Outdoor Fireplace Mantel: The Cash Family's Towering Stone Chimney in Mississippi

A stacked stone chimney with a millstone medallion rises over a mantel shelf, a wood-burning fireplace and a firebrick barrel pizza oven, all in one mass behind a Mississippi home. Here is how it went up, from the footing to the first fires.

32 build photos8 steps

What’s in this build

Mississippi
Mattone Barile · Package 3
Base - Natural Stone Veneer
Oven - Natural Stone Veneer
Oven - Brick Accents
Oven - Square Enclosure
Fireplace / Oven Combo
Stone Chimney
Firewood Storage Below
Large Project
Step-by-Step Build Photos

Watch It Get Built Get the FREE Plans

Built By: The Cash Family
Location: Mississippi
Oven Style: Fire Brick Barrel
Oven Kit: Mattone Barile
Photos & Videos: 32 Photos
Homeowner Review: ★★★★★

Build Time-Lapse

Watch This Stone Chimney and Mantel Go Up

From a hole at the edge of the patio to fires in the fireplace and the oven, in about 48 seconds. Press play, or grab the slider and scrub through the build yourself.

Outdoor fireplace mantel under a towering stone chimney: the Cash family's stacked stone fireplace with a millstone medallion, red brick arches and a Mattone Barile pizza oven over a firewood bay in Mississippi

Looking for outdoor fireplace mantel ideas? Start with this one. In Mississippi, the Cash family built a wood-burning fireplace and a Mattone Barile firebrick barrel oven side by side, then raised one towering chimney over both. A millstone medallion sits in the middle of the stacked stone, and a mantel shelf runs across the face just below it. Here is how it came together, photo by photo.

Step 1 of 8

Step 1: Dig the Footing and Lay the Block

It started with a deep hole at the edge of the back patio. The crew laid concrete block down in the footing trench and built it up into a solid block foundation box, set right into the ground beside the house.

Excavated footing hole beside a backyard patio, where the outdoor fireplace and pizza oven will stand

Two builders laying concrete block in the footing trench beside the patio

Crew mixing mortar and raising concrete block foundation walls next to the patio, with a tractor behind them

Finished concrete block foundation box set into the ground at the edge of the patio

Step 2 of 8

Step 2: Tie the Rebar for the Slab

With the block foundation in, the cells were filled and a wood form went around the whole footprint. Black plastic went down, then a tied rebar grid, with extra footing holes dug inside the form. The rebar runs right up to the edge of the existing patio, ready for the pour.

Two builders shoveling sand fill into the block foundation cells from a trailer

Rebar grid tied over black plastic inside the wood slab form

Footing holes dug inside the wood slab form beside the rebar grid

Two builders tying the long rebar mat for the outdoor fireplace and oven slab

Close-up of rebar running along the edge of the exposed aggregate patio before the pour

Step 3 of 8

Step 3: Build the Brick Base and the Firebox

Red brick walls went up on the new slab, laid out for two things side by side: the outdoor fireplace and the oven stand. The fireplace firebox was lined in buff firebrick, and a red brick arch was turned over a plywood form across the fireplace front.

Red brick base walls laid out on the new slab for the fireplace and the oven stand

Buff firebrick firebox walls going up inside the red brick fireplace base

Red brick arch laid over a plywood arch form on the outdoor fireplace, beside the open oven stand

Step 4 of 8

Step 4: Lay the Firebrick Cooking Surface

On top of the oven stand, the firebrick cooking surface was set into a sand bed inside a red brick border. Then the Mattone Barile foam form went down on the firebrick, ready for the barrel.

Builder setting firebrick into a sand bed inside the red brick hearth border

Mattone Barile foam form set on the firebrick hearth while a builder butters a firebrick with mortar

Step 5 of 8

Step 5: Build the Firebrick Barrel and Insulate It

Firebrick went up over the foam form in courses to make the barrel, with a firebrick oven chimney at the front. A ceramic fiber blanket went over the whole barrel, chicken wire held it down, and a mortar coat went over that. A red brick arch framed the oven opening, matching the fireplace arch, with an open firewood bay below.

Firebrick barrel going up over the foam form, with the brick fireplace arch beside it

Ceramic fiber blanket being pulled over the firebrick barrel behind the firebrick oven chimney

Two builders stretching chicken wire over the blanket-wrapped barrel oven

Builder troweling a mortar coat over the insulated barrel oven

Insulated barrel oven with a red brick arch front and a clay flue on its chimney, beside the fireplace

Red brick arches over the outdoor fireplace and the pizza oven opening, with an open firewood bay under the oven

Step 6 of 8

Step 6: Raise the Chimney Mass and Set the Millstone

This is where the build gets tall. One brick chimney mass went up over both the fireplace and the oven, built from scaffolding. A millstone was set into the middle of the chimney face as a medallion, with a red brick band across the bottom of the mass.

Red brick chimney mass going up over the fireplace and oven, on steel scaffolding

Parged chimney mass with a millstone medallion set in its face, above the fireplace and oven

Builder on scaffolding laying a red brick band across the chimney mass

Red brick laid up around the millstone medallion on the chimney face

Step 7 of 8

Step 7: Add the Stone Veneer and the Mantel Shelf

Stacked stone veneer went over the chimney mass, with a ring of stone framing the millstone. A mantel shelf went in across the face, just under the brick band, and then the stone wrapped down around the fireplace arch, the oven and the base.

Stacked stone chimney with a millstone medallion over a new outdoor fireplace mantel shelf, with the lower walls still parged

Mason setting stone veneer around the fireplace arch below the stacked stone chimney

Step 8 of 8

Step 8: Light the Fireplace and the Oven

Fire in the fireplace, fire in the oven, smoke out of one stone chimney. The mantel shelf got its finishing touch, a row of elephant figurines, and yellow mums went on the brick hearth. Split firewood fills the bay under the oven.

Outdoor fireplace mantel with elephant figurines under a stacked stone chimney, with a fire burning in the pizza oven

Fires burning in the outdoor fireplace and the pizza oven under a stone chimney with a millstone medallion

Smoke rising from the stone chimney over the lit fireplace, the mantel shelf and the closed oven door

Stone veneer outdoor fireplace and pizza oven with yellow mums on the brick hearth and the oven door set to one side

Stone chimney, mantel shelf and closed oven door in morning light

Outdoor fireplace mantel ideas: a stone mantel shelf under a millstone medallion, with fires in the fireplace and oven and split firewood stacked below

BeforeFinished

Drag across the photo (or just move your mouse) to go from a hole in the yard to the finished stone fireplace and oven.

Plan Yours

Outdoor Fireplace Mantel Ideas From This Build

Run the mantel under a band. The mantel shelf sits just below the red brick band, so the shelf, the band and the stone above it read as one design.

Give the chimney a focal point. A millstone medallion ringed in stone gives the eye somewhere to land on a tall chimney face.

Dress the mantel. A few pieces you love, like the Cash family's elephant figurines, make an outdoor mantel feel like part of the house.

Match the arches. The same brick arch on the fireplace and the oven ties the two fires together under one chimney. See more outdoor fireplace with pizza oven builds.

Build in the firewood. A bay under the oven keeps split wood right where you need it. For another stone combo, see this stacked stone fireplace build or this outdoor stone fireplace.

Good Questions

Outdoor Fireplace Mantel: FAQ

What makes a good outdoor fireplace mantel?

One that can live outside next to a fire. Outdoor mantels are usually stone, cast stone, concrete or brick. The Cash family set theirs into the stacked stone face, just under a red brick band and a millstone medallion.

Can you put a pizza oven next to an outdoor fireplace?

Yes. The Cash family built the fireplace and the oven side by side on one base, then ran one stone chimney mass over both. See more outdoor fireplace with pizza oven builds.

What is the round stone on the chimney?

It is a millstone, set into the chimney face as a medallion and framed with a ring of stacked stone.

Does an outdoor fireplace need firebrick?

The firebox does. Anywhere the flames touch should be firebrick set in refractory mortar. The Cash family lined their firebox in buff firebrick before the brick arch went on.

Which oven kit did the Cash family use?

They built a firebrick barrel over the Mattone Barile foam form and wrapped it in a ceramic fiber blanket. The Mattone Barile packages add the blanket, chimney kit and more.

How long do you cure a new pizza oven?

Plan on about a week of small, gradually bigger fires to drive the moisture out. Skip it and the oven can crack. See our pizza oven curing guide for the full schedule.

Your Turn

Build Your Own Fireplace, Mantel and Oven

The Cash family turned the edge of their Mississippi patio into a stone chimney, an outdoor fireplace mantel and a pizza oven, one step at a time. Every one starts with the same kit and plans. Start with our free plans and materials list, then finish it your way. Ready to start? See the Mattone Barile kits, or compare all of our pizza oven kits.

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