Build Your Own DIY Pizza Oven

Introduction

Nothing smells or tastes better than homemade pizza fresh from a wood-fired oven. While brick pizza ovens can cost thousands of dollars to buy commercially, with a bit of hands-on work, you can build your very own DIY pizza oven for a fraction of the price. 

Cheap DIY Pizza Oven

One of the best things about building your own pizza oven is that you can control the costs based on your budget and the materials available. With some clever planning and substitutions, you can end up with a high-quality oven for a very affordable price. Here are some tips to keep costs low:

• Use standard landscape bricks or fire bricks instead of more expensive specialty refractory bricks. As long as the bricks can withstand high heat, they’ll work great.
• Scour your local classifieds for used or leftover bricks others are giving away rather than buying new. Brickleftovers from construction sites also work well.
• Skip the mortar and use basic sand to fill gaps between bricks for the oven structure. Mortar isn’t necessary to withstand heat.
• Use kiln shelves, fire bricks, or basic slab stones as the cooking surface instead of ordering a specialty pizza stone.
• Build a simple wood base rather than constructing expensive masonry footings. Wood is inexpensive, and the oven doesn’t directly touch it.
• Insulate with inexpensive vermiculite, perlite, or even crumpled-up newspaper instead of expensive ceramic wool blankets.

By sourcing affordable materials either used or by making simple substitutions, you can easily build a quality DIY pizza oven for well under $500, sometimes even under $200, with a lot of scrounging. With some creativity, practically anyone can afford to build their own backyard oven.

DIY Pizza Oven Plans

Now that we’ve covered keeping costs low, let’s dive into the technical plans and instructions for constructing your very own DIY pizza oven. There are a few different basic design styles you could choose from, but the most common is a traditional beehive-shaped dome oven. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Oven Foundation

Construct a simple wood frame base to hold the oven structure off the ground using standard 2x lumber. The wood frame acts as the footing and should extend at least a few inches beyond where the oven brick walls will sit.

Building the Oven Dome

Start laying courses of bricks in a circular pattern without mortar to form the beehive dome structure. The first course should sit directly on top of the wood base frame. Use temporary stakes to help hold the dome shape as you build up the courses.

Installing the Cooking Surface

Once the dome is 3-4 courses high, lay down your oven floor material like fire bricks, a stone or ceramic tiles. This will become the cooking surface.

Completing the Dome Walls

Continue laying courses of bricks to complete the circular oven walls, working toward the opening at the top front of the dome where pizzas will be placed in and out.

Adding Insulation (optional)

For improved heat retention, loosely fill the narrowing space inside the oven dome with insulation materials like perlite, vermiculite, or ceramic wool blankets.

Installing the Oven Doorway

At the opening, frame out a suitable-sized entryway from bricks and install a simple wooden or steel oven door that can be propped open or closed as needed.

Finishing Touches

Sweep out excess materials, apply light sanding to smooth rough edges, and your DIY brick pizza oven is complete! Season it as needed before firing up your first pizzas.

How to Build an Outdoor Pizza Oven Step-by-Step

Now that we’ve covered the overall design plans, here’s a more detailed look at each step for constructing your outdoor DIY brick pizza oven:

1. Build the Wooden Base

Use untreated 2x lumber to construct a simple frame base at least 12-18 inches tall to elevate the oven off the ground. The frame should extend a few inches beyond where the oven walls will reach.

2. Lay Out the First Course of Bricks

Starting at the wood base, lay out the initial circular course of bricks that will form the oven floor using stakes to mark the curvature. You can experiment with diameters of 3-4 feet, which works well.

3. Add the Second Course

Lay a second concentric course of bricks directly on top of the first to begin forming the upward-curved dome structure. Stagger the brick seams for strength.

4. Add Remaining Brick Courses

Continue laying bricks in a circular pattern working up the dome 3-5 more courses based on desired oven height. Use stakes and strings to maintain an even curve as it grows.

5. Install the Cooking Surface

Once 3-4 feet high, place specialized fire bricks, slate tile, or other heat-resistant material into the oven floor area and level it carefully.

6. Add Insulation (Optional)

Loosely fill the area between the interior cooking surface and exterior brick walls with insulation material for better heat retention.

7. Build the Entryway

Frame out and install the front opening to place pizzas in the oven dome using bricks. Consider measures for secure closing ability.

8. Finish Construction Details

Sweep clean, apply finishing touches like a wooden oven door or metal flue system if desired, and season the new pizza oven before first use!

FAQ about DIY Pizza Ovens

Is it more expensive to make your own pizza?

While the upfront costs to build your own brick pizza oven may seem higher than simply buying pre-made frozen pizzas, in the long run making pizza at home is significantly cheaper. Once constructed, you’ll save a ton versus eating out or ordering delivered every time. And you get the satisfaction of creating delicious homemade pizzas! With group sharing costs and homemade dough and toppings, pizza nights around a DIY oven pay off quickly.

How much does it cost to build your own brick pizza oven?

Total costs to build your own outdoor brick pizza oven can range widely depending on materials used and design complexity, but generally speaking, you can expect to spend:

• $150-250 using inexpensive brick leftovers and simple DIY techniques
• $300-500 for a basic oven using new landscape bricks and sand for mortar
• $600-1,000 if adding features like a decorative brick pattern, specialty cook surface, or flue system

Always less expensive than the $2,000-5,000 a commercially made unit might cost. With scrounging and substitutions, costs can be even lower.

Can I build a pizza oven with normal bricks?

Yes, you can definitely build a highly functional pizza oven using standard residential building bricks instead of more expensive specialty refractory bricks intended for high-heat applications. Normal clay bricks will work for baking pizza as long as they are installed properly. Just be aware they may eventually develop some cracks over time from extreme temperatures compared to specialized oven bricks.

What is the best material to build a pizza oven?

Some top materials for DIY pizza oven construction include:

• Clay bricks – Inexpensive and readily available. Normal residential bricks work great.
• Fire bricks – Higher heat-resistant clay bricks are best for cooking surfaces and ceiling areas.
• Stone – Flagstone, slate, and architectural stones make natural hearths and surfaces.
• Ceramic tiles – Offer a smooth cooktop surface that’s easy to clean.
• Castable refractory cement – Can form any shape and withstand extreme temps.

For durability and truly commercial-grade performance, specialty refractory bricks are the best but also the most expensive. Many lighter-duty home oven designs beautifully use simpler materials like standard clay bricks.

Should the pizza oven be wood or electric?

For true Neapolitan-style cooking, where wood-fired heat imparts the deepest flavors, a wood-burning oven is preferred. However, electric or even gas ovens have benefits too:

• Wood ovens require tending a fire which adds effort and mess. Electric ovens are more hands-free.
• Getting wood-fired ovens sufficiently hot (500°F+) takes practice and perfect wood selection/stacking methods. Electric heats up instantly.
• Electric/gas models allow use all year, including wet weather when wood fires are problematic.

So weigh your needs – wood gives the most artisanal results, but electric offers modern convenience without compromising quality too much for homemade pizzas.

What kind of bricks do you use for the pizza oven?

The most common bricks used for building DIY backyard pizza ovens include:

• Standard clay bricks are readily available and more affordable but less durable in the long term in a high-heat environment.
• Fire bricks – Manufactured to withstand extreme heat, fire bricks go on cooking surfaces, the dome, and anywhere else direct flames will be.
• Refractory bricks – Highest quality heat-resistant bricks made for commercial wood-fired ovens. Expensive and only needed for serious pizza-making hobbyists.

Remember – the key qualities are that bricks don’t crack or explode from excessive temperatures.