How to Build a Brick Wood-Fired Pizza Oven
Construct a high-heat wood-fired pizza oven using concrete pavers, split firebricks, and steel lintels to achieve 900°F baking temperatures.
This guide shows how to build a brick wood-fired pizza oven in 4 to 6 hours. Start with build the stable base foundation; follow the safety notes and step checkpoints below.
Visual step map
See the full sequence before you start, then check off each step as you go.
0 of 6 steps checked
Materials and cost planner
Select the items you plan to buy, adjust any estimated price, and calculate the selected total.
Editable rough U.S. retail estimates. Estimated all listed: $176.00. Prices are planning estimates, not quotes — tax, store, brand, size and quantity will change them.
Time and finish planner
Estimate active working time from the number of steps in this guide.
Paint coverage calculator
Estimate how much paint to buy from the area you plan to cover, the number of coats and the coverage shown on the can.
Use the coverage printed on the actual product label. Rough, porous or heavily patched surfaces can use much more paint.
- Read the tools, materials, safety notes, and steps below for free.
- Tap See 20-second demo if you want to understand it first.
- Tap Start Camera Coach when you want hands-free help, or Voice-only if you do not want to use the camera.
- Allow camera and microphone. Point your phone at the work; the coach watches your progress and tells you the next step.
🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Torpedo level
- ✓ Rubber mallet
- ✓ Angle grinder with masonry blade
- ✓ Heavy work gloves
- ✓ Measuring tape
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ High-duty split firebricks
- ✓ Standard solid concrete cinder blocks
- ✓ Heavy-duty angle iron (3x3 inch, 1/4 inch thick)
- ✓ Ceramic fiber insulation blanket
- ✓ Refractory mortar or high-temp gasket rope
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Wear safety goggles, ear protection, and a respirator when cutting bricks or steel.
- • Ensure the base structure rests on a flat, non-combustible foundation (concrete patio or compacted gravel).
- • Never use standard clay or concrete paver bricks for the internal fire contact zone as they can fracture violently under extreme heat.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Build the Stable Base Foundation
Arrange standard concrete cinder blocks in a dry-stacked 'U' or rectangular footprint on a dead-level outdoor concrete pad. Check both axes with a torpedo level, tapping blocks flush with a rubber mallet. Place thick concrete lintels or pavers across the top to form a solid, flat sub-hearth platform.
- • A rigid waist-high cinder block base topped with flush concrete slabs showing zero wobble.
- • Torpedo level bubble centered along both front-to-back and side-to-side edges.
- • Building on uneven dirt or soft ground.
- • Leaving rocking gaps between base blocks.
Lay the Firebrick Hearth Floor
Lay dense refractory firebricks tightly flat over the base to create the pizza baking floor. Arrange them in a smooth herringbone or offset running bond pattern with zero gaps between brick edges. Tap each brick flush with your rubber mallet so pizza peels will glide without catching.
- • A completely smooth, seamless floor of yellow/buff firebricks tightly butted together.
- • A flat surface with no raised lip or edge taller than 1 millimeter.
- • Using regular red clay bricks instead of refractory firebricks.
- • Leaving mortar joints or wide gaps where ash and peels get stuck.
Erect the Side and Rear Walls
Stack firebricks on edge or flat around the perimeter of your hearth, leaving the front open for the oven mouth. Stagger vertical seams by half a brick for structural stability. Build the side and rear walls up 3 to 4 courses high (approximately 8 to 10 inches chamber height).
- • Uniform vertical walls enclosing three sides of the hearth at a consistent height.
- • Interlocking corner joints showing half-brick overlaps.
- • Building the chamber ceiling too tall, which dissipates radiant top heat.
- • Aligning vertical seams directly on top of each other.
Install Roof Supports and Ceiling Bricks
Place cut lengths of 3x3-inch angle iron across the side walls spanning the chamber width. Slide firebricks between and across the angle iron flanges to form a tight, flat suspended ceiling. Ensure the front ceiling brick sits behind the intended exhaust vent location.
- • Angle iron bars securely seated flat across both side walls.
- • Solid ceiling of firebricks fully closing off the chamber top.
- • Using thin sheet metal that sags and bends under intense fire temperatures.
- • Extending the roof all the way forward without leaving an opening for exhaust.
Frame the Opening and Vent Throat
Create the front oven opening with a final angle iron lintel, maintaining an opening height roughly 60-65% of the interior chamber height. Leave a 3-to-4-inch slot between the front lintel and the main ceiling for the chimney/exhaust draft to pull smoke away from the cook.
- • Clear rectangular front entry opening flanked by stable brick pillars.
- • Distinct exhaust vent gap positioned directly in front of the ceiling roofline.
- • Making the mouth opening taller than the interior roof, causing smoke to roll out the front.
- • Sealing the front so tightly that oxygen cannot enter to feed the fire.
Add Thermal Insulation and Curing Fire
Drape a 1-inch ceramic fiber insulation blanket over the roof and exterior side walls to trap extreme heat. Start a small kindling fire in the center and slowly build it over 2 hours to drive out all residual moisture before full-temperature firing.
- • Ceramic blanket neatly wrapped around roof and sides with no exposed gaps.
- • Small, gentle fire burning cleanly with smoke channeling through the front vent.
- • Building a raging hardwood fire immediately, which thermal-shocks wet bricks.
- • Handling raw ceramic blanket without skin and lung protection.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by ChefSteps — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Angle iron lintels? Thick steel flat bar or precast refractory concrete lintels
- No Ceramic fiber blanket? Expanded perlite/vermiculite mixed with loose sand capping
- No Angle grinder with masonry blade? Masonry hand saw or brick hammer and wide chisel