It’s hard to beat the amazing flavor and texture of a handmade pizza freshly cooked in a traditional brick oven. The wood fire flash-cooks the pizza and gives it a unique, smoky flavor that can only be found in the finest artisan pizzerias. For pizza enthusiasts, building their own backyard brick oven can be a dream come true.
The only question is, how much does it cost to build a brick pizza oven?
On average, the cost of building your own brick pizza oven is $1,400. This includes the cost of all of the high-quality building materials and tools that you’ll need for a brick pizza oven. On the other hand, if you prefer to have a professional mason build your oven, then you’ll be looking at a total cost of around $3,500, depending on the contractor’s individual rates.
If you’re still unsure about all of the costs, what materials you’ll need, and the price difference between a DIY brick pizza oven and a professionally built oven, then you’ve come to the right place!
Below, I’ll break down all of the basic materials and tools you’ll need to get the job done right. Before long, you’ll be baking your own homemade pizzas!
If you’re more interested in a wood fired oven, here is a detailed post about the cost of building a wood-fired pizza oven.
Cost Factors For A Brick Pizza Oven
Building a brick oven pizza oven in your backyard is, by far, one of the most rewarding home renovation projects you can do.
Unlike other projects which may just improve the appearance of your home, you can actually use your brick oven pizza.
If it’s well built, then there’s no reason why your oven can’t stand the test of time and last for decades.
When it comes to building your oven, you’ll find that the material list is also fairly simple. The project will entail two main parts:
- Building a base foundation for the oven.
- Building the oven itself.
The foundation is the simplest part. The easiest way to build a good foundation is to just use concrete cinderblocks held together with grout. Then, to make the tabletop, you’ll use wood and rebar to build a mold, followed by pouring the concrete mix in to serve as the main tabletop. Finally, most builders opt to place brick or stone tiles around the foundation and the tabletop to create an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
The second part requires fewer materials but requires a lot more precision work- building the oven. Once the foundation is completed, you will proceed to build the pizza dome on top using high-quality “fire bricks,” grout, and a metal chimney flue.
Tools
Now, let’s take a look at the exact tools and materials you’ll need to build your new pizza oven!
Circular Saw
Although you won’t have to use this much, you will need a circular saw to cut the plywood and lumber for making your concrete mold. You can buy a cheap circular saw for around $50.
Diamond Concrete Blade For Circular Saw
In addition to the saw, you’ll need to buy a special diamond-tipped blade for cutting through the tiles and any brick pieces. This blade can be purchased at a hardware store for around $35.
Drill
You’ll just be using the drill to help mix up the concrete mixture with a paddle. Nothing fancy needed here, so you’ll be fine with a standard plug-in drill. You can buy a cheap one for about $20.
Concrete Mixing Paddle
You’ll insert this paddle into the drill to mix the concrete in a bucket. They can be purchased for about $15.
Level
As you build up your foundation, you’ll need to ensure that it’s properly leveled. Levels are quite affordable, and you can buy one for around $10.
5-Gallon Bucket
You’ll need a standard 5-gallon bucket to mix your concrete and grout in. They can be purchased for $5 at your local hardware store.
Grout Paddles and Floaters
These are used to spread grout and concrete. You’ll just need a couple of small handheld paddles and concrete floaters. To get one of each, you’ll need to invest about $15.
Total Cost Of Tools: $150
Materials
Now, let’s go over the materials you’ll need. The following estimates are for an average-sized oven. Larger ovens may require more materials and will be more expensive.
Cinderblocks (For the Base): $160
$2 Cinderblocks x 80 blocks = $160
Brick Tiles (For Base Siding): $750
$10/sq ft x ~75 sq ft = $750
Grout: $35
One bucket of grout.
Wood (For Countertop Edge): $25
3x $8.50 pressure-treated 2×4’s.
Concrete Mix (For Countertop): $5
Bag of concrete.
Rebar: $15
3x $5 pieces of rebar.
High-Quality Brick (For the Oven): $200
~80 pieces of heat-resistant fire brick at $2.50/each.
Metal Stove Pipe: $50
One 6”x48” stainless steel stove pipe.
Estimated Cost Of Materials: $1,230
The Size of the Oven
If you add the cost of tools and materials, your total cost should be right around $1,400 for a DIY job (assuming you don’t pay any helpers).
That being said, if you want a larger oven, then your costs could easily be increased by 50% or more since you’ll need to build a larger base and a larger oven.
You’ll also need to account for buying a larger pizza stone to use with your oven.
Accompanying Renovations
Sometimes, you may need to build an additional concrete or stone foundation for your oven base. This could end up costing you an extra $100 or so if you do it yourself.
Hiring a Professional To Build Your Brick Oven
If you have some experience in construction, masonry, or doing other DIY home projects, then you might attempt to build your very own brick pizza oven.
The one thing to keep in mind is that you’ll want to make sure that the foundation is perfectly level so that it can support your oven (if you want the firewood to burn properly).
If you don’t have experience with masonry, then you may find this part very frustrating.
Estimated Cost of Hiring a Professional Mason
If you decide to hire a professional mason to build your brick pizza oven, then they’ll charge you for the materials and their own labor cost.
Assuming that the material price stays the same ($1,400), then most licensed and insured masons will charge you around $2,000 for the labor.
This would bring your total cost to around $3,400.