Make Your Own Fire Pit

Fire Pits are this year’s ‘must have’ garden accessory - and we can see why! Not only do they look great, they are extremely practical, allowing you to keep warm in the evenings and cook your food.

You can buy a fire pit from many online retailers and in store. But if you want something completely original and unique, why not make your own fire pit? It’s a lot easier than you may think!

Step 1: Pick A Location

The first thing you have to do is pick a location for your new fire pit. Make sure you pick somewhere both practical and safe. Don’t place your fire pit too close to flammable items like wooden fences, overhanging trees and shrubs or your brand new decking.

As well as somewhere safe, pick a practical location. It needs to be somewhere you are happy to sit, is easy enough to transport wood fuels too, and not too exposed - you don’t want to be fighting to keep your fire alight in the windiest corner of your garden.

Step 2: Choose A Design

This is probably the hardest part of all as there’s just so much choice!  Are you going to dig down to create a sunken fire pit or will you build up an area around it? Do you want to make it with brick, concrete blocks, crazy paving, even an old tyre rim can be used to form your pit? Next, decide if you want to build permanent seating around it, or will you just move your garden furniture when the pit is in use? If your chosen area is a little exposed will you build a wall around the side of the prevailing wind to provide shelter?  Like we said - so many questions.

Step 3: Build Your Fire Pit

Once you’ve picked a design and gathered your building materials you can start to build the actual fire pit itself. Whether you dig down or build up, we recommend adding a layer of large gravel or small pebbles, a couple of inches deep, to provide sufficient drainage. This is really important otherwise you’ll struggle to light a fire after summer showers or thundery downpours.

Step 5: Make Your Fire

Now for the fun bit - building the fire. It’s best to start with a small fire made with broken heat logs and kindling. Start it off with a natural firelighter and then build up the fire as it gains strength. If you want the fire to last longer, with less maintenance, pop a night briquette or two in the fire - this is also a great way to cook your jacket potatoes in the fire.

Step 6: Maintain Your Fire Pit

If you are using your fire pit regularly, make sure you clean out the ashes regularly. This prevents them from swirling around in the wind when you’re sat around the fire on an evening (not fun!). Also, make sure you ensure drainage is maintained and the surround is kept stable - if you’ve built your fire pit up from the ground you don’t want it to collapse if it is accidentally knocked, especially if that’s by the kids or the pets.

So, if you follow these six simple steps you’ll have a garden feature that is fun to enjoy, potentially cheaper than a store-bought option, and uniquely yours!

Have you built your own fire pit? Share your images with us on our social media pages.