We bought this house, and this brick structure is in the back yard and I’m not sure what it is. Could it be a brick grill? There is a paved path to it from a back patio, and a little brick lip that you could conceivably put a metal rack on.
by Character-Cicada6461
41 Comments
Might be a commode.
Everything can be a grill if you have the inclination. I once saw someone turn a toilet into a grill.
Fountain
Probably used to be a water fountain at some point.
I guess people are saying it looks like a fountain because of the hole. Definitely would be a shit fountain. Is there pvc in the hole? If not I’m leaning some sort of cooking apparatus
It’s actually a Van Buren urinal circa 1898 or so. You probably don’t want to use it as a grill. Also, I just made all that up.
“Does this fountain look like it’s ever cooked anything at > 400F?”
No
Lighting a fire on concrete is a fun way to see how it explodes once it gets hot enough. You don’t want to light a charcoal chimney on a patio for this reason. Definitely NOT a grill. Airflow would also be terrible.
I would be shocked if it was a fountain based on the family. Nothing fancy, small home, pretty bare bones. Everything they had and all the furnishings were quite simple/cheap, and the yard was pretty un-landscaped. We are the second owners. I guess it just seems wierd that they would have gone through the trouble to pour a concrete path and have a fountain but no other decorative things really inside or out?
Old school glory hole. Give it a try.
urinal?
It’s a fountain, or eternal flame, depending on how it’s piped… or both if you live in a fracking zone
Pretty sure a statue of Mary used to be there. Looks like the base and the hole would where a peg from the bottom was used to hold it in place.
It was a pedestal for a statue of The Sacred Bleeding Heart of Jesus. Are you in LA?
r/whatisthisthing will likely be able to help more.
American flag base. It was popular when Americans had respect for their country and maga wasn’t a political scourge.
My grandpa had an almost identical concrete block grill. Bottom grate slides in at the bottom and is where you put the fire, top grate for the food.
Looks like a great place to put a Big Green Egg or similar ceramic grill 😉
I’ve seen something exactly like that but it was enclosed do be a brick oven for pizza but maybe they took the stone off that hole …
Maybe an old bird bath to be honest
It could be made into a grill but trim back the shrubbery please.
The start to your pizza oven
It is now
That’s a snake pit
Looks like a water fountain
I would burn a few small fires in it see how it reacts.
To me it looks like an old school grill, based on cause I’m old and seen a few dads build these back in the day.
It’s a sacrifice alter with a hole for blood drainage
I don’t see any charring so it’s doubtful it was a pit but I have no idea otherwise. Is there a cord coming out the back, sides or any openings anywhere?
A torture armchair. Miss the chains
Bird bath
I’m pretty sure this is a grill. I too would love an outdoor grill and a designated path to it, at a safe distance from the house.
It’s an outdoor bidet
Bidet?
Looks like it was an old trash brining pit.
Bird bidet
I have to agree with other commenters about it being a statue placement. Hole seems centered great for a display of some sort. It just doesn’t quite sit right for a grill. And I don’t think those bricks would hold up to extreme heat. Also that arch shape in the concrete is hitting some sort of memory synapse in the back of my skull. May not have been religious. But it did probably serve as some sort of memorial thingie… Or maybe it’s a bidet like someone said. 🙂 That’s a heck of a lot funnier!
Le Grille. What the hell is that?
Do you *want* it to be a grill …?
More importantly, it’s a grill *now*. You can drop some sticks or coal there and throw wracks over the top and grill away. Doesn’t matter what it was before. Now it’s a grill. Share the update when you do your first cook!
It’s the throne of the masonry king