Building Outside Braai

netstrider said:
Those are all nice, but I don't actually want a pit because water, airflow and the hassle of having to lean in deep to get ashes out.

Here's what I want as a raised platform, drawn as best I can.

2x grids on poles (guess those will have to be custom-made as well) which can adjust up and down and be removed completely. A swivel slide between the two grids in the centre so they can form one big grid if necessary.

See the drawing below.View attachment 1092395
Click to expand...
Just had flashbacks to the "Handwerk Onnie", you would have probably have gotten a lot "rooi streepies" for that drawing.
 
netstrider said:
Those are all nice, but I don't actually want a pit because water, airflow and the hassle of having to lean in deep to get ashes out.

Here's what I want as a raised platform, drawn as best I can.

2x grids on poles (guess those will have to be custom-made as well) which can adjust up and down and be removed completely. A swivel slide between the two grids in the centre so they can form one big grid if necessary.

See the drawing below.
Click to expand...
How high do you want that to be? Don't see that dimension on your drawing. Building that should not be a big issue. Depending on your soil type I would first do a foundation with some rebar in. Then build the outer walls and fill the inside with sand. Then on top a layer of cement/brick. This should ideally be fire brick to handle the heat. A layer of cement is likely to crack. In my braai I just packed normal facebricks (they have holes in the middle) on top of the cement slab and have had no issues over the last few years. Bricks are loose so they can expand under heat, and the coals are on a grid about 5cm above the bricks.

Any builder should be able to build this for you.
 
rh1 said:
Just had flashbacks to the "Handwerk Onnie", you would have probably have gotten a lot "rooi streepies" for that drawing.
Click to expand...
Jip, that "sketch" is somewhere between isometric and something else
:)
 
furpile said:
How high do you want that to be? Don't see that dimension on your drawing. Building that should not be a big issue. Depending on your soil type I would first do a foundation with some rebar in. Then build the outer walls and fill the inside with sand. Then on top a layer of cement/brick. This should ideally be fire brick to handle the heat. A layer of cement is likely to crack. In my braai I just packed normal facebricks (they have holes in the middle) on top of the cement slab and have had no issues over the last few years. Bricks are loose so they can expand under heat, and the coals are on a grid about 5cm above the bricks.

Any builder should be able to build this for you.
Click to expand...
Yes,

Well, I'm estimating 6-8 bricks high (didn't make a measurement but that would be 73mm x 6, 7, or 8 (with the actual fire level being one brick lower). So about 600mm-700mm high roughly. Yes, a foundation will be put down first.

According to the clay brick and paver manufacturers of Southern Africa fire bricks are not necessary since it's not a pizza oven.

Firebricks (or refractory bricks) are totally over-specification in a domestic fireplace or braai. They are also expensive and not easily available. Refractory Bricks are normally rated from around 1600’C upwards - a braai will never reach this heat.


Any clay face brick or semi-face (fired) brick can be used for a braai. Facebricks are fired to around 1000 – 1250’C to stabilise their structure, and they have a high thermal mass which helps them insulate for heat. The heat in the fireplace would need to be higher than this to have any effect on the brick.
Click to expand...

Selecting bricks | Clay Brick Association of Southern Africa

www.claybrick.org.za www.claybrick.org.za

So I will need this:

FBX - FACE BRICK EXTRA
Clay bricks that are selected or produced for their durability and high degree of uniformity of size, shape and colour
 
Last edited:
netstrider said:
Yes,

Well, I'm estimating 6-8 bricks high (didn't make a measurement but that would be 73mm x 6, 7, or 8 (with the actual fire level being one brick lower). So about 600mm-700mm high roughly. Yes, a foundation will be put down first.

According to the clay brick and paver manufacturers of Southern Africa fire bricks are not necessary since it's not a pizza oven.



Selecting bricks | Clay Brick Association of Southern Africa

www.claybrick.org.za www.claybrick.org.za

So I will need this:

FBX - FACE BRICK EXTRA
Clay bricks that are selected or produced for their durability and high degree of uniformity of size, shape and colour
Click to expand...
Sure, face bricks should be fine. That is what I used as well. The issue is with the cement, I saw recommendations to add more sand to the mixture to allow for thermal expansion. I decided to just put a loose layer of bricks on top so that they can expand.

You are looking at roughly 0,6m^3 of sand to fill up the inside. Can also use stone first and then sand on top I suppose? Then a cement layer and then the loose bricks on top.
 
forget a little thermal expansion in concrete, it will explode if exposed to high enough heat like a braai, huge no no. So if you are ever building a fire pit, do it with bricks and never concrete, and bricks are so much easier to work with.
 
Fire pits, exciting. I was once at a terrain which had a sunken pit, but it is a bit weird to explain, anyway I really this guy's design,


but that is not smokeless. Then there are assisted pits to help it breathe, yada yada.

It should not be too hard to raise. Hmmmm, makes me think whether you can build a pizza oven into a raised pit :unsure:
 
netstrider said:
Those are all nice, but I don't actually want a pit because water, airflow and the hassle of having to lean in deep to get ashes out.

Here's what I want as a raised platform, drawn as best I can.

2x grids on poles (guess those will have to be custom-made as well) which can adjust up and down and be removed completely. A swivel slide between the two grids in the centre so they can form one big grid if necessary.

See the drawing below.View attachment 1092395
Click to expand...
I have one like this at my house. Its so kak I had a better braai built. The only time you can use it is when theres absolutely no wind outside.
 
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