A Place for the Barbecue


on Monday, June, 21 2010 @ 03:36:15 pm (410 words)
In General [ 5691 views ]

One of the projects for the side garden has always been to build a place for the barbecue. Most of the time the barbecue has sat in the back garden where level ground is a scarcity. With most of the work finished on the side garden, and the small boulder out of the way, I decided to build the barbecue area.

I began by removing a small stump left when I cut down a couple of small trees this spring since they were too close to the shed. Once the stump was gone, I started on the task of raising the area so it would be level. I had to bring in a few wheelbarrows of soil to level the area and I tamped each load firmly in place so I would not have to worry about it sinking later. Once I had the area raised to the proper height and levelled, I added sand to the area and tamped it as well. Once the sand was tamped into place, I levelled it as well, going back and forth until I had it firmly packed and levelled.

I had someone to give me some left over terra-cotta tile and I decided to use it for the surface of my barbecue area. So far the only cost to building the barbecue area was the cost of my own labour. I placed a taught string across the area where the barbecue would be and use it as a straight edge to lay the tile. I then preceded to place the tile one by one until I had them all in place. Since the tiles are not all exactly the same size, there will be some cracks. Using a broom, I added sand across the area to fill in the larger cracks and then swept the excess sand off to the side.

Once the barbecue area was finished, I added some of the wood chips that cover the side garden area. The wood chips are free as well; I am using the chips that the road crew generated when they removed the winter storm damage. My sitting boulder is off to the side where the barbecue will be, so I can sit there as I cook on the barbecue. Eventually when I have the money, I will pour concrete and stamp a pattern into the concrete for a permanent barbecue area. However, for now my little barbecue area will be more than adequate.


3 comments

Comment from: Ron [Visitor]
RonWo! That is beautiful! I’m really impressed!
06/21/10 @ 22:07
Comment from: kimberly [Member]  
KimmyThanks Ron. All it took was a bit of hard work.
06/21/10 @ 22:22
Comment from: Jeff [Visitor]
JeffA very cool story on a great DIY project!! NICE work!!!
04/23/12 @ 21:13

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