Ingenious Outdoor Project: How to Build a Patio Fire Pit

I've shown you how to build your very own mobile fire pit, but if you're looking for something a little more permanent and elaborate then I've got just the thing for you. Fire pits offer such wonderful entertaining areas, especially when you still want to enjoy the outdoors in colder weather, so the addition of the encasing patio really gives your back yard a wonderfully striking feature.

Rather than spend all his hard-earned money on professionals to come out and do this for him, this guy decided to roll up his sleeves and get the job done himself. This is truly on of the most impressive DIY projects I've come across, especially because of the precision in arranging the bricks and getting the angling just right so that it's not simply random – this is what makes it look so clean. Although the entire project cost him $1,200, only about $800 of that was spent on the build; the remaining $400 went to buying patio furniture and plants to decorate the area.

The first and most important step is to find the right place for your future patio-fire-pit combo: the area should, of course, be large enough, but it should also be relatively sheltered from wind, but also not covered over by trees that will constantly litter your beautiful patio with leaves or seeds. From there on it's all about measuring, leveling, digging, spreading crushed stone and sand, more leveling, packing a ring of fire pit stones, packing several rings of pavers, temporarily filling in the gaps with sand, surrounding the outer perimeter with edging, gluing and setting the final fire pit blocks, hosing off the sand, applying paver-locking (polymeric) sand in between the gaps… and voilà! All this in about four weeks.

Sure, it may seem daunting, and it probably did feel that way for this DIYer at the start, but just look at that magnificent masterpiece! It makes it all worth it, especially since he'll be reaping the benefits for years to come.

Project Gallery: Imgur – Fire Pit & Patio Project

Materials and DIY Discussion: Reddit DIY