Okay, so I decided to build a brick oven, you know, for making pizzas and stuff. I looked around online and found these “brick oven kits.” Seemed like a good idea, especially since they said “DIY-easy.” I’m not exactly a handyman, but I figured, how hard could it be, right?
First, I ordered one of those kits. It said “free shipping” and came with some tools, which was nice. The thing is, these kits aren’t exactly cheap. I mean, we’re talking at least 800 bucks, and some go up to like four grand! But I thought, hey, it’s an investment. Plus, they said it was “Made in the USA,” so I felt a bit better about spending the money.
When the kit arrived, it was a bunch of bricks, some mortar mix, and a few other things. I laid out all the parts in my backyard, feeling pretty good about myself. The instructions were there, but they weren’t as “easy” as they made it sound. Turns out, building a brick oven is a bit more complicated than, say, putting together some IKEA furniture.
- Set up a base: That was the first thing. Made sure it was level. No wobbly pizza oven for me!
- Started stacking those bricks: Following the diagrams, I put one brick, then some mortar, then another brick. It was messy, and my back started to hurt pretty quickly.
- Taking breaks: Let me tell you, I took a lot of breaks. This was way more work than I expected. I spent most of the weekend just laying bricks, but finally, the main body of the oven is built.
After a few days of hard work, I finally finished the oven. It wasn’t perfect, a bit wobbly in some places, but it was standing! I let it dry for a while, following the instructions on how long to wait before using it.
Finally, the day came to try it out. I made some pizza dough, got my toppings ready, and fired up the oven. It took a while to heat up, but man, when it did, it was hot! I slid the pizza in, and you know what? It cooked super fast! The crust was crispy, just like they said it would be in those fancy Italian restaurants.
So, was it worth it? Honestly, it was a lot of work, and yeah, it was expensive. But now, every time I make a pizza in that oven, I feel pretty darn proud. It’s like, “Yeah, I built that.” Plus, the pizza really does taste better. And, I had some friends over the other day, and they were pretty impressed. I guess you could say I’m now part of the “pizza family” those kit people were talking about.
But if you want to save your money and effort, I suggest it is better to find a good Italian restaurant.
