" Okay, let's get started in the backyard with John Clancy, our mason contractor, who's gonna help us rebuild this little barbecue. Hi John."

" Hi Bob. How are you doing?"

" This looks like it was a Saturday afternoon special, maybe 10 years ago, right?"

" Yup. I'd say it's a pretty common barbecue."

" Uh huh."

" Very simple in design."

" Yes. And have you figured out how are we gonna fix it?"

" Yeah, well basically, we drew a little sketch here in what we thought would work."

" You gotta get rid of all that stuff first unless there were mortar."

" Right, right. We're gonna make it with some level things up. We'd probably come up with 3 levels of brick. "

" Yeah."

" And make it comfortable to cook on."

" You've got a little sketch, which will help you figure out what your shopping list should be."

" Right. And we're gonna do 3 back walls----"

" On the back, yeah."

" Yup. To put a tray for warming and keeping your foods as you cook, and we're gonna leave a spot off the back for a little ventilation."

" Now, this is the kind of brick we're using, which is the common brick? "

" Yup. Very common brick. "

" What do you pay for one of these?"

" Above 29 cents."

" Same as a postage stamp. Good. But you know, the secret to a lot of projects like this is having the right mix of cement to put it all together, right?"

" Right, right."

" What are we working with over here?"

" What we have is the basic mix we've picked up. It's light masonry cement, and we mix that with 234 to 1, 234 to 1 part masonry cement. "

" But what about water? How do you figure out? He just put a whole bunch of water in there."

" Well, basically, we're going slow because we don't wanna make it too wet."

" Yes."

" We wanna make a nice workability out of it."

" Yeah. If it's dry you can make it wetter. If it's too wet you can't go back."

" You can't take that water out."

" So again, the ratio of sand to the cement is what?"

" 234 to 1."

" 2 in a part----"

" 234 part sand to 1 part masonry cement. "

" Okay. And the masonry cement has some lime in accuracy."

" Yup. And that gives it the workability."

" Great."

" And we're using a light color, which should try to blend in with what we have in the existing barbecue. Alright, is that ready now?"

" Looks good."

" It's got a good work ability to it."

" Uh huh."

" You don't want it too stiff because then it's stop to work with, and you don't want it too wet because then it will----"

" And you don't wanna overload your bucket because then it's too heavy to carry around."

" Right."

" Then you'll hurt your back."

" Yeah."

" Okay. So what we're gonna start doing is we're gonna work in the corner first."

" You always start at the corner----"

" Yeah, you always work on the corner."

" when you've got a job like this."

" Right. You put just enough what you need, a little bit extra. We start in the corner. We get our corner set first."

" And you wanna match----"

" Right."

" the thickness of that."

" Right."

" Exactly."

" Where everything works good. And then you do your closure afterwards."

" How do you get the mortar on the---- You've put them some there for----"

" Yeah, yup. And what we do is we put a little bit here, and try to close the difference. Put a little bit on the both ends. If you wanna close in it's pretty cool, and it's less easier to do in that kind of round."

" And now you're up and running."

" Yup."

" Do you wanna put a level on it yet?"

" Sure."

" Yup. Some people do it whatever it cost. You can do whatever is convenient. And I usually range it too just to make sure everything."

" Hold."

" Yeah, just to make sure everything is good and straight."

" Now, this step is called parging. And you've basically got more of the same mortar mix that you're applying right over the brick. "

" Right."

" How does this stay on?"

" Well I use a good mix. Very rich and----"

" Rich in Portland"

" rich in Portland."

" Yeah. And you don't put too much on the trowel. Keep it on the back of the trowel and use a good even pressure."

" Well, it's a trick to really handle that trowel. You're holding it upside down."

" Right."

" And----"

" Almost backwards actually."

" Right."

" And I keep the mortar on the back in the trowel. And it's just easier to do that way."

" Right."

" And then you sponge it?"

" Yup, or paintbrush, whatever you have. It doesn't matter. Just to kind of smooth it up a little bit so it doesn't look so rough."

" That's the way [unk] a little bit before you sponge it. You don't wanna wipe it all off."

" And now on this course, we're going to be using some lag bolts, right?"

" Yup. Galvanized lag bolts. What we do is usually stick them on about an inch."

" Yeah."

" And they are gonna provide support for the actual grill that goes on here."

" Right."

" And that's what we're doing, putting down all the mortar before we bring the bricks into play."

" Right. And then we're ready to length."

" And you're starting with a half brick---- "

" Yup"

" in the outside corner."

" Yup. That's to keep the half bolt on."

" Yeah."

" And it makes everything stronger and will support them."

" And once you've got up another couple of courses, you'll part with the rest of it?"

" Yup. 2 parts of that to make it stronger, and we're gonna set some more bolts out for different heights of the grill."

" And what we've got here is some old steel grating that will be terrific with a few T bones on it. You can switch it and bring it up here to the higher level. And of course, in the back, we've got a missing brick so it will have an air intake from there. And John, you've got a piece of steel that's an added little feature here."

" Yup."

" This could be a warming tray or it could be used directly on top of the grate to heat up and do the hamburgers on there."

" Yeah."

" And then at the end of the evening, the kids come with the marshmallows. Nice job."

" Thanks."

" Thanks a lot."