A simple fire pit in your own garden can be built quickly - even by people with little craftsmanship experience. However, careful planning must be carried out before construction, as not all cities or municipalities allow open fires. In addition, the location of the planned fireplace must be carefully chosen: neighbors and potentially flammable objects such as trees, hedges, bushes or wooden huts should be at least 50 meters away.
How to build a fire pit in the garden?
To build a garden fireplace yourself, you need bricks or fireclay panels, fireproof stones (e.g. bricks or clinker), gravel, cement, and hand tools. First lay a fireproof base, then build the border out of stones and let the mortar dry.
This is what you need to build a fire pit
To build a brick fireplace you will need these materials:
- Bricks or fireclay panels for the substrate
- semi-refractory stones for the border of your choice (bricks, clinker, natural stones)
- gravel
- and cement.
In terms of tools you need:
- a spade and a shovel
- Sticks and a piece of string for measuring
- a trowel
- as well as hand brush and brush
So that the mortar can dry quickly, you should carry out construction on a dry and sunny day.
Preparation of a fireproof base
For the fireproof surface, first mark the desired dimensions of the fire pit using the sticks and the string. The shape and size are entirely up to you: Although fireplaces are usually round, they can also be square or oval. Cut off the turf and dig a hole about ten to twenty centimeters deep - about half the height of the spade blade. Tamp the soil firmly and fill the hole with gravel. You can lay fireclay panels on top of this, but this is basically not necessary, especially for smaller fireplaces.
Setting and fastening the stones - instructions for building a border
Once the subsurface is secured, you can place the stones around the border. Proceed as follows:
- Place the first row of stones around the fire pit.
- Grout the resulting joints.
- Insert straight stakes into the ground at regular intervals.
- Stretch a string along it.
- With this tool you can build the wall straight more easily.
- Pull up the wall by placing each layer of stones offset from the others.
- Carefully mortar joints and gaps.
- Finally, rework the mortar well with a trowel, brush and hand brush.
- The result should be a smooth, straight surface without any projections.
The newly built fireplace should not be used until the mortar has dried.
Which stones are best for a fire pit?
Bricks or clinker stones are best suited to building a brick fireplace, with the latter in particular being available in many pretty colors. Both types of rock were produced under the influence of great heat and are therefore very heat-resistant. Natural stones such as granite, sandstone or bas alt, on the other hand, tend to burst and therefore have no place in the fire. Special fireproof concrete is suitable for concrete fireplaces.
Tip
You should always cover unused fireplaces, preferably with rainproof material. This saves you unnecessary cleaning work before each use, and it also keeps the fireplace dry.
