Prefab Fireboxes Make
Barbecue Building Easy
By Sheldon M. Gallager
B ACK-YARD barbecue builders are
getting a whole new crop of pre-
fab aids to make the job go faster.
These are ready-made grills and fire-
boxes that you surround with simple
masonry enclosures to turn them into
fully operating outdoor fireplaces. You
can buy a prefab unit, complete with ad-
justable grates, a fire door and an ash-pit
door, for as little as $30.
Most models can be slipped out of the
masonry enclosure, knocked down to a
car-trunk fit, and carried with you. For
temporary use, they work well without
an enclosure. In winter, you can store
them indoors to prevent rusting and
weathering. In addition to open grills,
you can get such frills as a Dutch oven
for boiling and baking, griddles, surface-
cooking tops, even an incinerator.
Setting it up. The metal unit comes
disassembled and can be bolted together,
ready for use, in a few minutes. The kind
of masonry you surround it with depends
only on your taste, skill and time.
Before you mix up the mortar, it's a
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Concrete blocks plus firebox make a neat and simple barbecue

SCREEN CAP
CHECKS SPARKS
8" x 17" x 21"
CHIMNEY BLOCKS
(7 REG).)

8" x 8" x 16
FULL-CORNER
BLOCKS (30 REQ.) 8" x 8" x 16"
BULL-NOSE
BLOCKS (14 REQ.)

BUILD UP CARDBOARD
CHIMNEY SPACER (IF
BLOCKS YOU BUILD
FIRST AROUND
METAL UNIT)
CHISEL OUT
SMOKE HOLE
6" IN DIA.

8" x 8" x 16"

ASH-PIT (LAID ON
FLOOR. SIDE)

4" x 8" x 16"

1" x 25" x 32½" USE MASONRY (LAID ON SIDE)
STONE OR PAINT
CONCRETE 8" x 8" x 16"
COUNTER TOP (LAID ON SIDE)

SLAB, 6" TO 8" THICK

MAKE SLAB 1"
OR MORE WIDER. SAND-AND-GRAVEL
ALL AROUND MIXTURE

BLOCK ENCLOSURE starts with slab, for which one-by-eight

form boards are set above sub-base (top left photo).
Chimney, of standard square "doughnut" blocks, is built
up next. Blocks on their sides form ash-pit floor. Slate or
concrete slabs make "counters." This barbecue, designed
for Majestic firebox, can often be bought as a package
that includes both the metal unit and masonry materials.

good idea to pile the blocks or stones
loosely around the firebox and test-run
through a couple of steaks to see how
you like it.
Location. For the sake of your neigh-
bors and guests, try to place your fire-
place so that it doesn't spew smoke either
at you or at the house next door.
The best spot is on high ground with
the front facing in the direction of pre-
vailing winds to provide good draft and
carry the smoke up and away. Keep the
grill away from valuable trees, as the
heat may eventually kill them.
The slab. Because the foundation is
relatively small, you can "float" it on a
bed of sand and cinders, instead of on
deep footings. The slab will rise and fall
slightly without harm.
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Lay out the slab 1" wider than the fire-
place, allowing for mortar joints be-
tween your blocks. Dig a pit about 10"
deep and fill the bottom 6" with sand
and gravel mixed together. Set form
boards so that the slab will project 2" to
3" above ground level.
Mix the concrete no leaner than one
part cement, 2½ parts clean sand and four
parts gravel. Pour 3" or 4" of concrete,
then lay in the reinforcing mesh—10-
gauge wire or even old fencing. Pour the
remaining 3" or 4" of concrete and tamp
firmly around the wire, but don't push
the wire down—it must remain suspended
about midway. Let the slab dry under
wet burlap for at least two days before
building on top of it.
Laying the blocks. Most fireboxes are
Pick a prefab to suit your space and cooking needs

SHALLOW FIREBOX is
designed to fit into a
garden wall. This model
has a removable top in
two sections so that you
can use it as double
grill, double solid top,
or combination of both.

NARROW FIREBOX is
meant for free-standing
barbecue, needs only a
little space. It offers
same cooking area as
shallow wall type. Up-
per door is for fire, low-
er door for the ash pit.

VERTICAL FIREBOX cooks 35½"

both sides of meat sus-
pended inside it, and
prevents grease from 11½"
dripping into fire. This
1½"
Donley unit is remov-
able, hanging on hooks
embedded in masonry. 31½"

13"

11½" 12½" 11½"

4" FLUE

DUTCH OVEN consists of two separate

15½" OVEN POOR self-framed metal doors that are ce-
mented into a hollow opening in the
BRICKS PROJECT masonry. To support upper grate,
FROM SIDES
the masonry is constructed with a
ledge of brick projecting slightly in-
ward on each side. The fire is laid
on the lower grate, which is blocked
up on bricks at the corners.
12" ASH-PIT DOOR

24"
 Fancy layouts, simple grills, start with built-in fireboxes

FOR CHARCOAL COOKING, an en-

closure of firebrick—one brick
thick, without a chimney—was
built around this Homer firebox.

designed to fit within standard blocks

and bricks so that you don't have to do
any cutting. Some are tall enough to
stand directly on the concrete slab; others
must be blocked up to a comfortable
work-surface height (30" to 32"). This
is another good reason for laying out the
blocks loosely—it gives you a chance to
see how many rows you'll need.
You use the firebox as a form and build
the enclosure around it—but not mortared
directly to it. Set sheets of corrugated
cardboard against the metal sides and
build the masonry against these. The fire
will burn the spacers away, leaving a
gap so that the metal can expand.
If your firebox has open sides, you may
want to enclose it with fire bricks. Set
them edgewise for a lining, flatwise for
a single-wall enclosure. Use special fire- BIG BARBECUE includes storage niches and a
clay mortar, not regular cement, and special firebox. This one, made by Outdoor Fire-
keep the joints extra thin—about 1/16". place & Equipment Corp., has a removable crank
handle to raise or lower the fire grate.
A firebrick lining is a must if you build
with either limestone or sandstone, as grates. You need a high grate position
these crack easily under heat. for charcoal, a low one for wood. For
A chimney? If you're strictly a char- burning logs, a chimney is usually re-
coal cook, you won't need one, but be quired to increase draft and channel
sure that the grill you buy has adjustable away the heavier smoke. END
More information about barbecue fireboxes can be obtained from: Colonial Fireplace Co,, 540 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago 44;
Donley Brothers Co., 13902 Miles Ave., Cleveland 5; Homer Foundry Corp., Coldwater, Mich.; Majestic Co., Inc., 115 Erie
St., Huntington, Ind.; Outdoor Fireplace & Equipment Corp., 347 Monroe Ave.. Kenilworth, N. J.; Outdoor Oven Fireplace
Co., 872 Windsor St., Hartford 1, Conn.
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