So when I moved into my house there was already a bunch of landscaping done. Which is great. BUT some of it seemed unnecessary to me. The result of one unnecessary, random circle of plants/bushes is my new DIY fire pit. I made sure one of the first things I did was remove the plants (heavy foliage...no color...no point). I couldn't waste all that good soil, so I've slowly been filling in the low spots of my garden beds.
Anyway.
I have looked at the elevated, metal fire pits, the rings that go around a dug pit, etc. I am living on a budget (most of the time...) and am not able or willing to pay what it costs to purchase one like that. Then, I had an illuminating conversation with my parents, where they told me they ended up making their own and sent me the link with the instructions they followed.
Of course, I then decide to look at other options because making one for "Under $60", is still above my budget. I found many options, but only a few would work with my dug pit. I wasn't about to tile the bottom of the pit, or spend a fortune on stones for the base. So here's my "Under $40" fire pit, supplies brought to you by Home Depot (not sponsored). My 12in pavers were about $1.75/block; 10in were just over $1. The lava rocks were about $2.50/bag. It took me less than an hour to remove the curved perimeter stones from the flower bed, dig out the rest of the dirt, and put everything else together.
Purchased Supplies:
12, 12in pavers
12, 10in pavers
2 bags of lava rocks
Steps:
Dig out the hole.
Lay 12 inch pavers, making sure they lie flat and evenly.
Place the 10 inch pavers on top. [The original steps call for another set of 12in pavers. In hindsight, I think if my budget had allowed for it, the top layer of 12in would have looked better.]
Fill in the spaces between blocks with mud, and behind sections that the stone doesn't quite match up with the back end of the circle. Think of it as natural cement.
I then dug out a bit more dirt, and patted down the center.
Next, I poured in the lava stones.
Finally, I used the old pavers (that make a circle around), to outline the pit circle.
Here's a time-lapse to show just how easy it was to make this pit.
The finished product:
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