An outdoor fireplace is a great addition to any backyard. It serves as an accent piece for family time or socializing with friends on a brisk fall evening.
Here we’re going to show you how to put in a simple outdoor fireplace in less than a weekend. Today we’ll concentrate on one particular type of outdoor fireplace, more commonly known as a fire pit.
This type of fireplace can be built with only a few simple hand tools and supplies.
Supplies Needed:
Crushed stone or gravel
Large landscaping rocks (available at a landscaping store)
Tools needed:
A shovel
Wooden stake
String
Level
Can of spray paint
Hand tamper
Tarp
Wheelbarrow
Small wood board
Before starting this or any construction project be sure to check your local building and fire codes.
The first thing to do is find a spot where the outdoor fireplace will look great! Choose a flat level area of your yard. Once you’ve found the perfect spot, mark the center of the fire pit with the wooden stake.
Attach a 3 foot long piece of string to the stake and then use it as a compass to draw out a 3 foot diameter pit. You’ll use the spray paint to mark the edges.
Once the layout is complete, grab the shovel and start digging! You want a 3 foot diameter pit roughly 2 feet deep. A great way to reduce clean up afterwards is to put the dirt onto a tarp then use the wheelbarrow to move it all out.
Once you’ve excavated the pit, pour a 6 inch deep layer of crushed stone or gravel into it.
Next you’ll want to level that gravel out so grab the wooden board and start raking it across the gravel to form a nice even surface. You can check it by placing the level on top of the plank.
Once it’s good and level grab the hand tamper and gently tamp down the gravel till it’s compacted. Check your level again and add more gravel to any low spots.
The only thing left to do now is to place the landscape stones around the border of the pit.
Grab your larger landscape rocks and place them side by side along the outside edge of the outdoor fireplace. A good tip is to dig a slight hole for each rock. That way you don’t have to worry about it rolling into the pit. A single layer of large landscape rocks is all you need. But if you want to get even more elaborate you can add another layer of smaller rocks on top of the first. Just be sure that they fit securely.
If you want to take things to the next level, you also have the option of creating an inside wall in the pit out of bricks of slabs of slate that are standing on end and tapped in to create a wall around the pit.
All that’s left to do now is clean up all that dirt! Since you placed it all on the tarp shoveling it back into the wheelbarrow won’t take much time at all.
Congratulations on your new outdoor fireplace. All that’s left to do now is put in some wood, grab some hot dogs and marshmallows, gather family and friends and enjoy!
Author Jennifer Akre is an owner of numerous niche online stores that offer customers not only products, but information relating to furnishing and decorating indoor and outdoor living spaces. Whether you want to renew your deck or patio with a garden bench or create the ultimate living environment with patio furniture that is perfect for entertaining, there is a lot of helpful advice to take advantage of to make it happen. Click today and indulge your senses.
Author: Jennifer Akre
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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