Building an Outside Fire Bowl

An outdoor fire pit is so much more than just a hole in the ground; it's a focal point for your entire yard. A well-built fire pit also serves as a great place to get together after work or on a chillier weekend night. There are only a few steps needed when learning how to build an outdoor fire pit.

The supplies you will need are:

Brick
Curved concrete pavers
Crushed river rock

The first thing you need to do is find a spot to put in the new fire pit. Since you'll be digging up the yard make sure there aren't any buried cables or pipes in the area. Your utility company can come out and verify this for you.

Another thing to watch out for is anything that may catch fire such as a nearby tree. Be sure to put in the fire pit away from any structures or trees.

Pound a stake into the center of where you want to dig the fire pit.

Attach a line to the stake about 3 and half feet long. You'll use this to mark out the outer edge of the fire pit.

Pull the string taut and walk in a circle. Mark the ground every few feet with a shovel so you know where to dig.

Once you have the outer perimeter scored you can start the fun part, digging.

Dig the hole down to a depth of about 3 feet. This will give you plenty of room for laying the brick.

By now you should have a pretty big hole and a big pile of dirt next to it.

Tap the sides of the hole to pack down any loose dirt.

Pour some crushed river rock into the bottom of the hole and level.

Next place a layer of bricks onto of the gravel and sides of the fire pit.

Congratulations the fire pit portion is complete. All that needs to be done now is set up some decorative edging.

Start stacking a layer of curved concrete pavers around the outer edge of your fire pit.

Gently rock each one so it sets slightly in the ground and makes a nice solid base.

Place another curved layer on top of the first, all the while checking that it remains stable.

If for some reason you have a section that just won't sturdy up a quick cheat is to use a couple dabs of mortar to cement everything in place.

The edging doesn't need to be very tall 2 feet high is a rule of thumb. You want a decorative border that's highly visible but won't detract from the fire pit itself.

The only thing left to do is getting rid of all the dirt you scooped out of the hole. A good idea is to use it in a raised flowerbed. That's another article though!

So there you have it, how to build an outdoor fire pit. It's a quick easy project that just takes a little know how and a lot of physical labor. But once you're finished wow what a great accent piece.