I'm liking what you've done so far!  Looks great

beercheer.gif
 
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Cheers!
 
Subscribed.

I can't wait to get a house of my own where I know I'm going to be somewhere for a while. I love doing stuff like this and your build is motivation to build one once I do get a house I can call my own. Looks great! Can't wait to see the finished product. Would love to taste some Q off of it as well.

Chad
 
 
Yeah. You get a house you can find all kinds of stuff to keep you busy and your wallet empty. We may buy a new house in the future, but that will just be an excuse to do it all over again.
 
Got some major work done last weekend. Just about finished the firebox. Gonna bolt in the door and put on the roof for it. Cast a 2" thick cement roof with rebar and mesh reenforcement. Made a mixture of cement and fireclay. Gonna finish lining with the firebrick and top it off. Then on to the main smoker compartment. I think that should go pretty quick. I'll post some pictures in a bit.
 
Aw, dude, I AM IN! 

I want to make a brick smoker so bad.  Looks awesome so far.  My thought are to put one on my paver patio as well.  I am pretty sure I will need footings, tho.  I'm in Wisconsin.  My driveway is heaved up by about 1 inch so far, no kidding.  It settles right back down once the frost is out in spring.  That is how much shit moves around here in the winter.  My doors in the garage don't close the same way as they do in the summer.  There are cracks in the garage sheetrock that open up in the winter and then close in the summer.  The house is fine, but the garage is on a floating slab and you'd be surprised how much that baby moves due to frost heave.

EDIT:

Is there a finish on those doors?  They're so shiny, like a chrome or ceramic.  They look great!

EDIT 2:

Here is a SolidWorks rendering of the pit I designed:

Assembled pit HD.JPG

Assembled pit HD.JPG

 
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PJ,  if you build a new house you might think about putting a smoker inside.  I've seen them in houses I've done work in where they will put the smoker beside the fireplace inside.   Fire door in the bottom and oven on top.   Flue out the top with the fireplace.   I'll never be in a new house but if I did I would build the house around the fireplace and smoker.   No more freezing your as off in the winter to smoke!
 
okay Wes...let's get this straight.....WIFE inside, SMOKER outside.

"i can't hear you dear...im outside!

what are you trying to do to me man!!! LOL LOL

pj
 
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