How to Build a Barbecue Grill Base
- 1). Mix the mortar, following the manufacturer's mixing directions exactly. "Throw" or lay a line of mortar, two bricks long and around ½-inch thick, using the trowel. Furrow the mortar through the center of the line using the "V" tip of the trowel. Set the first brick into the mortar and tap it down with the end of the trowel. "Butter," or spread mortar, onto the end of the second brick and set it in place abutting the first; tap it down to the same height.
- 2). Continue in this manner, throwing a line of mortar and buttering the ends of the bricks until the first row of the three sides of the grill base is down. Use the level to check that all the bricks are even.
- 3). Lay the next row, staggering the joints of the bricks. Because of the stagger, add some half bricks to compensate. To cut the half bricks, place the brick chisel on the halfway point of the brick, and give a solid tap with the mallet. Trim off any jagged portions with the chisel and set in place as you do other bricks. Continue until you have 1 foot worth of base laid.
- 4). Position three bricks on the side walls, and two on the back wall with half their length jutting out past the rest of the wall into the center of the base; this will form a ledge the grill plate can sit on. Build a ledge into every second row of bricks so that the barbecue grill base has adjustable levels for the grill plate or the coals. Stop once the base is around 3 feet high.
- 5). Smooth over all the mortar lines with the end of the trowel to give the base a clean, professional look. Let the base cure for three days. Before lighting a fire in the base, line the inside of the bottom foot of the base with firebricks to help insulate the cooking fire. If you want to use barbecue coals instead of a fire, insert a metal mesh plate onto one of the lower ledges to place the coals on.