Deck Pizza Oven: The Dickman Family's Stucco Build in California

Step 1 of 7

Cutting Into the Deck for a Concrete Pad

You can't set a masonry oven on deck boards, so the Dickmans cut an opening in their deck, framed it, filled it with gravel and poured a concrete pad inside it. The block stand starts right on that pad, with the deck running up to all four sides.

Step 2 of 7

Block Stand & Hearth Slab Form

The block stand went up with an open bay in front for firewood. On top, a wood form, a plywood deck and rebar tied into the block cores set up the hearth slab, with curved metal edging for rounded front corners.

Step 3 of 7

Hearth Slab, Mosaic Tile Band & Firebrick Cooking Surface

The poured hearth slab has rounded front corners and an insulating layer in its center, right where the firebrick cooking surface sits. Paver caps went around the edge over a band of glass mosaic tile, and the firebrick cooking surface went down in a herringbone pattern.

Step 4 of 7

Raising the Firebrick Barrel

The BrickWood foam form and chimney form went on the hearth, and the firebrick barrel went up over them course by course, under a shade sail in the California sun. Once the arch and chimney were done, the form came out.

Step 5 of 7

Insulation & Stucco

The barrel got a gray base coat, then a brown stucco shell that rounds over the firebrick and up into the chimney. The block stand stayed bare until the oven itself was finished.

Step 6 of 7

Brick Arch Face & First Fire

Tan brick trimmed the oven opening into an arch that narrows the doorway, and capped the chimney. The first fires went in, a stainless chimney pipe went on top, and the block stand got its stucco coat with brick accents.

Step 7 of 7

The Finished Deck Pizza Oven

The finished deck pizza oven has a black steel door with wood handles, a granite prep counter on a wine barrel, and firewood stored below. One photo shows the barrel dressed in curved wood staves, a different finish from the stucco in the rest of the build. It looks like a later or temporary look, and the stucco shell sits underneath it.

BeforeFinished

Drag across the photo (or just move your mouse) to go from a gravel-filled hole in the deck to the finished oven.

Plan Yours

Pizza Oven on a Deck: Ideas From This Build

Give the oven its own pad. A fire brick oven is far too heavy for deck framing. Cutting an opening and pouring a concrete pad inside it lets the oven sit at deck level while the weight goes straight to the ground.

Keep the boards clear. Let the pad run a little past the block stand so the deck boards stop short of the oven, and keep ash and embers off the wood.

Store firewood underneath. An open bay in the block stand keeps firewood dry and within reach, so you are not hauling wood across the deck.

Mix your finishes. Brown stucco, a tan brick arch, glass mosaic tile and paver caps give this oven its look. Want a classic all-brick finish instead? See our brick pizza oven lineup, or compare all of our pizza oven kits.

Good Questions

Deck Pizza Oven FAQ

Can you put a pizza oven on a deck?

Not directly on the deck boards. A fire brick oven is heavy, so it needs its own concrete footing. The Dickmans cut an opening in their deck, framed it, filled it with gravel and poured a concrete pad, so the oven sits at deck level with its weight on the ground, not on the deck framing. Check your local building codes before you start.

Which oven kit did the Dickman family use?

Mattone Barile Grande · Package 1. It is a fire brick barrel oven built over our foam form, with an 18.5-inch interior ceiling.

How does a deck pizza oven stay off the deck boards?

The block stand sits on the concrete pad inside the deck opening, and the firebrick cooking surface sits on a thick hearth slab with an insulating layer in its center. The fire is well above the deck, and the deck boards stop at the edge of the pad.

Why is the oven covered in wood in one photo?

One photo shows the barrel dressed in curved wood staves, with a granite counter on a wine barrel beside it. It is a different finish from the brown stucco in the rest of the build, likely a later or temporary look, with the stucco shell underneath.

Do I need masonry experience to build one?

No. The Dickman family followed our FREE plans step by step, from the block stand and hearth slab to the firebrick barrel and stucco finish.