Backyard #2 - Progress on the Fire Pit

Here is a picture of the fire pit in progress - it shows the interior construction...



Once the footing set up, I did the following to get to this point:

Drew a 22" radius circle on the footing using a string tied to a piece of rebar in the center.

Set the block (16x8x6) to the circle - this formed the rough radius.

Mortared the brick upright on the inside of the block. I used various thicknesses of mud to get an even radius. These are concrete brick, not clay, which will take the heat of a fire.

Mortared brick across the top of the block and the lower brick. This gave the right height for the fire pit walls.

Here is a cross-section of the design:

Once the base was done, I started to apply the stone. I am using about 3 types of stone to build this, which I had as left overs. As long as they are balanced, I think it looks good. Also, the other stone in our house is a rustic mixture, so this fits right in.

Here is the first bit of stone laid in place. I plastered the top to make sure no water will run down behind the stone once I'm done. I doesn't freeze very hard in Portland, but keeping water out is always a good idea.



In this picture, I have about half of the stone laid. In my stone pile, I have a couple of boxes of flat slate-style pieces, which are shown set on the top. These will be the cap stones. The bottom edge of the cultured stone definately has a factory edge. I will chip these edges back and rub some mud on them to give them a more natural look.


Hopefully, I can get this project done in the next few evenings and have a fire this weekend.