Build a Fire Pit With Your Family

There is nothing quite like spending time with your family, and building memories that will last a lifetime. So often these good memories include cool summer evenings around a campfire.

For only a few dollars you can build a safe place in your own backyard to roast hot dogs and marshmallows, or to just gaze into embers in the deepening dusk. Fire pits are fairly easy to build. What are you waiting for?

First you need to check with local authorities to be sure it is legal to have an open fire in your neighborhood. Then choose a location which is away from fences, trees, and outdoor walls.

Drive a stake into the center of the area you have chosen. The closer to level that this is, the better, both in the amount of work you will need to do, and in the safety of seating around the fire. Use a string and some sort of object to scribe a circle about 3 to 4 feet in diameter. Then re-mark this circle with spray paint or by any other means to retain the line.

Dig out the center of the circle to a depth of about one foot. Keep the sides of the hole as straight as possible. For better drainage, dig a slightly deeper hole in the center of the pit.

Then place a layer of pea gravel over the entire floor of the area, 3 to 4 inches deep. Over that, add another 3 inches of sand. This will help contain the heat of the fire, so that it can not spread to tree roots.

The walls of fire pits can be made of various materials, but perhaps the easiest is to simply use concrete paving bricks. These can be stacked around the edge of the pit without mortar, which will make it easy to replace broken ones.

This is one of the easiest methods of creating a contained space for your campfire. With more attention to design, and more complex plans, fire pits can be raised, made more decorative, or incorporated into paved areas around your home.

This would make a great hobby project for a family that enjoys crafts and working together. And once the campfire is burning, the snacks are toasting, and the kids are running around laughing or snuggling up to their grandparents, you will be sure that your fire pit was a great investment.

DIY Resources:

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