How to Install a Built-In Brick Grill

Choose a location for your grill. The area should be paved and set away from overhanging structures like a tree or house.

Wet down the bricks you plan to use for the grill with a hose the night before you begin construction. This will prevent the bricks from absorbing too much moisture in the mortar while you work.

Lay down your charcoal tray in the future location of the grill. This is a flat metal tray where you plan to burn the charcoal when you grill. This tray should have the same dimensions as the grill because it will be resting on a shelf of bricks inside the grill. Position the tray exactly as you would like to see the grill positioned. Draw a chalk outline around the two sides and the back of the charcoal tray. This chalk outline represents the interior edge of the grill. The outline should be approximately 1/4 inch away from the edge of the tray to give the tray a little extra clearance for easy insertion and removal.

Lay the first course of bricks so the interior edge is flush with the chalk outline you drew around the charcoal tray. This is a "dry run," meaning that you are not yet using mortar. The purpose of a dry run is to determine the layout and placement of the bricks. Leave a 1/2-inch space between each brick. Lay two courses of bricks in your dry run, then disassemble the bricks.

Mix your mortar in a bucket according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Use a mortar mixer drill-attachment to mix the mortar.

Spread a layer of mortar around the chalk outline directly beneath the future location of the bricks.

Lay the first course of bricks, as you did in the dry run in Step 4. Use a trowel to spread the sides of the bricks with mortar before you set them into place. When the first course is laid, scrape off excess mortar with the trowel.

Spread mortar over the top of the first course of bricks, then lay the second course of bricks in the same way as the first.

Press a jointer or length of pipe into the joints between the bricks to make a concave mortar joint.

Continue to build up the brick structure until you've laid approximately five courses of bricks. On the sixth course, lay the bricks so that they are perpendicular to the previous courses, with the edge of the bricks sticking into the interior structure of the grill. This will create a ledge that will hold the charcoal tray.

Lay the seventh and eighth course of bricks as you laid the first five courses. Then lay the ninth course of bricks perpendicular to the previous two courses, to create another shelf. This will be the shelf for your grill rack.

Lay three more courses of brick in the standard fashion, like the first five courses.