Customer Build Story · Connecticut
DIY Outdoor Pizza Ovens: How the Lacroix Family Built Theirs
A retired chef who had never cooked with wood fire. A family that loves having friends over. One Connecticut backyard, turned into the spot where everybody ends up.
- Built By
- The Lacroix Family
- Location
- Connecticut
- Oven Style
- Fire Brick Barrel
- Photos & Videos
- 35 Photos · 4 Videos
- Homeowner Review
- ★★★★★
Build Time-Lapse
Watch It Get Built
Every photo from this build, from bare dirt to a roaring fire, in about 46 seconds. Press play, or grab the slider and scrub through it yourself.
Every family has a place where everyone ends up. For the Lacroix family in Connecticut, that place is now a red brick pizza oven they built themselves. The man behind the trowel is a retired chef who had never done wood-fired cooking before, and by his own description he is “a chef and not a mason.” What he had was a set of BrickWood plans, a Mattone Barile Grande kit, and a family to feed. Here is how it came together, one step at a time.
Step 1 of 7
It All Starts With a Solid Slab
Every oven that will feed a family for years starts the same way: a solid, level concrete pad. It is the least glamorous step of the whole build, and it is the one everything else stands on.
Step 2 of 7
Building the Base and the Hearth
Next, cinder block walls went up course by course to form the oven stand, with an opening left underneath for firewood. On top, the hearth slab was formed, reinforced with rebar and poured in one piece with a rounded front edge.
That single monolithic slab does two jobs. It carries the firebrick cooking surface, and it extends out front as a prep counter, so there is always a spot to set down a pizza or a peel.
Step 3 of 7
The Barrel Takes Shape
This is where the kit does the heavy lifting. The Mattone Barile Grande foam form sets the exact shape of the oven, so every firebrick lands right where it belongs. Course by course, the barrel rises around the form until it closes over the top, with the chimney base set at the front.
“I chose the barrel-style oven over the traditional dome primarily because I felt it would give me greater flexibility to cook more than just pizza.”
The homeowner
Once the mortar cured, the inside was a clean firebrick chamber, ready to soak up heat and send it back down onto the firebrick cooking surface.
Step 4 of 7
Dressing It in Classic Red Brick
With the barrel mortared, the family moved on to the finish that makes this oven theirs. Red brick went on the oven and the base, the brick chimney went up, and a brick arch framed the firewood storage below.
Then came the moment every builder waits for: the very first fire.
Step 5 of 7
The Finished Oven
Here it is, fired up and ready for dinner. Every detail on this oven was a choice the family made. Explore them below.
Hover over the dots (or tap them on your phone) to see what went into this oven.
- Brick ChimneyFinished in the same red brick as the oven, so the whole build reads as one piece.
- Red Brick VeneerClassic red brick laid over the firebrick barrel gives the oven its timeless look.
- Firebrick Cooking SurfaceThe fire burns right on the firebrick cooking surface. In his words, the oven “absorbs and radiates heat to the cooking surface.”
- Extended Prep CounterThe monolithic hearth runs out past the oven, giving the cook a landing spot for pizzas, peels and tools.
- Red Brick BaseThe cinder block stand is wrapped in red brick to match the oven.
- Firewood Storage ArchA brick arch under the hearth keeps a full load of firewood dry and within reach.
Day 1Finished
Drag across the photo (or just move your mouse) to go from bare slab to roaring fire.
When he sent us these photos, he had fired the oven 8 to 10 times and reported it was “performing exceptionally well.” Coming from a chef, that is high praise.
Step 6 of 7
A Place for Friends and Family
The oven was only part of the plan. The family also finished the landscaping and built a pizza bench right next to the oven. He framed it with pressure-treated lumber and hog fence, then topped it with reverse-cast concrete and colored beach glass, wet sanded until the glass showed through and the surface was level.
- Pizza oven completed
- Landscaping completed
- Pizza bench completed
The finished setup has become a fantastic gathering spot for entertaining friends and family, and I can see us enjoying it for many years to come!
The Lacroix Family · Connecticut
Step 7 of 7
What’s for Dinner?
A chef with a wood-fired oven does not stop at pizza. Tomato and basil, mushroom, pepperoni and thin crust, then cast iron skillets roasting right inside the barrel. That is exactly the flexibility he was after when he picked this design.
4 Videos
See This DIY Brick Pizza Oven in Action
Pizza is only the start. In these four short clips, a wood fire roars inside the Lacroix family’s Mattone Barile Grande barrel oven while pizzas bake right on the firebrick cooking surface, then a skillet dinner with fresh tomatoes and a tray of spaghetti squash go in for the main event. Press play on any clip and watch what a DIY brick pizza oven can do.
In His Own Words
★★★★★The Lacroix Family · Connecticut
The pizza oven, landscaping, and pizza bench are all complete, and I couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out!
I built the bench using pressure-treated lumber and hog wire fencing, with a reverse-cast concrete countertop featuring colored beach glass. I wet-sanded the surface to expose the glass and create a smooth, level finish. I’ve fired up the oven 8–10 times so far, and it’s performing exceptionally well. As a retired chef who had never cooked with a wood-fired oven before, I’ve been particularly impressed with how efficiently this oven absorbs and radiates heat to the cooking surface. It’s a great design!
I chose the barrel-style oven over the traditional dome primarily because I felt it would give me greater flexibility to cook more than just pizza. While I had several reasons for choosing this design, there’s no question that it makes excellent pizza, too! I was especially impressed with the plans from BrickWood Ovens and the support available through their forum. I’m a chef, not a mason, so having detailed, well-written plans and access to helpful advice made a real difference throughout the building process.
The finished setup has become a fantastic gathering spot for entertaining friends and family, and I can see us enjoying it for many years to come!
Your Turn
Build One for Your Family
The Lacroix family built this DIY outdoor pizza oven with no masonry background. Your family can too. Start with our free pizza oven plans and materials list, then pick the Mattone Barile Grande pizza oven kit that fits your backyard. Not sure which one? Compare all of our pizza oven kits.
