How to Build Stone Fire Pit

Nothing beats the smell of a campfire on a cool fall evening. You can build your fire in one of those metal fireplace bins that are sold in hardware stores or, for a bit more money and a lot more effort, you can make your own fire where you and the kids or your friends can roast hot dogs, toast marshmallows and sing the old camp songs that will make your yard a popular gathering place.

Things You'll Need

• Shovels
• Strings and levels for layout
• Gravel
• Rocks, fieldstone or cement pavers
• Steel band or fire bricks

Instructions

1. Check with your local fire department or building inspector. Most communities have ordinances with regulations concerning open burning. While most areas do not regulate cooking in a barbecue, open fires are another thing altogether. Some communities prohibit open burning altogether and some permit it only for cooking. Your community may require a building permit. If it does, the good news is that the building inspector is generally a good source ofinformation.

2. If you've been given a go-ahead providing your fire pit is surrounded by non-combustible material and no garbage is burned in it, you're fortunate. You have a number of options at your disposal. The first thing you need to do is to site your fire pit twenty to twenty-fiver feet away from the house or any woody are that a stray spark might light. You're still going to have to watch sparks but with some distance between the fire and some combustibles, you've improved your odds.

3. Lay out your pit before you start. Tie a string to a stake in the center of the area where you want your fire pit and mark a circle by drawing the string around the stake and marking it with your steel fire ring or fire bricks. Then lay a row of blocks or fieldstone around your steel fire ring. This will be your pit. Start by digging around the circle, then remove the stones and fire ring.

4. Dig a hole about a foot deep. Dig out the center so that the center is about six inches deep but there is a "moat" around the edges wide enough to begin to set the blocks or stones in. The outer circle and hole should be level on the bottom.

5. Add about six inches of gravel to your moat and carefully lay one row of blocks or stones around the perimeter of your fire pit. Check to make sure that the blocks are level. Use a steel fire ring--available at many home centers--to line your fire pit. Alternately, half of a 55-gallon steel drum or fire bricks can be used. If you use fire bricks, set them around the edge of the inner circle.

6. Once you've laid in your fire ring (or built your firewall) up to ground level, put about six inches of gravel in your pit and tamp it down. This gives your fire a base to breathe through and provides drainage for rain. Continue to build your wall around your pit until you've reached the top of the fire ring or are 8-10 inches above the ground.

7. Add a capstone all around your fire pit and allow a day or two for the adhesive to dry thoroughly before using your fire pit. Always have a water supply handy.

Tips & Warnings

• The adhesive you use will vary on what kind of stone you use for your pit walls. Cement blocks can be joined with a masonry adhesive, fire bricks and stone use a special mortar. Ask your stone merchant for a recommendation and be sure to mention that you are building a fire pit--not all adhesives and mortars can be used with fire and high heat.

• Certain types of stone have water in them and should not be used for fire pits because they can explode when subjected to high heat.