Quick question - can you use ordinary bricks to build a brick BBQ or do you need to use special fire bricks?

K/B it is my understanding you need the fire brick but you can enclose it with the red brick
from what I have seen back in the states

K/B, plenty of barbies are built in Oz from ordinary house bricks (or from concrete blocks for that matter).

Not sure how they compare to the local brick though.

Normal brick OK... just leave motar in fire area flush with outside of brick (ie..do not rake out) this stops face of brick breaking off after a couple of firings. Fire bricks character (used usually in furnaces) to "reflect" heat back into a clay melting pot. (for metal etc) Wouldn't be too keen on concrete block (they tend to explode)

Thanks all, Going to give the project a green light starting this weekend. Will let you know how it turns out

A friend of mine and myself built one in Fiji years ago. Got pissed and felt like a barbie, so we got some bricks and a peice of metal and knocked it together. Put a concrete slurry on the outside, as neither had laid bricks before and it was a bit messy looking.

Worked fine, but they complained about the smoke going into the upstairs windows.

3 comments from Aussies, says it all really, cant have a summer without a Barbie !

Kev wrote:A friend of mine and myself built one in Fiji years ago. Got pissed and felt like a barbie, so we got some bricks and a peice of metal and knocked it together. Put a concrete slurry on the outside, as neither had laid bricks before and it was a bit messy looking.

Worked fine, but they complained about the smoke going into the upstairs windows.

Try putting the windows on the ends.

Tread carefull Thailand has strict planning regulations for brick constructions of any shape of form. I would strongly suggest you get you plan's drawn up by a competent draftsman and sumit them to the local authority's who will inturn send a competent surveyor to make a decision based on practicality of the disired plot and to observe the building material intended to but use for the constrution this process will rule out any problems with the local authority's and catastrophic sub standard material failure in the future.

good luck

A bit far fetched MM don't you think it's only a BBQ....Anyway it's all but complete

K or B, I am sure MM has his tongue firmly in his cheek (as well as his commas and full stops in his back pocket)

I built one about 30 years ago, still standing. Common pressed clay bricks, brickies loam, cement and a litthe lime in the mortar mix.

John