September 13th, 2007

Living a greener life #2- Building a backyard grill

Posted by Alex Payson at 9:43 am

Last week I wrote about joining a CSA and the incredible bounty of fresh, local produce that it provides.

Today I will cover one option for cooking up those veggies (or meat/fish/anything else) that may be filling your fridge.

For those with any sort of backyard, large driveway, or any sort of open space outside, you can build your own grill on a very limited budget. (As a free alternative, most people probably already have all the materials needed to build a grill lying around.) The grill I describe below is the most basic design- you can increase the size or shape as needed as this grill is completely freestanding and can be disassembled and put back together in a matter of minutes.
Materials Needed

~40 standard size bricks (or fewer larger bricks/cinderblocks)

2 large slabs of concrete or sheets of metal at least 20″x25″

1 grilling grate

You can buy all the materials needed new from Home Depot or Lowe’s for ~$40.

The grilling grate itself costs about $10, the bricks will run ~$15, and the concrete slabs will be ~$15.

To assemble your grill.

1) Make sure you have a clear area at least 5′x5′ with no buildings/branches overhead that could be damaged by the heat.

2) lay down one concrete slab for the floor of the grill (These slabs can be quite heavy so you may want a friend to help).

3) The left and right walls can be built with 15 bricks on each side. For the right wall, place a layer of 6 bricks on the right hand edge of the slab- two wide and three long, standing on their long side. Repeat this with a second layer of bricks. The third layer is a single row of three bricks again standing on their long side, stretching from the front to the rear of the grill, flush with the right row of bricks. (The grill grate will rest on top of the second layer of bricks).

4) Duplicate this for the left wall.

5) The rear wall can be built with bricks placed 2 layers high, in a single row. You will not want to fill in the third layer as that allows the smoke to escape from the rear.

6) Place the slab very carefully on top of the walls- the slab is heavy, and once it is in place it will hold the grill together with its own wieght.

7) Now you place the grill grate in the cavity- resting the left and right sides on the second row of bricks.

At this point you have your homemade grill completed!

I power my backyard grill with charcoal, or even branches from my yard when I have enough.

Good luck and safe grilling!

Posted in General news, Personal