How to Build an Outdoor Fireplace: Step-by-step Guide for Beginners

Fireplaces are one of the most breathtaking additionals to have for your home. It is both a decorative as well as a functional part as fireplace becomes an important place that can warm you up. This can be a great option to spend your evening and morning time for relaxation.

In order to have this done properly, you need to plan it in a careful manner for the fireplace to be built well. This is certainly not easy and we cannot figure it out easily. So you need to apply careful assessments before the construction. You can also make an adorable outdoor fireplace from scratch.

It’s always better to do things on our own. Especially these kinds of things that you can do in a very easy way and the sort of thing that is important to you. Instead of just giving it to a contract as project work and not meeting your expectations, finally, regret it later.

If you have to do it yourself, you cannot just bring some bricks and cement and construct. Just like any building construction, this also needs to have a plan.

Build an Outdoor Fireplace
patio at dusk

How to Build an Outdoor Fireplace

Here’s the guide to construct a perfect outdoor fireplace by yourself. 

1. Choose the Place for a Fireplace

To do this, you may have to consider a few of the major elements like ambiance is all about the space you require according to the type of occasion you can have. For example, if it’s a casual family meeting, a small fireplace for a cozy evening could just be right. But if you are organizing a party at your outdoor fireplace, you need to make sure having a large fireplace with two outlets in order to accommodate a large number of people.

The second factor to consider is its functionality. Apart from the place you choose, you also need to be aware of the design of the fireplace with some additional installations for decorating or for other purposes. 

2. Fix a Design You Want for the Fireplace

Here, the word design includes the architecture of it along with the type of material you want to use. Usually, for the fireplace, it is recommended to use stonework because it gives the fireplace a traditional look. Apart from that stucco is also a good option. 

3. Choose the Right Type of Fireplace

There are two kinds of fireplace that can be developed- Gas and Wood burning. The best-recommended type is wood burning as it provides a natural vibe all over the place. 

Even before we get to the procedure, let’s take a look at the materials that might be required

Materials: 

  • House bricks of around 2,000
  • 100 fire bricks
  • 200 concrete blocks
  • Muriatic acid
  • Water
  • Wood and bendable board
  • 75 bags of mortar mix and fireclay
  • 13X13 ceramic flue pipe
  • Angle bar
  • Steel bar
  • Sand Crete and pea gravel
  • Fireplace rate and a black pipe
  • Tape measure, hardware pencils, and strings
  • Bricking towel, a brick jointer, and brick spacing rule
  • Sponge and hose
  • Drill, grinder, and crowbar
  • Bar clamp
  • Wheelbarrow and industrial hoe

Procedure

When we start constructing a house, building, apartment or anything as such, we put a layout of foundation on the construction site. The reason is to keep the construction strong enough to stand for several years. Similarly, we use a foundation to keep the architecture of our fireplace strong. You cannot skip this part if you want a permanent fireplace.

In case you are on a camp and need it just for a few days, you can do it without the foundation. Dig the ground 27 inches deep, 52 inches wide and 48 inches tall to make a perfect foundation that is strong enough for the fireplace. To make this process simpler consider the following: dig 3 feet deep and around 8 feet long and 2.5 feet wide.

After you are done with this, pour the prepared concrete mix into this rectangular block with 4 feet and lay concrete bricks. Put some pea pebbles and sand Crete. Get 2X2 inch board and make four-foot wooden bars across corners of concrete. Tie the strings along with the wooden post. Now you are done with the foundation.

It’s time to construct the walls. Use a bricking towel to spread mortar on the corner of the foundation and the bricks if a layer of bricks is already done. Push the bricks to sit properly using a rubber mallet. Remove the extra mortar mix. Use a brick jointer for a clean finish. Lay the bricks all over except for the front part of the fireplace.

After this is done properly, install the grill. Lay bricks for 3 stacks and then measure 26 inches from the center of the grill side. Make a frame of 35 inches tall, set it properly and mark. Then start bricking it up. 

Now the hardest part is to lay bricks at the upper part and at the top. To do this, place an angle bar carefully across two sides of the support. Now take out the box and install the grill after mounting the entrance door. Use stone slabs and attach fire valves on either side of the grill. The outer part is done.

Now make the firebox. The firebox is advisable to be square and so we might recommend you to measure 29X29 inches from the base to the base of the architecture to make an entrance. Use fire bricks and fire clay and mortar so that it withstands the heat. Mix the fire clay, lay the fire bricks at the base and the sides of the box.

Remove extra mortar by the help of a sponge dipped in water. Lay bricks by adding eight inches more to make a smooth chamber.

Now install the chimney pipe. Take the angular pipe again and place at the insides of the fireplace interior. Get a two feet tall ceramic glue pipe and set it on top of the angle bar that you placed previously. Cover the holes on both sides of the pipe.

For a good fireplace use plywood. Set the above ceramic glue pipe that we installed on top of the box that was made. Add some fire clay and cover it up. 

Your fireplace is ready to use. 

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