Attempting Green Attempting to “Go Green” One Task at a Time.

Build a Fire Pit

Attempt: Build an aesthetically pleasing Fire Pit

Reasons:

• I need a place to burn garden refuse that is

not suitable for the compost bin.

• The kids like to roast marshmallows.

Process:

1. Materials needed:

• Calculator

• Stake

• String

• Spray Paint

• Gloves

• Shovel

• Pea Gravel

• Level

• Rake

• Leveling Sand

• Stackable interlocking retaining wall bricks (we used 57)

1. Choose a location for your fire pit that isn't close to trees, buildings or anything that could catch fire from a spark. A level location is best, but the design can accommodate a slight slope as well. Be sure there aren't any underground wires, cable or pipes in your chosen location. Call 811 before you Dig!!! Also, check with your city hall about fire pit ordinances in your community you may be prohibited by law from having an in-ground pit.

2. Determine the amount of materials you need. Get your calculator because here comes the math:

• To determine the square feet in the area of your circle use this formula: • Diameter* in feet x Diameter in feet ÷ 4 x 3.14 = Square feet in your

circle • Ex. My pit is 6 feet across so I used the formula: • 6ft x 6ft ÷ 4 x 3.14 = 28.26 sq. feet

• To determine how much pea gravel you need use this formula: • Square Feet in circle x base thickness in feet* =___ ÷27 =___cubic

yards

Project started: May 2008

Project ended: May 2009

3. Drive a stake into the ground where you want to put the fire pit. Tie a piece of string to the stake and cut it at half the distance of the circumference (radius) of your intended pit size away from the stake.

4. Scribe a circle all around the stake and mark the line with spray paint.

5. Remove the grass inside the circle and dig out the hole to a depth of about 1 foot (keep the sides as straight as possible).

6. Pour in about 4 inches of pea gravel. If your fire pit is on a slope you can level the bottom out by adding more pea gravel to one side. The pea gravel will help the fire pit drain. Use the level to help you.

7. Add about 3 inches of sand on top of the pea gravel - the sand will help prevent any fire from spreading to roots under your pit.

8. Place your first row of bricks inside the pit. They will be anywhere from 0-2 inches higher than grass level. Stack the next row of bricks on top. Dry stack the pavers to make it easy to replace any that might break. Don't use adhesive to hold the pavers together; it can melt and give off fumes that could be toxic.

Step 3 - 5

Step 6

Step 7 - 8

• Ex. It is a good idea to add a 1-2 more feet so you don’t come up short in materials so I rounded to 30 sq. ft. for my circle area and used the following formula:

• 30 x .32 (4 inches of pea gravel) = 9.6 ÷ 27 = .3555 cubic yards x 9 = 3.2 cubic feet

• My bags of pea gravel came in 1/2 cu. ft. so I bought 7 bags • To determine the amount of sand you need use the above

formula but change .32 to .16 • To determine the number of bricks Use the following formula:

• 3.14 x diameter in feet = circumference^ ÷ length of brick in feet = number of bricks needed for one row around (multiply by 2 for 2 rows subtract one brick from each row you build up)

• Next divide the circumference by the length of the brick you choose. • Ex. 3.14 x 6 ft = 18.84 ft around my pit ÷ .64** (8 inch bricks) = 29

*Diameter - length across a circle **Base thickness for inches is determined by multiplying the number of inches by .08 ^Circumference - distance around a circle

Results on next page.

Result:

• This pit was an expansion pit we started out the previous summer with a smaller pit

just to roast marshmallow in and have some fun, but we wanted a bigger one to fit

more people and burn more sticks. That is why in the picture some of the bricks are

already burned. Also, had I originally planned a larger pit I would have used larger

brick; however I just purchase more of the same bricks this year as I did last year

and that is why I have a slight gap in my top row.

• The pit is nice for those items in my yard and garden that I

would really rather not compost. See COMPOST BIN for

those items.

Conclusion:

• If you can have a fire pit build one they are a lot of fun and useful!

• Last year when we built our first pit we didn’t use pea gravel or sand and when we

received a lot of rain our pit was soggy for a few days and we were not able to use it.

Now with the improved drainage we can use it immediately after a rain. If you want

a quality pit take the extra time to dig it out and add the drain base.

Refuse from garden