Okay, so I’ve been wanting a fire pit in my backyard forever. Finally decided to just do it. Figured, how hard could it be, right? Famous last words.
First things First: Planning(kinda)
I started by kinda, sorta, planning. I knew I wanted a circular fire pit, and I knew roughly where I wanted it. I did a quick search to get an idea of size, then paced around the yard like a crazy person, visualizing the final product. I even used some old garden stakes and string to mock up the circle. Looked good to my untrained eye.
Gathering the Goods
Next up: materials. I needed bricks, obviously. And I knew I’d need some gravel for the base. So I went to the local hardware store. I wandered those aisles, Staring at many, many types of bricks. Ended up going with some basic, red ones. They looked fire-pit-ish, I guess.
The Digging Begins (and Never Ends)
Back home, the real fun started. Digging. So. Much. Digging. I used my string-and-stake outline as a guide, and started hacking away at the grass and dirt. My “plan” was to dig down a few inches, level it out, and then lay down a layer of gravel for drainage. Sounds easy, right? Nope.
The ground was way harder than I expected. Rocks everywhere. Roots. It was a battle. I sweated. I swore. I almost gave up a few times. But, eventually, I had a vaguely circular, vaguely level hole.
Gravel Time
Next, I dumped in the gravel. I had no idea how much to use, so I just kinda eyeballed it. Probably used too much, to be honest. I tried to spread it around evenly, using a rake and my hands. My back started to ache. A lot.
Brick Laying: The Real Test
Now for the main event: laying the bricks. I started by placing the first layer in a circle, following my gravel-filled hole. I didn’t use any mortar, just dry-stacked them. Seemed like the easier option. I quickly realized that my perfectly circular hole wasn’t so perfect. The bricks didn’t quite fit right. Gaps everywhere.
Some detail I did
- I measured the diameter of my fire pit area which is about 4 feet.
- I knew my bricks were about 8 inches long.
- So, doing some quick math I have:
- C=πd=3.14159∗48=150.79616, circumference = pi diameter = 3.14…. 4feet(transfered to inches)= about 150.8 inches
- 150.8/8 = 18.85. so I know I need around 19 bricks per layer.
I spent a good hour rearranging, shifting, and generally wrestling with those bricks. I ended up having to go back to the hardware store to grab a few more, because, math is hard, apparently. Finally, I had a decent-looking first layer. Then I stacked a second, and a third. I staggered the joints, like I saw in some picture online.
The Finished (Sort Of) Product
After a few more hours of brick-wrestling, I was done. My fire pit was… well, it was a fire pit. Not exactly magazine-worthy, but definitely functional. It’s a little wonky, a little uneven, but it’s mine. I built it. And that’s pretty cool.
I threw in some wood, lit it up, and sat back with a beer. The fire crackled, the smoke drifted, and I felt pretty darn proud of myself. Would I do it again? Maybe. Would I do it differently? Absolutely. But hey, that’s how you learn, right?
