Outside Fire/ Cooker / BBQ

The outside Fire/Cooker/ BBQ and Oven.

I was chatting to one of our neighbours over a cold beer and mentioned that I was going to build an outside fire/ BBQ area with the plan of having a sub fire oven for those delicious long slow roasts. He said he would be up the next day with something that might be useful.
He turned up with one of those cast iron fire plates with a cast relief of a blacksmith on it although it might be a saint I don’t know and as I helped him lift it from the boot I realised I had another plan forming about the sub (under) fire oven.
I would build a fire with the fireplate in the middle and leave behind it hollow and create an oven/hot box on the other side that would use the heat that radiated through.
The idea was to knock it up in block then render it in fireproof cement and have fire bricks at the outer edge to protect the stone cladding the whole thing would receive.
So these are the first few photos of that starting to occur with the blocks going up and the fire plate installed




Here is the gap behind that will allow the hot air to rise to the oven



So what do you reckon? is it a saint or just some blacksmith bloke? Or is it the patron saint of blacksmiths?



Then cutting the blocks around the fire plate


Here is the block work complete (using up some old blocks I had hanging about) and also the bottom line of fire bricks. The void behind them was filled with fire cement to make the fire base. This was the last bit I did because I had to go back to sea and so MrsB took over to complete the first stage. AS ever she has created some great featured stonework on what will become (I think) a very useful and much used feature for the outside of the house.



Then putting the fire bricks on the outer edges, the basket in the middle toning down the red plate and rendering the blocks with fire cement . We bought the fire cement at a brico shed and the mix used is 3 sand 1 cement 2 fire cement.


There will be a lintel in behind the plate to enable me to build up and seal it off form the main fire but as I have said I may have some controllable vents to let more heat in should it be required. The shelf in the oven will also be hinged to allow stuff to be put lower down.


Now MrsB links up the wall to blend it into the fire. All of our exterior walls have some pieces of metal in them that were all found in the original house or garden.
The intention is that when finished the fire will have an arched top (like a dutch barn) done in fire brick then covered in stone. The front will remain open, down from the height shown, with a lintel across and built up from there to meet the arched top. No-one would want to stand in front of the fire to cook which will be done from the left side where the oven door will also be situated.





Here you can see the wall being made and the earth and debris used as packing which will also act as a good insulator.






And now the rounded back which will then be rounded vertically to meet with the arched roof to give it the look of an old bread oven (albeit a small one) that are native to the local area. The large piece of metal is from the old cider press. You can also see in the first photo the void I have left to allow the radiation of heat to the oven which will be above (when it is built). I may even go to the extravagance of putting in some vents to allow more heat in from the fire box in case the radiated heat isn’t enough. In arched roof I will also be installing removable lattice for smoking food.
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This is where you will stand to cook with the oven on the left and the grill in front of you. The interior will also have brackets sticking out which hold the cast iron BBQ fire-pan when a log fire is not required. It would work as normal BBQ in summer or in colder times a useful outdoor fire with oven and slow cooker above.


(In the above photo you can also see how the sleeper ends have been left clear should we ever need to lift them to get at the land rain and sump below as mentioned on the previous thread.)

Here is this side wall finished although we may just cut the big stone back into the garden a bit more to give more standing room in front of the cooking section.


Here you can see the marble slab that will be a work surface. This will join a wider piece on the left near the back I front of the oven door.





Here if apply a bit of imagination you should be able to see in your minds eye the arched roof with a little chimney and lovely roaring fire on an autumn evening with a sorts of delicious foodie smells emanating from the same



Cheers
Bentley