Wanting to build a yarkosmoker's fireplace/smoker

Good evening Tom.

I have personally seen this before.  What an awesome build.   Very practical if you have access all the way round your build.

I  googled and watched this build in a slide show to see how it worked.  Totally awesome!

How deep?    The best way to know is to contact your local building inspector at see what a footing has to be in your area.   I wouldn't provide anymore info then I had to.  They could make you pull a permit that could cost a lot in the long run.  Play dumb and just ask questions.   It they tell you a footing has to be 2 feet, that has to be the bottom of the footing.  The purpose  is so when the ground freezes it won't raise the footing.  Just like a house footing.   In my area the footing has to be 16in. below grade.

Yes, once the foundation is poured, you can bring it to ground level with block.   Be sure it fill all voids with block.  Here is a picture of my fireplace and smoker foundation.   I laid block off the foundation  up to where I wanted to start.


The open channel is for the clean out for the fireplace and smoker.

3.   Yes,  I poured my footing a foot bigger then the finished build.  This adds to stability.  Bring the block to where you want your fireplace to start and pour or lay 4in cap block to start your build on.   Bring your face brick off the footing.  

Something to remember.   Standard brick and block work on 8 and 16in.   You can guess at it or if your  set on getting it perfect, buy you a white rule that has brick work layoff on the back.   A great rule even for experienced bricklayers.   

Lastly,  I can not stress enough,   once finished let your build cure for at least 30-45 days.   Then start with small fires and build up over a couple weeks to a full burn.   If you build a big fire in  green masonry,   I promise it will crack.   Better safe then sorry.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.   

I'm looking forward to seeing this built.   Great design for folks with wide open spaces.

Edit:   This is my setup complete.


Wes

Hey Tom! Here in KS we run footings 36" deep to get below the frost line, anything less has a chance of being pushed up.
Also keep in mind where you are in relation to the river, here in Rose Hill we have hard pack clay, downtown, think Riverside, it's all sand, west of West st you get back into the clay again.
On the clay, I think you could get away with building a smaller version on a concrete slab with re-bar every 24" both ways. In the sand I'd look into some footings.
The biggest thing to remember here is KS is the ground is always moving, just like my old concrete boss would say. "I'll put enough steel in it its not going to move, but I can't do anything to keep it from cracking!"

FYI, most, not all, but most County/City Building departments have the requirements online for frost depth, wind loading, snow loads, etc. on their websites. I'd start there, and then if you can't find it call the building dept. in your county/city and just ask what the frost depth is. Like Wes said above leave it at that and say thank you.

Tom Truong said:

I live in the andover area 21st and 143rd street

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North of my sister, 153d and Central off Terradyne. That's the hard pack clay. Depending on how big you want to go will determine the base you need. If you go full size, you'd need a 3'x8" footing around the base, then either cinder blocks or a pad on top. Half size a 4-6" pad with re-bar should be enough.
Give me an idea on your dimensions and I can make a couple of phone calls to make sure we've got it right and I might be able to point you in the direction of some concrete guys, or guide you in forming it up yourself.