For many people, grilling is the ultimate way of cooking food – and for the real deal, only charcoal grills will do.
Buying a grill can cost a lot of money, but if you want to save yourself some cash, there are many ways of DIYing one – and for anyone who wants to try, here are 17 plans for a DIY charcoal grill you can build at home.
Table of Contents
1. How to Make Your Own DIY Charcoal Grill
Many would argue that grilling over charcoal is the only real way to do it, and building a DIY charcoal barbecue doesn’t need to be expensive or time-consuming. In this plan, you’ll learn how to build a simple grill from bricks. It’s easy for just about anybody to make, and once it’s finished, you’ll be able to enjoy using it for many years to come. There’s lots of useful advice and tips in there too, making this a great first stop for anyone interested in constructing a grill of their own.
2. DIY Kamado BBQ Grill
As this YouTuber explains, store-bought kamado grills can be extremely expensive, and a much more affordable option is to DIY one. In his video, he shows us how to do it using flowerpots and a few other bits and pieces. His design is highly impressive since it’s super simple yet at the same time, extremely effective. It might not look quite as good as one you can buy from the store, but the results will be the same – and at only a fraction of the price.
3. $2 Charcoal Grill
If, like this DIYer, you need a cheap grill at short notice, you can knock something together for next to nothing in no time at all. The barbecue in this plan cost only around $2, but as you can see, it gets the job done. It might not be as attractive as the grills in some of the other plans and it certainly won’t last as long, but if you’re more concerned about constructing something that will allow you to get cooking, this is a plan that’s worth checking out.
4. How to Make a Brick Grill
In this video, this YouTuber demonstrates how to make an inexpensive hibachi-style grill using bricks. As long as you have the bricks, you’ll be able to build one of these in just minutes, and we also like the way he gives us some tips about grilling. If you plan to build a charcoal grill and want to learn how to use it, this is the video for you.
5. My Homemade Barbecue Grill and How to Build It
Here’s a plan we liked a lot – shows us how to build a large and functional grill using recycled materials including a cake cooling tray and a few old spare bricks. We also appreciate the fact that this barbecue is so large, so if you need to grill for lots of people, this would be a great option. It involves a few complicated procedures – for example, you’ll need to do a bit of welding – but as you can see, the result will reward all the trouble. A great plan and well worth a read.
6. Flowerpot DIY Kamado
If you liked the idea of the video in #2, here’s another tutorial for making a kamado-style grill to compare it with. That way, you can take the best elements from both designs and come up with an even better version yourself. As this YouTuber explains, he wanted a kamado grill for his home but found them all to be either too expensive or of poor quality. Instead, he decided to build one using flowerpots, and his video will show you how he did it.
7. How to Build Your Own Custom Gas or Charcoal Grill
For anyone looking for an overview of how to add an outdoor grilling area to your home, this blog is an invaluable resource. It discusses in detail how to build a grill island, talking about charcoal and gas grills and giving you advice on the many considerations you will have to take into account. It doesn’t give you a step-by-step guide to building a charcoal grill, but it’s essential reading nonetheless for anyone who is preparing to construct one of their own.
8. Building a Brick Charcoal Grill
Building a charcoal grill – even a permanent brick one – is a relatively simple task for anyone with basic DIY and building skills, so you might not need a complicated and detailed plan. Instead, this video simply shows you the process in the form of a slide show, demonstrating each step as the grill takes form. By the time it’s finished, it looks great too – and we’re sure there are lots of people who will be keen to try building one.
9. Make Your Own DIY Charcoal Grill to Enjoy Family Gatherings in Style
There’s something undeniably cool about having a backyard firepit. They can bring back cherished memories of camping trips in the forest, you can sit around them with your family in the evenings – and of course, you can use them for grilling too. They’re also extremely easy to build and won’t cost you much money – and if you want a plan that shows you how, this blog will give you all the info you need.
10. DIY How to Build a Homemade BBQ
When you approach a DIY project, it’s usually best to check out at least a couple of plans before you start. This will give you a better idea of the kind of thing that’s possible and will allow you to incorporate different ideas into your design. For this reason, if you liked the plan in #9 and have decided to build a backyard firepit, here’s another version for you to check out before you set about building it.
11. How to Make a Portable Charcoal Grill
WikiHow is a great resource containing thousands of how-to guides for just about anything you might want to do, and here’s an excellent one for building a portable charcoal grill. It’s an ingenious and original plan, so if you want to learn about making a simple grill that’s perfect for barbecuing on the go, this is a plan you need to read.
Check this plan
12. How to Build a Homemade BBQ Pit
One simple and inexpensive way to build a sturdy grill is to use cinderblocks. This is because they don’t cost much but can provide you with a solid construction that will last for years. If that’s something you’re interested in trying, this video will teach you how. It provides a list of the materials you’ll need and shows you how to put them together, resulting in a functional grill that you can start using right away.
13. How to Make a Homemade Charcoal Grill
One of the main reasons for building a DIY charcoal grill is that buying one from a store can cost a lot of money. This plan offers you a much cheaper alternative, and by following these three simple steps, you will be able to construct a grill of your own for a fraction the price of buying one..
Check this plan
14. How to Build a Brick BBQ
As we’ve already mentioned, building a brick barbecue doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive, but if you don’t have much experience working with bricks, you might prefer to have a more detailed guide to follow. If that’s the kind of thing you’re looking for, this informative video tells you everything you need to know to successfully replicate the plan at home.
15. How to Make a DIY Grill Station
Here’s a fun DIY project for anyone who enjoys carpentry and woodworking to attempt. With this plan, you’ll learn how to make an attractive grilling station that you can use throughout the summer. And since it has wheels, it’s easy to move, allowing you to put it into storage during the winter months to help save you some space.
16. Homemade Charcoal Grill Ideas
If you’re in need of an idea for constructing a grill in a hurry, this blog offers you several inexpensive options, including a “hole in the ground” and a “steel barrel barbecue”. However, our favorite has to be the “street barbecue” version – check out the blog to see what we mean!
17. Apartment Pan Grill
If you live in an apartment and miss grilling outside, this is a DIY option you might be interested in. It’s a simple plan for rigging up a grill from materials that won’t cost you anything, so if you have chance to escape to the country for a weekend, you’ll be able to take it with you, allowing you to enjoy the delights of succulent food cooked over charcoal.
Many ways to build a grill
As you can see, there are many ways to build a grill, from simple one-use affairs to elaborate permanent installations.
We’ve enjoyed finding these plans for you because it’s inspired us to have a go ourselves, so we hope you’ve enjoyed reading and watching these plans too – and above all, we hope we’ve helped you find the plan you needed to build a DIY charcoal grill for yourself.
Charcoal grill provide enough cooking area to cook several types of food at the same time.