There’s nothing so welcoming to a backyard like a fire pit. A fire pit can be a wonderful place for you and friends or the family to gather when it’s nice weather out. Maybe you want to roast S’mores not just when you’re camping no problem! Just install a homemade fire pit and you can.
But it doesn’t seem so easy, does it? Where do you begin on such a project? Never fear this video has your answers. It gives you the rundown of the basic materials and steps to constructing your very own backyard fire pit. What a great way to add to your lifestyle and home value!
Before you get started building, you’ll want to find a good area for a fire pit. There are several questions you need to ask yourself:
- Is the ground level? If it’s not, you’ll need to do some extra working making it that way, though it’s still not impossible!
- Are there overhanging limbs? If there are any hanging down, you may need to either cut them off or consider a different location.
- Are we thinking about kid safety? You don’t want the kids to be running and trip into the fire pit! Consider placing it out of the way of where the kids play.
- What about the neighbors? You have to deal with neighbors as long as you’re living in your location, so be sure you’re not infringing on their home with noise or smoke!
Once you have your location, put a stake in the middle of it. How big do you want your fire pit? Measure accordingly. Don’t worry the math is pretty simple! Plot out two circles one for the fire pit and one for the outer boundary of the fire pit area. Then, using a string of appropriate length for each circle, use marking paint to spray the circles.
With your circles drawn on, double check that the ground is level. If it’s not, as is likely, you’ll have to till a bit! Borrow or rent a tiller and level it out with that and a rake. Then, put down coarse sand on the perimeter and in the inner circle. Tamp it down and check that everything’s to grade.
From here, you just need to construct your fire pit! May people like theirs to be stone. Do build it that way, get the appropriately sized stones and fit them around in 3 layers. That will give you a solid foundation and keep the flames from falling outside of the pit. You can also do a ring of stone around the outside of the pit area, though be sure to consider whether it’s safer to do so or not to for playing kids. In the area, fill with gravel or sand, depending on your preference.
Once you’re finished with these tasks, it’s time to decorate! Do you want some plants on the outside? Lights to illuminate the perimeter of the fire pit area? Design it to fit your house and backyard it’s up to you!
And that’s it! You built a fire pit all by yourself. Now kick back and enjoy some S’mores!
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