There is nothing better than pizza cooked in a wood-fired brick oven. This fantasy seems like it can only exist at a specialty pizza restaurant, but what if we told you that your own homemade brick oven will give you that perfect crispy pizza? That’s right: You can make a brick oven in your own backyard!

Say goodbye to expensive nights out spending money on pizza. Instead, you can relax with your loved ones and have fun with a homemade oven instead. And surprisingly, making a brick oven is simple and inexpensive.

man using outdoor brick pizza oven

Are you ready to make your own brick oven? Follow these steps and start making your own backyard pizza oven.

1. Choose a Location and Map Out the Backyard Pizza Oven

  1. The first thing you need to do is choose a location for your backyard pizza oven. Brick is heavy, so choose a sturdy surface on flat ground. If you can, build the oven on the ground and not on any flooring.
  2. Then, map out the design. You don’t have to be an architect to do this step—just plan each phase and identify goals for each phase.
  3. Then, get your workbench set up. Make sure your workbench supports the weight of the bricks.

2. Lay the Pavers and Firebrick Floor

Next, make a 4′ x 4′ insulating base, topping the platform with cement pavers. As you do so:

  • In the center, create the surface of the firebrick.
  • Lay it out 10 bricks wide and 5 bricks deep. Keep the bricks together as closely as possible.
  • Only use firebrick. Red brick will shatter when heated.

3. Stack the Walls

Start stacking the bricks as walls. As you do so:

  1. Use 4-5 bricks wide by 5 bricks tall. For a perfect fit, you may need to cut some bricks in half. Make sure there are no open seams.
  2. Offset each layer by half a brick so the half-brick sits in the middle of the bricks below.
  3. Take your angle irons. Drill two holes about 3/8″, an inch from both ends. Do this for all angle irons.
  4. Lay them on the front-to-back area of the platform, one on each end, so the bricks can sit in the inside corner. Slide threaded rods through the holes. Tighten them with nuts.
  5. Start laying the bricks inside the angle irons. Start with 13 bricks lined up in the back. For every three bricks, place a new angle iron and connect them with rod and attach them with nuts.

4. Make the Arch

To make the arch for your oven:

  1. Take two 2 x 4s and screw them into an arch cut out of plywood.
  2. Cut two arches, making sure one is smaller than the other.
  3. Screw both into the 2 x 4s. Make sure the arch is shorter than the two walls so it can fit in the middle.
  4. Start filling the bricks in this shape. Once the bricks are shaped, remove the plywood.

5. Build the Entrance and Chimney

To make the entrance and chimney for the oven:

  1. Stack two layers of three bricks on the edge set them with an angle iron.
  2. Place three-and-a-half bricks on front and four on the opposite side. There will be a gap. Use the clay flute and place it in the gap.
  3. Secure any open spaces with bricks.

6. Cover in Clay

Seal your oven with clay. To do so:

  • Combine refractory clay and water and cover the bricks and any gaps with the mixture.
  • Add the most to the arch. Or, use a hardening mortar instead if you want this to be a permanent staple in your backyard.

From here, you insert the wood, light a fire, and you’re set!

Now You Have a Backyard Pizza Oven

There’s no need to go to a fancy restaurant for wood-fired pizza. The layout of the pizza oven makes it easy to insert and remove pizza. Making a pizza oven only takes some supplies you already have or can get for cheap, so it’s time to invite your friends over!

If you need some of these materials for your project, we carry what you’ll need.