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how can i build an outside firepit using either brick or stone for large fires?
By admin | May 8, 2008
EDDIE HASKELL asked:
Topics: Outdoor Fireplace |
9 Responses to “how can i build an outside firepit using either brick or stone for large fires?”
May 8th, 2008 at 2:17 am
make a base as big as u want with brick or stone then 1 inch thick layer of sand on the bottom.. then make a wall/box with stone or wall and make sure its all fire proof.. not those cheap things.. then add logs inside.. then fire… WHOOSH!
May 8th, 2008 at 11:18 am
dig a small pit or however big you want the fire to be ( leave about a foot or two between the stones and the fire ) and put something like small rocks or sand on the base between the fire and the ground (about a half to two inches) and there you go. OH YEA i would use stones just because the look better and stones dont crack or break so easy
hope that helps.
May 10th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I had a mass amount of bricks and built my own stacking them. If you want it done right do some online searching. The pit should never be close to a house because of sparks and should never be near weeds that could catch fire and a hose should always be near by and turned on.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:03 am
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May 15th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
put them in a circle be sure to do this away from anything that could catch fire
May 18th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Materials:
string
tape measure
line spray paint
spade shovel
flat shovel
mixing hoe with holes
iron rake (flat)
mud shovel (an old shovel used for shoveling concrete and mortar)
levels: bullet, 2 ft. and 4 ft.
trowels (1 per person)
1/2″ jointer
chipping hammer
stone hammer
wheelbarrow
safety glasses
utility knife
black stove paint
3,000-4,000 lbs. New England fieldstone and Connecticut green bulk stone (Alternative: 1 pallet New England fieldstone)
4, 80 lb. bags of premixed gravel mix concrete
20 ft., 1/4 inch reinforcement bar (rebar or rerod) cut into 2 ft. pieces
10-12, 80 lb. bags of pre-mixed mortar mix
60 fire brick
1 yard mixture of 3/8 inch crushed stone and 3/8 inch riverbed
3 rolls landscape fabric/mesh
Setting Stone
1. The mortar acts as a cushion for the stone, both supporting it and holding the wall together. Spread a large dollop of your mortar on your concrete footing using your trowel and begin setting stone. Start the wall by setting a face stone in the mortar. Establish the first ring of face stones with mortar underneath each stone (figure A).
2. After building the first ring of face stones, set the first row of fire brick (figure B). The fire brick will form the flame retardant interior wall of the fire pit. The outside edge of the fire brick should meet the inner circle marked after digging out the footing, but double check by measuring 12 inches back from the face of the first row of stone.
3. Place a dollop of mortar on top of the cement footing, and set your first fire brick. To set the next fire brick, butter the edge of the fire brick. To butter the brick apply mortar to the edge of the fire brick that will butt up against the previously set fire brick. Smooth the mortar – using your trowel – on all four sides so the mortar makes a pyramid-like shape and then squeeze the brick next to the previously set fire brick. Tap the fire brick into place with the end of your trowel, place a level across the two stones to ensure that the fire bricks are level, and make any adjustments by lightly hammering the brick with the blunt end of your trowel.
4. Set the first row of fire brick. If the fire brick do not fit perfectly, create a smaller brick or plug by cutting a fire brick with a stone hammer and chisel or with a diamond blade saw or grinder. Fire brick also absorbs moisture when you set it, so use moist mortar.
5. After building the first row of stone and fire brick, continue building the wall of the fire pit by setting stone first and then bringing the fire brick up to the height of the stone (figure C). Each new stone should be set on mortar, so place a bed of mortar on top of existing stone work for each stone you set. Use the trowel to set the mortar, and set the mortar slightly back from the face of your stone – mortar will stain the face of your wall.
6. When building up the wall and the fire brick, avoid weak joints or ‘cross joints’ by spanning joints with larger stones. For the brick, this means placing one brick over the joint created by two and creating a ‘running bond’ pattern. For the stone this means playing with ratio and spanning stones to create a stronger wall. Fill in any area between the back of the stone and the fire brick with mortar and junk stone.
7. After the first row of brick and stone, Dean and Derek decided to build up one side of the fire pit to the height of the wall so they had a visual point to work from (figure D). Another method of building up the wall is building up the stone all the way around until you reach your desired height. As you reach your desired height, start looking for capstones. Pick a capstone from your capstone pile that has a smooth top and face. The fire pit, with the capstone, should reach the desired height of the fire pit.
Setting Stone Tips
1. With stones, there are two major things you’re looking for: good face stones and ratio. Face stones are stones that will make up the face of your wall; for walls that are straight, they should have a smooth flat face, for curved walls they should typically have a little bit of curve. Ratio is the process of incorporating stones of different size and shape in your wall. By alternating larger and smaller stones, you show off the character of each individual stone.
Figure F
2. Try to keep joints small by picking stones that fit well together. If a stone is near the size that you want it, but needs to be cut down in size, notched, or have a slight curve added to its face, shape the stone using your chipping hammer (figure E). Score a light line with the sharp end of your chipping hammer where you want your cut, put on your safety glasses, and using the sharp end of the chipping hammer: chip away!
3. Make sure the face of every stone is close to level. You do not want a stone set at an extreme diagonal, no matter how perfect it might fit in your wall. A stone set at an extreme diagonal is called a dolphin, and you don’t want a dolphin in any stonework.
4. At the end of each day, take your jointer and dig out any excess mortar sticking out between stones. Then use your paintbrush and brush the mortar joint to smooth the joint line (figure F).
Setting Cap stones
Materials:
string
tape measure
line spray paint
spade shovel
flat shovel
mixing hoe with holes
iron rake (flat)
mud shovel (an old shovel used for shoveling concrete and mortar)
levels: bullet, 2 ft. and 4 ft.
trowels (1 per person)
1/2″ jointer
chipping hammer
stone hammer
wheelbarrow
safety glasses
utility knife
black stove paint
3,000-4,000 lbs. New England fieldstone and Connecticut green bulk stone (Alternative: 1 pallet New England fieldstone)
4, 80 lb. bags of premixed gravel mix concrete
20 ft., 1/4 inch reinforcement bar (rebar or rerod) cut into 2 ft. pieces
10-12, 80 lb. bags of pre-mixed mortar mix
60 fire brick
1 yard mixture of 3/8 inch crushed stone and 3/8 inch riverbed
3 rolls landscape fabric/mesh
Setting Capstones
1. Once you’ve established your first capstone, and built up the body of the wall (figure A) and fire brick, begin setting your capstones. In this project, Dean and Derek are setting a front and back cap, so piece the capstone together so that it forms a continuous exterior and interior circle. The back cap will be placed over the fire brick, to hide it. Piecing the front and back caps together is very similar to working a puzzle, so Dean and Derek suggest dry setting your capstones all the way around before setting them in mortar. Dry fit them so that the joint width is also consistent. The capstones should be level all the way around, so once the first cap is leveled and set, level all the other capstones off of that first stone with your four foot level (figure B).
2. Before setting the caps in mortar, fill in the area between the face of the wall and the fire brick with loose stone and mortar so that there are no gaps to weaken the strength of the fire pit (figure C). Putting leftover pieces of stone in the back adds strength and helps in cleanup.
3. Once you’ve built the body of the fire pit and dry set the capstones, set the capstones with mortar (figure D). Check for level once again and begin jointing. Begin by smoothing joints between stones with your jointer and follow with your paintbrush to remove any excess mortar from the stones (figure E).
Creating Seating Area
1. Spray out the size of your sitting area. Cut a piece of string to the desired width of the sitting area. Dean and Derek create a sitting area that is four feet wide, so their string is 6.5 long (4 foot diameter of sitting area + 2.5 feet radius of fire pit). Attach the string to the rebar at the center of the fire pit and spray out the sitting area with the line paint.
2. Dig out the sitting area to a depth of 2-3 inches (figure F). Cut the landscape mesh to fit using a utility knife. Placing landscape mesh underneath your crushed stone will prevent weeds from growing up between the crushed stone (figure G). Secure the ends of the fabric with crushed stone to prevent them from curling up. Spread your crushed stone on top of the landscape fabric with your iron rake.
Finishing Up
1. Spray paint the fire brick on the inside of fire pit with black stove paint so the focus of the fire pit is on the outside stone work not the sooty inside (figure H). Hold a piece of cardboard against the stone work when spraying to protect the stone from the paint.
2. Place 2-1/2 inch river rock in the base of the fire pit (figure I). This will raise the height of the fire, help with drainage, and add contrast with the outside of the stone.
3. Rinse the stone with water to remove dust and dirt that will have collected on the stone at the quarry.
4. Test out your fire pit!
May 21st, 2008 at 4:12 am
The absolute best way to make a really big fire pit is easy as 1-2-3. First mark out the size pit you want with paint, rocks, sticks, whatever. Next dig out a gently, sloping to the center, cone, so it is only an inch deep at your line but maybe a foot or so in the middle. Then fill with wood and light! You want to be careful about using rocks or bricks because they can hold water and when they are heated the water boils to steam and could explode…. been there done that ewww. Hope this helps:-)
May 21st, 2008 at 6:05 pm
No matter what you use the fire can pop the brick and stone. If the fire gets hot enough the bricks and rocks could shatter or explode sending small shards flying through the air. A law suit waiting to happen.
For large bond fire don’t use stone or brick. Fire was one of the first methods used in splitting stone and quarrying stone
Clear a fire ring and make a depression in the ground to hold hot coals etc.. Use common sense on the fire size and your neighborhood. Keep a hose handy and wet the surrounding earth during the fire to prevent spread and lawn kill
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:42 am
it’s really pretty simple, but use fireproof mortar or else it’ll crack and loosen the bricks/rocks within a matter of days.