A fire pit in your own garden can be set up in no time - for the simple version you just have to dig a shallow pit and surround it with stones. However, not all stones are suitable for building a fireplace - many, especially soft natural stones and also concrete, burst in the fire.
Which stones should you use for a fire pit in the garden?
Heat-resistant stones such as bas alt, clinker, bricks and fireclay bricks are suitable for a fire pit in the garden. Soft natural stones, pebbles and limestones as well as conventional concrete and Ytong stones are unsuitable as they can burst due to moisture in the rock.
Not all stones are suitable for building a fireplace
Stones bursting due to extreme heat can not only destroy laboriously constructed or even brick fireplaces, but can even become very dangerous due to flying splinters and pieces. The fragments of some rocks - such as pebbles and limestone - fly up to ten meters. Anyone hit by such splinters can be seriously injured.
Be careful with natural stones and concrete
Caution is particularly advised with soft natural stones such as all limestone, pebbles and sandstone. Conventional concrete is also not suitable for building a fire pit and will quickly crack or even burst if it is directly exposed to heat. The cause of this phenomenon is water, which penetrates into the rock and evaporates under high heat - the result is rock bursting, which can no longer withstand the internal pressure. So-called Ytong or aerated concrete blocks are also absolutely taboo in the fire.
Suitable stones for the fireplace
Ergo, when building a fire pit, you should use types of rock that are heat-resistant and can only absorb a small amount of moisture. Granite, for example, a hard natural stone, should not lie directly in the fire, but is well suited for the surround of a fire pit. Bas alt, on the other hand, is a volcanic rock and is extremely fireproof - therefore ideal for use in and around fireplaces. The same applies to fired and therefore fireproof stones such as clinker, bricks, bricks and firebricks. If you want to build your fireplace with concrete or brick, you should definitely use fireproof concrete (so-called “refractory concrete (€48.00 at Amazon)”), which is specifically manufactured for temperatures between 1,100 and 2,000 °C.
Tip
In order to provide additional protection for the stones in and around the fire pit, they should be covered with a waterproof material when not in use. If you don't like this solution visually, a roof would also be possible.
