I have to admit that I'm getting hungry just thinking about the possibility of having the perfect pizza made in my backyard. The effort and work is worth the end result. You'll no longer need to rush down to your favorite pizza restaurant to beat the crowds and you'll no longer need to buy frozen pizzas and cook them in your boring oven.

After you've found the location for your new oven, you're ready to get started!

1. Lay the pavers/firebrick floor

Make a 4′ by 4′ insulating base with the cement pavers on top of your platform. Centered on top of that, make a surface of firebrick, laid flat, roughly 10 bricks wide and 5 bricks deep. Use Firebrick.

2. Stack the walls

Begin with the back wall, 4½ bricks wide by 5 bricks tall, laid flat. You’ll need to split some bricks in half. Offset each layer by half a brick. Center 5 more on top, in two levels.

To build the sides, first drill two 3/8″ holes in each 48″ angle iron, 1″ from both ends, in one leg of the angle. Lay 2 angle irons front-to-back on the platform, facing inward so that bricks can sit in the inside corner. Slot threaded rods through the drilled holes and tighten a nut onto each end.

Build the side walls by standing 13 bricks on end inside each angle iron, starting from the back wall. Run a line of clay mix on the inside bottom edges. Cap each side with 3 bricks laid flat, then place the remaining 48″ angle irons on top, facing down. Add threaded rods and nuts.

3. Make the arch

Build an arch-shaped jig of plywood screwed to two 2×4 legs. The arch length is about 32¼”. The height should be 5¼” tall, with a radius of 27″. Cut 2 matching pieces with a jigsaw, then affix to the 2×4s so that the legs extend about 9¼” below the plywood.

Place the jig against the back wall, on top of the ¼” risers. Stand the bricks on edge, pointing forward. Keep an even space between the bricks by filling the gaps with brick shards. Remove the jig by sliding out the risers. Repeat 2 more times.

4. Build the entrance/chimney

On each side of the front of the oven, stack 2 layers of 3 bricks on edge. Bridge the top with a 24″ angle iron facing up and in. Place 3½ bricks across the front of it, on edge. Add 4 more on either side extending back to the arch.

Place the last 24″ angle iron against the arch to bridge the gap, facing up and out. Center the clay flue insert over the gap.

5. Cover in clay

Let us know if you've built your own wood-fired brick oven!

Article Source: Makezine