We created this firepit a few years ago and with summer just around the corner, I wanted to share it with you in case you missed it and need some inspiration to make one of your own. This homemade firepit has gotten a ton of use during the cooler summer nights and all through the fall. And it’s held up pretty well through the winters. It’s my kind of DIY – easy, cheap and not too time consuming. And it looks great too!
We have a gravel patio that was a swing set area. We wanted the firepit in this area to be very rustic and camp-like. Something that the kids could help build and use. We gathered a bunch of rocks from our yard and made a quick trip to the local hardware store for a few supplies. We spent about $10. Here’s what we did:
Materials:
Steps:
1) Clear and level the area where you want the firepit to go. We have ours on a gravel ground so we just shoveled the gravel away and smoothed out the ground underneath. Out firepit is about 4 feet in diameter.
2) We have lots of rocks in our area so we just had to search our property to collect all the rocks we needed. For the most part, they are about 8-10″ with some smaller ones to fill in the holes. Pick out the larger rocks to use as your base and line them around in a circle.
3) Mix the concrete according to package instructions (basically just add water). We mixed ours in an old wheel barrel but you can use a bucket. Use the trowel to scoop out the concrete and use it as “glue” to hold the rocks together. Again, we were going for the rustic look so you can see some of the cement but this worked fine with our variation of rocks.
4) Start picking the rocks that will go on the next tier. This is like doing a puzzle or the game Jenga. It was fun – and challenging – because I was never really good at puzzles. Continue layering the cement between the rocks to hold them in place.
5) Continue layering the rocks and adding the cement between each layer until you reach the desired height. We went with 4 tiers of rocks and seemed to angle them in a bit. We used smaller rocks to fill in any open holes.
6) Let the cement harden. We added a layer of sand on the bottom of the firepit to give it a more finished look. When the cement is completely dry, add logs and light!
This firepit style is not for everyone. We liked the rustic, campfire feel of it, and the fact that it was easy to make was a huge bonus. Plus limited measuring and mistakes are ok with this style!
This firepit hassled up great but we did have to repair a few rocks that feel off last year. It was really easy – go to STEP 3, replace the rocks and add cement as needed.
I hope you enjoy this post – and are inspired to make your own. Have a wonderful weekend!
[…] Check out this post on how we constructed a built-in rustic firepit. But we also have an old portable firepit that we used a ton. Eventually the metal insert wore away. We threw away the insert and kept the outside base because it was in good shape and thought we could do something with it. At first we thought maybe a planter but it’s pretty big and that would require a hearty green thumb. not so much. So I decided to make it into an outdoor table with a game board for a little extra fun. This project can be done for working firepits too since this table top can be easily removed. […]