Best Materials for Building a Barbecue

Building a barbecue allows you to enjoy many things on the warm evenings of summer. The very thought of being able to cook your own specialty over burning charcoal can make your mouth salivate in anticipation. These foods include steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, or chicken. These are some of the simple pleasures in life that we simply cannot do without, and you can make it more special by building a barbecue grill that you can call your own. There are only a few materials that you need for making one, and the job is so simple, you do not have to hire the services of a professional to do a satisfactory job.

Barbecue Size

Perhaps the only specialized item that you need to buy in constructing a barbecue is the cooking grate. Almost any home depot or hardware store carries a stock of the standard round grate which is most often utilized in home barbecue grills. If it is hard in your area to find such grills, you can even make use of an oven rack placed on top of burning charcoals. Hence the only hard decision that you have to make is the size of your construction. Are you going to use it for family occasions only, or would there be a few friends who would be around? Do you intend to use your barbecue grill to host a big occasion or party? Your answers to these questions would decide the ultimate size of your barbecue, but for most homes, it would be enough to have a barbecue that has an 18 to 24-inch diameter.

Barbecue Grill Materials

A barbecue is built by stacking materials around an excavated area that is intended for holding burning charcoal or wood that will be used for cooking food. The best materials you can use for the task are paving stones. If you do not have these, then common bricks would be your next best choice. You can also make use of natural stones and rocks that have smooth surfaces. However, make sure that the natural stones you use have not been submerged in water. If they were, they will easily shatter or crack under extreme heat. They may even explode in your face.

Matching Your Barbecue to Your Home

If you need to match the finish of your barbecue to that of your home, stucco would be a material that will add color and versatility to your design. There are many surface textures that you can choose from that range from smooth colored surfaces to a swirling Spanish style texture. A base of concrete blocks or a backer board made from cement can be used for applying 2 to 3 coatings of stucco.

Random Cut Stones

If you want a rustic and unique look to your barbecue, you can make use of randomly cut stones instead. However, this option can be more expensive to install per square foot. You will also need more labor in its construction. The advantage of using this material is the wide variety of manufactured looks that it can give to your barbecue. There are various colors and designs for precast stones that were made to look like natural stones, but with only a fraction of the mass and weight of the real material.