DIY Gas Brick Oven

Preparing the Site

• 1

  Select the location for your gas brick oven. Dig a hole 2 feet deep, 4 feet long and 4 feet wide for the foundation using a garden spade. Check the depth and dimensions with a tape measure as you work.

• 2

  Pour gravel or recycled, crushed concrete into the hole until it is even and within 4 inches of the level of the ground.

• 3

  Combine water and concrete mix in a metal or plastic wheelbarrow, stirring thoroughly with a trowel. Use the correct amount of water based on the concrete mix manufacturer's directions.

• 4

  Pour the concrete onto the gravel foundation. Scrape out remaining concrete from the wheelbarrow with a trowel, and smooth the surface of the wet concrete with a trowel. Wait for the concrete to set overnight, or as long as the concrete mix manufacturer recommends.

Building the Oven

• 5

  Outline the basic dimensions of your oven's footprint by placing firebricks in a rectangle on the hardened concrete. A gas brick oven should be about 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep.

• 6

  Prepare a mortar mix using water and a wheelbarrow, stirring the mixture with a trowel until you have an even consistency. Apply a generous amount of mortar to the bottom of one firebrick. Press it firmly in place.

• 7

  Remove the next firebrick and apply mortar to the side of the first firebrick. Add mortar to the bottom of the second brick and press it into place so that it joins with the neighboring brick and the concrete foundation.

• 8

  Continue adding mortar to the bricks until you have completed the first rank, or row, of bricks. Build only three sides of the oven to allow access to the gas flame. Cut away a 2-inch square from the corner of one brick with a masonry saw before installing it to allow the gas line to enter the oven.

• 9

  Add a second rank of bricks using the same procedure as the first rank. Stagger the bricks in this row so the centers of the bricks in the second rank are placed over the seams between bricks in the rank below. Cut the bricks that form the ends of the rank with a masonry saw so their edges align with the bricks below them. Mix new mortar if your supply runs out or begins to dry out.

• 10

  Insert a gas fireplace flame element into the open area inside the oven. Screw it into place with the supplied masonry screws, attaching it directly to the concrete foundation. Position the flame element so that the attached gas line exits the oven through the 2-inch hole you created.

• 11

  Apply mortar to the top of the second rank of firebricks. Place a solid, preformed 2-inch concrete slab over the top of the opening.

• 12

  Construct two additional ranks of bricks on top of the edges of the slab, around the same three sides that form the heating compartment below. Install a second slab on top of the baking compartment.