Landscaping with Dave
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How to build a fire pit when the winter months bring special
challenges in our yards. For those unfortunate people living in the northern
United States it mostly brings out snow shovels and snow blowers. For those
of us in the southern United States the yard work slows slightly but the
Club Husband mind never rests. This is why I decided to build a backyard
fire pit. A fire pit is great for those cold Florida evenings
when I'm sitting in my yard and the temperatures drop to a frigid 65 degrees.
I scoot my lawn chair up close(not close enough my evening cocktail explodes)
and enjoy the warmth of the hot embers as I poke them with my glowing wooden
poker. |
It is a feeling only rivaled by a Hot Buttered
Rum on a cold Christmas Eve. I wanted to do this as quickly and as easily
as possible. Easy because I'm naturally lazy. Quickly because I didn't want
my wife to have a fit and throw herself in front of my wheel barrow, yelling
you don't know how to build a fire pit!. But I also wanted to do this
right.
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Materials Needed
Small bag of gravel
Small bag of mortar mix - a dry pre-mix is the easiest to use
2 foot stake with string and nail
Bricks
Large circular grill
Tools
shovel
trowel
level |
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Prep Work
Dig a pit at least four feet in diameter and 1 1/2 feet below ground or patio
level.
Lay a 2" bed of gravel on pit floor and drive the stake into center of pit.
Mix small amount of dry mortar with water and use trowel to spread a 2" thick
circular layer around the edges of the gravel.
While mortar is still wet, smooth the surface with the trowel, then scribe
a circle from the stake using string and nail. (This line will be the outer
boundary for the circle of bricks).
Let dry for 24 hours. |
The Main Event!
Lay a 1" bed of mortar on top your circle and set a vertical circle of bricks
on top
Use your level to make sure bricks are even, and spread each edge
of each new brick with mortar as you proceed around the circular line.
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Lay another vertical layer of brick in same manner as above, bringing
the construction to ground level. After this dries, you can fill in the gap
between the outer circle of brick and the wider pit with dirt.
Along the inner edge of your brick circle, lay out a dry fan like circle
of horizontally placed bricks. This is to determine the number of bricks
and the space required between them.
Remove about five of these bricks and lay down a 1/2" bed of mortar, using
your level to place the bricks evenly on top.
Tap bricks into place with trowel and continue in this manner around the
entire circle, pausing every few minutes to scrape off excess mortar. |
Lay another horizontal circle of bricks on top of this first layer in the
same way. Let dry overnight.
Place the large grill on top of your new brick fire pit.
You now can stand up and proclaim to the neighborhood. "Let there be
Fire" It is encouraged that you do this very loudly while waving your
arms in the air. Use caution not to spill your drink.
I hope you enjoy your pit as much as I enjoy mine. Note; northerners will
also find a fire pit to be useful. The only difference being you will
have to clear a forest to take the chill out of your winter air.
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