Tips for Building a Backyard Fire Pit

Tips on How to Build a Backyard Fire Pit

Bringing my family together was my goal. Creating a place that we could gather together in the early evening that didn’t include a television took some thinking. A fire pit is a small dug out pit where you can start a camp fire and just gather around and talk. It is a somewhat cozy way of getting warm and at the same time bonding with the people around you.

A fire pit has been used for outdoor activities and camp outs for many years to help foster good relations among campers. Allowing people to gather around a fire and talk about anything under the night sky just builds a mood that is hard to describe. But how to build a fire pit has been a topic of many camp fires because it usually requires some planning and thought. You don’t want the fire pit too close to any structures that might catch fire easily or any dried up plants or wood that are highly flammable.

Safety Instructions on How To Build A Fire Pit

A fire pit shouldn’t be a huge hole in the ground; an ideal circumference can be about a foot and a half. Once you have chosen a safe location you should think through other aspects of your project.

Home Depot or Lowe’s can provide you with some great ideas for building your fire pit. It really can be quite easy once you gather all your materials. At a minimum you will want to have some digging tools and a supply of pea gravel and sand. You might want to pickup some concrete pavers or blocks to surround your fire pit.

Gather your fire pit supplies, then mark the circumference by drawing a circle on the ground. Make sure you dig your fire pit about one foot deep. In the center of your first hole, you want to dig another hole about six inche around and another eight to twelve inches deep.

Fill up both holes with pea gravel and then add about three inches of sand at the very top of your fire pit. The sand should be level with the ground already. The gravel acts as a drain for your fire pit. You can now surround your fire pit with the concrete pavers or blocks. It would be better if your pavers would be at least two stacks high to prevent any rolling logs of sticks.

A simple bench might can be contructed using a couple of cinder block and a six foot length of redwood 2×6 lumber. It’s a small touch, but if the goal is to bring people together, it’s most likely best if you don’t ask them to sit on ground. You can dress up the bench by using ” Key Stone” landscaping blocks. These blocks are used to build retaining walls and come in a wide variety of textures and colors.

Make building a backyard fire pit a family project. It can be a fun and as you can see doesn’t have to be expensive.