Homemade Kamado / brick oven??

Ok, I am a newbie to this forum and to BBQ. My friend, TedW, told me all the wonderful things he is cooking on his BGE. I looked into it, and then was contemplating buying one or a BSK.

Being a handy guy and frugal ("I can make that!"), I start thinking why couldn't I make a Kamado style grill out of brick? It would be like a wood fired brick oven, but instead of a fire brick floor with the fire being on it, I'd lower the floor to make a fire box and use a grill/grate. For pizza or indirect cooking, I could use a pizza stone. Then use a door, have an air intake on the firebox and a controlled chimney. Am I crazy? I'm sure it's been done, right?

I appreciate any help or leading me in the right direction....and don't scold me too much if I really don't know what I'm talking about. Thanks!

Oops, sorry about mispelling kamado!

That's along the same lines as I was thinking... Does he regulate temperature based on how many coals are in it? The kamados use the air intake for that. Also, I was thinking of going lower mass and using insulation so that I would get faster heating times. He could cook pizza on his if he got the temp up high and put a pizza stone on top of the cooking grate, correct? I'm assuming there is nothing between the coals and the food.

This is a novice question: does he burn the wood to get coals so that the meat is not as smoky?

I have a bunch of brick in my garage that came with my house that I have been looking to use in a project. I also have a welder and can use it fairly well. I also do not want it to be as big as the Wilbur design, so it should not be more than $200 for materials.

I was not looking at duplicating the Wilbur exactly since I'd like it to do a bit more. It does look like a very nice design though.

The way I'm thinking is basically a brick pizza oven, but taller. The bottom half for the lump charcoal or wood with an adjustable air intake to control temperature. The top with a door so I can bake or smoke for longer periods of time while being more fuel efficient and retain moisture. I would use a grate over the coals for direct cooking and a pizza stone for indirect.

I still can't tell if the Wilburs have a separation of a layer of brick where you put the coals and the food. I'll have to look at that last link a bit more closely.

Oldyote, thanks for answering my question. That last link you sent has a bunch more pics where I can see that there is no separation of the chambers. That was helpful.

Yes, I agree an oven, especially one for pizza at 700-1000 degrees F needs a bit more thought....except you can make a cheap, temporary one without even using mortar! Check out this link here: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,8528.0.html

I'm not sure that one is sealed very well between bricks for efficiency, but wood fired pizza ovens can't be very efficient without a door anyway. Also, that one is probably bigger than I need. I will likely try this method of construction to make a taller oven (to grill and bake with a stone) that I can close off and adjust the fire. After testing and modifying, I'll go more permanent. Another option is by doing the ceiling as an arch of bricks. I have clay soil and can use that as a temporary mud to hold it all together. I have a feeling that would be sealed better for efficiency.

Arches like this:

JS-TX: which ones? The Wilburs? Not the ones I posted in the last post, right? The arched one is $60 in materials. The rectangular one is $200 and built in less than 4 hours. It is a big oven. I can't find a Bubba Keg or BSK or kamado for less than $700 right now. Plus, this type of project is not work to me. I like to build things.

What oven are you refering to? A WFO or a conventional oven?

jestridge: I have seen that Cobb oven article. It looks like a cheap way to do it. I have a outdoor fireplace "thing" that came with the house. I will have to post a pic of it, but it is in poor shape. I pulled 40 fire bricks out of it already and there are more left. I also have plenty of regular brick that came with the house along with stone and large, flat flagstone (not sure if I will use any of the stone or flagstone). I should be able to make a brick oven for very little except for making some doors and insulation.

This is very close to what I intend to do, so someone *has* done it. I guess technically what I want to do is a gueulard oven with a removable floor to grill. http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/20859/designsplans-needed

Now I need to figure out how high (what range) over the coals I need to put my grate/grill.