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My one disclaimer for this post: I don’t know the cost. If I lose you there, my B, yo. This was a birthday gift to me from G and that part was kept hidden (does it have to do with the fact that he used it as an excuse to buy more tools? Most assuredly!) To prevent significant repeat trips to Lowe’s, plan ahead! Our DIY firepit was quite an undertaking, especially in the atypical cold-weathered November here in Texas. This labor of love is something we continue to adore. See how we did it below!
First, he started off with the location. Pro tip: don’t put it by a tree. Or right by your house.
Next is when your 9th grade Geometry class comes in handy because you get to make a circle. A big one. Stick a stake in the center with some brightly colored twine and spray paint yourself a circle! For ours, he cleared out a 21 foot diameter circle with a pick axe. Yep, just a pick axe. There were a lot of back rubs!
Once that was clear we used underlayment leftovers from our friends. Treat it like your foiling a pan in the oven and layer over those pieces! (Note: Cute kittens do not actually help your progress…but they make it more fun.)
After that came the decomposed granite, or ‘DG’ for those cool masonic people out there. We opted for this instead of limestone and a couple of other choices because 1) cost and 2) our ground out here will eat it up. I’d highly encourage you to speak with someone at your local masonry when it comes to picking between different options because they know the land, and they know the product. I can admit when I’m out of my league and I stay in my own lane! DG got delivered and then G spread it out. Enter the fun part: tamping. Have you ever tamped? You use a heavy pole with a heavy flat base and slam it against the ground to just really pack everything in. So fun! Until the second time…then you’re pretty much over it. You could do what we did and pull out the riding mower and just drive in circles…that works too!
Then our Amazon Prime order came in! We live in the boonies; we have a Walmart…and a winery. So Amazon Prime is my jam! We bought a fire ring and a grate because he’s a perfectionist and wants airflow. No detail, especially the mathematical or scientific details were spared here. Here’s the fire ring and the grate that we purchased to go along with it, measured specifically to best fit our 20 foot fire pit (the edging took up 6 inches all the way around.)
Finally, it’s time for the stone. If you’re me, you just start laying and layering rows, like LEGO’s. But this isn’t me and that is not what happened. There was wet saw involved. And a blade meant specifically for stonework. Add in a slew of math that goes over my head and there were specific angles and cuts made; stone…by…stone. By stone. G edged the circumference and then around the pit liner as well. The intent has been to go back over and use some mortar but that hasn’t happened yet.
What is a fire pit without some good ‘ol Adirondack chairs, amiright? I remember a few evenings being spent searching for a Goldilocks chair, something to check every box: looks, cost, longevity. Adirondack chairs are expensive! As aforementioned, I don’t know the whole total but I know we were up there and I choose to remain blissfully ignorant. Everything we found that was pleasing to the eye was upwards of $100. We tried for the plastic chairs from Walmart driving all over kingdom come, to no avail. We finally found a chair on Amazon that would work. Quite affordable and looked good as well. The catch? They were unfinished and unassembled. That shouldn’t be a problem, right? Wrong. I think the chairs were the worst part of it all. Naturally this whole endeavor took place in the coldest part of our winter thus far. I don’t ever want to be that cold again. There we were though, butts on the garage floor with nitrile gloves and painting the stain on. We tried multiple approaches; painting then assembling, assembling then painting, assembling then staining…and not a one was better than the others. It was miserable regardless. But you know what? I love them! And they’re pretty comfy if only a little ‘snug’ for a typically roomy chair. Find it here. Naturally, no good fire pit goes undecorated. I scored some microplush blankets at Walmart for $5 each and they went swimmingly with these pillow covers and outdoor pillow inserts I got from Amazon!
It all came together and we’re thrilled with what we he built! The best part though, was getting to break it in and spend time around it with friends!
(This post contains affiliate links, which means, I could make a profit through your clicks.)