A fire pit can be a great addition to your backyard, especially for family and friend get togethers. While you can certainly have someone do it for you, fire pits are not as hard to build as you might think. Plus, a well-built masonry fire pit is rock solid, safe to use, and will easily last for as long as you own your house. Here are step by step instructions on how to build your own unique fire pit from The Family Handyman.
Tools Needed
- Tools
- Bucket
- Cordless drill
- Level
- Safety glasses
- Spade
- Tuckpointing tool
- Wheelbarrow
- Margin trowel
- Mason’s trowel
- Concave jointer
- Concrete float
- Brick hammer
Materials
(based off a traditional 36” circular fire pit)
- 120 face bricks
- 25 firebricks
- Inner and outer forms for drawing out and creating the outside of your pit
- Five 80-lb. bags of Type N mortar mix
- One half-gallon bucket of refractory cement (sold at a brickyard)
- Ten 80-lb. bags of concrete mix
- Two 10 ft. lengths of 3/8-in. rebar
- Spray paint
Place and Prepare Your Chosen Spot
When finding where to place your fire pit, you’ll need to call your utility company to mark where pipes may be in your yard and research rules for having fire pits for your county. Generally, you need to be 25 ft away from structures and trees. Also think about how the winds will move the smoke. Be particularly mindful of how the smoke goes towards your and your neighbors’ houses.
When choosing your form, you can use 1/8” hardboard or locate cardboard forms through your local concrete/brick supply. Mark out the fire pit using your form and spray paint. You’ll then dig a hole about 8” deep and 3” larger than the form.
Stabilize the Forms and Pour Your Footing
Use stakes and screws to level your forms and to ensure they’re in the shape that you want. Once you have everything stabilized, you’ll then start mixing and pouring the concrete. Take the ten 80-lb bags and mix them according to the manufacturer directions. You’ll then fill the forms halfway followed by pressing a rebar ring into the concrete for strength. Finish filling the forms to the top and use the sledgehammer to tap the tubes gently for ensuring the concrete mix is level. Smooth the top of the footing, and let the concrete set overnight.
Forming the Outline of Your Pit
You’ll remove your forms once the concrete is set, and then begin to form the inside of your fire pit by using the fire brick. You’ll need to adjust the spacing between bricks so you don’t have to cut the firebrick. You’ll need to mark the position of the fire bricks.
So that your fire can burn easily and brightly you’ll need to create draw holes. You’ll do this by splitting four firebricks, which you’ll place across from one another. You then need to dry set the bricks into place. Take the first brick and place a thin layer of cement so that you can position it. Repeat with the second and continue through to the rest of your pit.
Mortaring Your Firebrick
Using refractory cement, the margin trowel, and the tuck pointer, you will mortar the firebrick to finish forming the inside of the firepit. The margin trowel makes it easier to scoop cement out of the bucket and butter the bricks, while the tuck pointer is used to clean up the joints.
You’ll start with four bricks at a time to trowel on the cement like you’re spreading peanut butter and the tuck pointer to create the tightest joints you can. Continue by placing the half bricks for the draw holes. Make sure to check throughout the level across and vertical level of the bricks.
Forming the Outside
While it’s common to use common brick, you can also use fancier stone for the outside. Talk with your local stores about the look that you want. In this article, we use the standard common brick. To begin the process, you’ll need to break 80 of the bricks in half by using a solid tap on the outside near the center hole. To start laying them, You’ll lay three courses of face brick and mortar them together with Type N mortar mix.
Because face brick is smaller than firebrick, you’ll need to make up the size difference as you lay your three courses of face brick. The difference between the height of your firebrick and the total height of three stacked face bricks will determine the width of your mortar beds between courses. Dry-set the face brick, marking where each course of face brick has to hit the firebrick to make the third course of face brick level with the firebrick.
To keep your mortar joints between courses a reasonable width, first lay a 2- to 3-in.-thick bed of mortar right on top of the footing. Let it set up slightly (15 minutes) and smooth out the top. Then, working on one-third of the pit at a time, mortar each course of face brick into place, leaving a 1/4-in. gap between the firebrick and the face brick. Level the brick between courses, tapping the bricks down when necessary. Remember to leave the draft holes open as you mortar each section of face brick and smooth out the finished joints.
Finishing the Top
After you finish the outside, you then have the space to lay the top and finish your pit. You’ll need about 40 face bricks for this cap, which will help protect the wall joints from rain, keep sparks contained and give you a nice ledge to warm your feet on. You’ll start by laying a 3/8-in. bed of mortar across 10 to 12 bricks at a time. Work your way around the circle, filling any gaps with mortar and checking level and placement frequently. Smooth the finished joints with a concave jointer.
You now have a finished firepit, but give the cement and mortar a week to cure completely before lighting a fire in your pit. Pour a few inches of gravel on the pit’s floor for drainage, and you’re ready for your first marshmallow roast.
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