Fire pit plan

If you have decided to get yourself a fire pit for your garden or backyard, then through some research you’ll come to know that there are many alternatives to buying a fire pit. Readymade fire pits are available in abundance in the market. They come with a host of options in a variety of materials and of all sizes. But it is also easy to build your own fire pit too.

A do-it-yourself fire pit does not need loads of blue prints and fancy diagrams. All that you need is a decent fire pit plan and some creativity to make your own customized fire pit. A few hours of hard work would be enough to build a fire pit once you have procured the materials needed. A wood burning pit is one of the easiest fire pits that you can build as it does not involve much complicated fixtures.

Your primary objective in building a fire pit is to make yourself a good fire pit plan. Once you have a good plan, then construction of the fire pit becomes a lot easier. If you are finding it tough to get a decent plan you can always check the internet where many fire pit plans are available.

There are many sites that would make a custom fire pit plan for you – for a price of course. When you decide on the plan always take into account the surroundings and the layout of your garden or yard. The fire pit should be able to blend in with the surroundings or else you can be left with an odd looking fire pit once done. 

With a plan in hand you have to decide on the materials that you would need to build your fire pit. Stones, bricks, fire bricks or fieldstones, binding cement and masonry tools to build the fire pit are the most important. You need the bricks and cent to form the outer structure of your fire pit. A good shovel is necessary as a lot of digging would be involved in constructing a fire pit. The outer lining of the fire pit can be granite, marble, porcelain tiles or any other material that you wish for. But that would be one of the last processes in building your fire pit.

You start off by selecting a safe place to have your fire pit. As we are dealing with fire, you have to be very careful about the placement of the fire pit. Make sure that the place you select is far away from any structures that can catch fire and also in such a place not to obstruct your free movement in and around the garden or yard. After deciding the place, we have to dig a hole for the fire pit.

You have an option of having a shallow fire pit or a deep fire pit. Shallow fire pits would be at a height of about two to three feet from the ground. Deeper fire pits would be just a bit above the ground level. Dig the hole as per the requirements but make sure that the perimeter of the fire pit is the same as what you had in your plan.

The second process is to line the pit with fire bricks or fieldstones. Build the outer wall along the perimeter of the hole you have dug. This wall will prevent the wind and soil from interfering with the fire. Once you have built the wall, line the inner walls with fire bricks as they provide safety to the normal bricks that you have built the wall with. To make the fire pit fancier, you can always build a stucco pit above the ground. Next step is to decorate the outer wall of the pit with marble or granite or any other material that you had planned for. Do not line the inner walls with marble or granite as they will tend to blacken out due to the heat and soot from the fire.

With the completion of the fire pit structure, you have to decide what type of fire pit mechanism you would go for. You have the option of going for a traditional wood burning pit or a gas fire pit.

If you are planning for a wooden fire pit then make sure that the size of the fire pit is sufficient to hold the logs of wood that you will need for the fire. Also ensure that it would be easy to remove the un-burnt wood and the ash once you have used the fire pit. You can go through magazines or the internet to find out the ideal wood to burn in your fire pit. Always remember to put off the fire completely before you call it a day, as even small fires left unattended can be dangerous.

The most convenient option would be a gas fire pit. You can pick up a simple metal fire ring at a cheap price from your local store or purchase it from the internet. Make sure that you make arrangements for the gas fed pipe if you are planning for a gas fire pit. Also it is always better to have the source or storage of the gas far away from the fire pit. It would help to get professional advice before laying the feed pipe for the gas to avoid problems in the future.

No matter what fire pit you are going to build, make sure that proper safety steps are taken during and after completing the fire pit.