How to Build a Fire Pit in Your Backyard

How to Build a Fire Pit in Your Backyard

Sitting around a crackling fire is a summertime highlight, but having access to a fire pit doesn’t have to be limited to vacations away from home. You can bring the joy of a campfire into your backyard with this fire pit guide. For further assistance with your new backyard fire pit, stop by Shop-O-Rama today!

Tools and Materials

• Shovel
• Sand
• Water
• Tamper
• Fireproof Bricks
• Construction Adhesive or Concrete
• Fire Pit Ring

Designing Your Fire Pit

Before constructing your fire pit, plan how you want it to look. This will influence where you build it and what materials you will need. If you want a traditional circular fire pit, purchase trapezoidal bricks that will fit together into a ring. If you want a square or rectangular pit, standard bricks will do.

You also need to decide if you want to use concrete for a more traditional brick-and-mortar look, or the cleaner look of using construction adhesive instead.

Choosing Your Location

The first step to building a fire pit is choosing your location. For safety reasons, your fire pit should be close to your hose or water source in the case of an emergency. You should also keep your fire pit away from buildings, fences, trees, or other flammable objects in your yard. Be sure to consult your local fire pit regulations and bylaws to ensure your fire pit is in a safe spot and up to standards.

In addition to these important safety considerations, you will want to ensure you leave adequate room from fences or permanent objects so you can include seating around the fire. Choose a spot where the ground is level to build on.

Creating the Base

Once you have the location of your fire pit planned out, it’s time to outline exactly where you would like it. To do so, set your fire pit ring on the ground where you want it to be placed. Then, lay a ring of bricks against the outside of the fire ring. Using your shovel, mark the dirt around the bricks so you know the size and shape of the base you will have to make.

Now that you have an outline of where to dig, remove all the bricks and the fire ring from the area. Dig out the hole for your fire pit a minimum of four inches deep to ensure that all the grass is completely removed from the area you have outlined.

Next, create a fireproof base. Set down a one-inch, level layer of sand in the hole. Wet the sand and tamp it down to create a flat layer.

Assembling the Fire Pit

The last part of building a fire pit is creating the brick ring around the outside. To start, lay the first layer of bricks down against the edge of your sandy layer. Be sure you place your bricks against each other to form the first layer of the brick ring.

Now, stack on the second layer of bricks, staggering the bricks between layers like a brick wall. Next, gently place your fire pit ring in the circle of bricks to check that it fits well.

Remove your fire pit ring and adjust the placement of your bricks if needed. Once you are happy with the layout of your fire pit, it’s time to secure it. Remove the second layer of bricks so only the bottom level remains.

Add a layer of concrete or generously apply the construction adhesive to the top of the base layer of bricks. Stack the second level of bricks on top of the first, pressing down to ensure it is secure. Continue building the ring by layering adhesive and bricks. Once the lip of the fire pit ring almost rests on top, your brick ring is tall enough.

Once you are happy with the brick ring, put your fire pit ring in the middle of the brick circle. Wait about a week for your construction adhesive to set completely before you use your fire pit.

You’re now ready to bring the summertime fun to kids and adults alike! If you need more help to assemble your new fire pit, talk to the team at Shop-O-Rama.