How to Build a Firepit

A professionally installed firepit

You can build a fire pit as a useful and decorative accent to your landscape. Determining the materials will depend on the design of your garden. And snuggling near to a cozy fire for friendship, cooking or romance is a great way to enjoy your garden on a cool evening. Here is a basic how-to and some ideas on how to build yours.

Instructions

1. First you want to site your fire pit carefully. It should be:

   1.Away from flammable materials and overhanging branches or structures.

   2.Nowhere near brush that sparks can ignite.

   3.Where it will be convenient enough to be used.

   4.If decorative -- where it will be seen.

2. The concept behind a fire pit is simple and has been used for thousands of years. Essentially, you want to dig a hole about 2' deep and the diameter you want for your fire pit. Fill the hole with gravel or stone or a combination. You are creating a sump for good drainage when it rains. I prefer using larger stones at the bottom and gravel on the top for better drainage.

3. A more substantial construction would be to fill the hole with layers about 4" deep of gravel, then soil, then sand and repeat until the hole is filled. Tamp the materials down after each layer.

4. Then you can build the sides up with courses of rock, stone, cement blocks or other appropriate materials.. Cement blocks can disintegrate with heat but are inexpensive to replace. These can be dry stacked with occasional gaps left to add air circulation for a better fire. Make sure the bottom course of rock or block is level and stack courses so the materials are staggered, not one above the next in a row.

5. For convenience, its easier to pour in your layers of gravel materials in the hole before building up your walls very high. You can finish the top layer with gravel (or sand). Also sure up the bottom course of block or stone all around the outside with a little gravel if the pit will not be surrounded by paving or another solid surface.

6. Sides are best kept under 20" tall. If you want to cement your walls together, use the cement on the outside of the wall and not inside by the heat of the fire.

7. You can buy grates and steel liners separately and slide them into the inside of the wall area when you are finished. Some fire pits are built without any lining, but a steel liner will make your fire pit last longer and burn safer. Or you can buy kits that come complete with all the necessary materials to build a fire pit.

8. 

   Also consider some of the very attractive portable fire pits available in clay, copper, iron and a wealth of other materials. There are many designs to choose from and you can site your fire pit wherever you want.

9. When you're done, consider adding benches or comfy outdoor furniture to make gathering around the fire pit all that much more inviting!

Tips & Warnings

• Always keep a bucket of water nearby if you are in a wooded or otherwise fire-prone area.

• Never use stone or rock that has been submerged in water: it can explode in heat.

• Avoid using any adhesives that can melt or give off toxic fumes in heat.

Resources

• Gates & Croft Horticultural Design info and ideas