Here's Help for Your Own Fire Pit
Construction Project.
There's something addictive about stone
fire pits.
Maybe the allure is the ambience of
the campfire, the aroma of the smoke, or the promise of toasted marshmallows
and sizzling hot dogs.
Or just maybe it's more about what a fire pit
represents: an excuse to relax, a reason to spend time
outside with friends and family, long conversations, and lasting
memories.
You'll be glad to know that fire pit
construction couldn't be easier, even for the lest handy among
us.
The Internet abounds with scads of do-it-yourself guides
to help you build a stone fire pit.
Best
of all, the materials are easy-to-find and doing it yourself
costs a mere fraction of what you'd pay a contractor.
So whether you are having friends over
for adult beverages, or serving dinner to a crowd, there are plenty
of stone fire pit designs to heat up your gathering.
And
here are free online resources I've collected to help you do just
that.
Follow
their example or use them as a starting point for your own outdoor
stone fire pit design.
Home Depot
Want to
get that
backyard bonfire going without having to dig a pit into your
lawn? Home Dept has instructions to show you how to build a fire pit in 4 easy steps. This one's safe for your deck and your patio.
Check out a
HGTV's cast concrete stone design. No mixing concrete. It will keep an
open fire cracking safely above ground.
HGTV
The Art of Doing
Stuff
No
yard? Consider this
portable fire pit. The Art Of Doing Stuff
offers a pictorial guide to how to make a table top fire
pit on the cheap. It uses gel
fuel and it doubles as an indoor fire pit.
Just gorgeous!
Need a fire pit makeover? The DIY
Network team
has just the thing along with step-by-step instructions. See how
they've raised this pit's profile and made it pop with blue
fire glass.
DIY
Network
Home Building
Buzz
Here's a
tip for sourcing affordable flagstone and an 8-step
procedure for building a flagstone fire pit with
a patio. The project was completed over a long weekend with
a couple of evenings the following week.
The Family Handy Man has this project where he shows you
how to pair retaining wall stone on the fire pit with a
flagstone patio.
The Family Handy
Man
Instructables
Instructables goes a step further with a
9-step process for building an outdoor stone wall fire pit,
plus a cross-section diagram showing the anatomy of the
project.
Here's a DIY fire pit video. This project is being done in stages, and the
pit they're building on the video is designed to fit into a
patio expansion planned for next year.
DIY Solid
Rock
Houzz
The
people over at Houzz started with an ideabook before
starting their project. They walk us through the process
starting with the "after" picture, then the
shopping list, and reveal the cost.
Here's the little fire pit that
could. It's amazing what you can do for only a
few dollars. You gotta see
it.
DIY Solid
Rock
Fire Pit
Novelties
Add a little color to
natural gas and propane firepits with firepit glass. These bright, pebble-sized
pieces of recycled, tempered glass come in dozens of colors
and don't melt, discolor, or crack when exposed to
flame. For a unique look, use fire
pit glass
instead of sand to fill in the pit.
Fire Pit Safety
Considerations
You've probably heard it all before, but I
would be remiss if I didn't mention that you should check the codes
and regulations in your area before investing your time and money.
Also, be sure to position the fire pit away from anything that could
burn, including trees and plants and always have water handy.
Easy Outdoor
Decor
. These bright, pebble-sized
pieces of recycled, tempered glass come in dozens of colors
and don't melt, discolor, or crack when exposed to
flame. For a unique look, use fire
pit glass
instead of sand to fill in the pit.