DIY Fire Pit Idea You Can Make in a Day
Looking for ways to build your own fire pit? Wait until you see this DIY fire pit idea that you can do in less than a day.
We were having coffee one Saturday morning mapping out the day, when we started conceptually talking about building a DIY fire pit.
I’m not quite sure what happened, because I was planning to spread mulch in my gardens that day.
But next thing I know, Chris was at the local garden center looking at different types of stone.
When this happens you gotta just go with it, right?
We chose to site the new fire pit area in a debris-accumulating area of the backyard.
Do you have one of those? LOL.
This spot used to contain my girls’ playhouse.
Since they outgrew it, we dismantled it and the space became a place to store firewood.
Chris cleared the area and went to the local nursery to shop for some stones while I finished mulching the front gardens.
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How to Build Your Own DIY Fire Pit Idea
We wanted our DIY fire pit to be very rustic and casual
Here’s how we did it.
How Far Should a Fire Pit Be From Your House?
Before building a DIY fire pit, please consult with your municipality and local ordinances, as well as other building professionals regarding how to build safely fire pit in your area.
They may recommend different distances so follow your local ordinances.
What Do You Put at the Bottom of a Fire Pit?
When building a DIY fire pit, a good bottom layer will have sand topped with lava rock, pea gravel, fire pit glass or some sort of kiln-fired stone pavers.
However, you can also just use dirt.
Our DIY fire pit idea has a bottom layer of sand with pea gravel.
Choosing the Stone
While I was mulching, he was texting me photos of various stone options.
Do you know how hard it is to text this stuff while mulching?
Not to mention I did not have my readers on, but I digress.
The option I chose was a little more expensive and provided more stone than we needed.
He wanted to go with the less expensive option that gave us just the right amount to build the fire pit.
The one I preferred had more of the look we wanted for the yard with larger, thicker, more rustic looking stone.
His preference had thinner and flatter pieces of stone.
After some discussion, we went with the larger stone.
Although we were getting more stone than necessary, we decided we are doing this once, so let’s make it look the way we want!
I’m sure we could have bought something pre-fab or a kit, but we wanted something that looked rustic and natural, so we chose the larger stone that gave us a surplus.
Since we had more stone than necessary, we built a stone bench for extra seating.
Supplies Needed
While you don’t need much to build this DIY fire pit idea, here’s what we used:
- 1 pallet of stone
- Sand
- Pea Gravel
- Wheelbarrow
- Work Gloves
How to Build This DIY Fire Pit Idea
While this project was labor-intensive because of the heavy rock, it was not difficult to do.
This spot in our garden already had a layer of pea gravel and sand, so we laid the larger rock down in a circular pattern, then leveled it to insure it laid flat.
Looking at it as a puzzle, we laid the rest of the rock around the fire pit until it was roughly 2 feet high and sturdy.
We wanted to build ours higher to keep our dogs (and small kids) out of the firepit if there was a fire burning.
Since we wanted more of a rustic look, we did not mortar the stone in place and just left them as is.
And we love how it turned out!
We had some stone left over so my husband built a bench so we could get additional seating.
Our DIY Fire Pit Idea Now
We made this fire pit a few years ago and love it!
It gets used spring through fall and we are out here with our family all the time.
The rocks held up well and the height of the stone kept our dogs out of harms way.
Our adirondack chairs were several years old, so I spruced them up with a fresh coat of paint.
I chose a neutral color too so it blended in with my surrounding gardens.
In addition to painting the chairs, I also added these AWESOME solar lanterns.
They are fabulous.
I hand them on shepherds hooks throughout the backyard.
Final Thoughts
What do you think of the new fire pit area?
We love it and hang out there often roasting marshmallows with the kids. It is great having the additional outdoor living space.
At night, it feels so cozy and comfortable with the tiki torches we added to the fence posts.
Do you have a fire pit area?
I’d love to see it if you do!
If not, I hope this brought some inspiration for your outdoor spaces.
Please leave your ideas, comments & more below or contact me here.
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