How to Build a Cinder Block Fire Pit

Building a cinder block fire pit is a practical way to construct a fire pit in a yard. The cinder blocks contain the fire and keep layers of gravel, lava rock and wood from spilling out. Cinder block is a cost-effective building material that produces a stable wall around the fire pit and provides adequate support for any decorative stone used on the sides and on top of it.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Cinder block
• Pea gravel
• Lava rock
• Kindling
• Fire grate/wire mesh

Instructions

1. Check state and local regulations regarding backyard fire pits and incorporate any legal requirements such as set-backs and screening into the fire pit's placement and design.

2. Decide where to build the cinder block fire pit. It should be an appropriate distance from all structures, wooden fences and trees and within reach of a garden hose. Use landscape paint to mark a circle four feet in diameter.

3. Use a shovel to dig out the turf and soil on the inside of the four-foot circle to a depth of one foot, then place cinder blocks end to end, corners touching, holes facing up, around the perimeter of the dug out area.

4. Place a second tier of cinder blocks end to end on top of the first tier, holes up, corners touching, but with the center of the blocks sitting directly over the touching corners of the first tier blocks.

5. Repeat step four, above, to set the third and final tier of cinder blocks.

6. Cover the bottom of the three-foot round fire pit inside the cinder blocks with pea gravel, then fill the area inside the cinder blocks three quarters of the way up with lava rock. Place kindling on top of the lava rock, making sure the wood is not higher than the third tier cinder blocks.

7. Place a fire grate or wire mesh over the fire pit so that it rests on all sides on top of the cinder blocks.

References

• This Old House: How to Build a Fire Pit
• How to Build a Fire Pit in Your Back Yard
• How to Build a Back Yard Fire Pit

Resources

• Custom Built Fire Pit