Build a Fire Pit for under $20

February 2018 -

Being antsy to get started on this remodel, we've decided we wanted a fire pit. No matter the season, it gets cold when the sun sets, yo!

We looked at propane fire pits and didn't want to spend the funds on those, plus propane is not very efficient at high altitude. You might have picked up on it with my posts - I'm cheap frugal.

So let's build a fire pit for nearly no cost!


This post is dedicated to Babe Vila (aka my hubby, and if you don't find that funny, go ask your parents to explain) and all his hard work. Love ya, hon!  All I did was haul bricks.

1.  Get Firepit Surround Materials

Scour Craigslist, NextDoor, neighborhood Facebook pages, and keep an ear out for friends doing landscape remodeling.  You're looking for free hardscape stone materials.  Lots of people just want to get rid of stuff so they don't have to pay waste fees and want to save the earth by reusing items.

To do it for free or dirt cheap, you'll need to be open to what materials and colors are available at the time.  This project can be done with several different items - cinder blocks, pavers, bricks, retaining/garden wall blocks.

We happened to be talking to friends who mentioned they had lots of wall blocks for free if we'd come get them.  So I drove the SUV over and got a bit dirty loading those babies.  These blocks sell for $1.98 at Home Depot and we grabbed 40 bricks so that's a savings of $79.20 (plus tax).

Did I mention you also are saving on gym fees?  Not kidding.  The ones we used are 20lbs a piece.

Public Service Announcement #1....Watch the weight limit and weight distribution of your vehicle. If you can't find your manual with info on max weight, then watch the wheel wells. If it starts dropping down too close to the tires, you are overloading it.

2. Find some sand.

Again, search all those sites for free playground sand. Also look for somebody selling a sandbox - contact them to see if you can come get the sand only.  They might be happy to be rid of it - much easier to sell when it's empty.

We had a 50lb bag of unused playground sand that had been sitting in our garage for 12 years. Plus we had sold our playset that had sand in one section. I guess technically we purchased the sand, but does reusing 12 year old sand count? I say no!

If you have to pay, it's $4 per bag of sand.

Get your shovel, trash bags, and haul that to your fire pit area.

Public Service Announcement #2....Don't put too much sand into a trash bag. The bag can't take much, plus we aren't budgeting for a hernia. Use several small bags.

3.  Dig a hole.

Pick your location and dig down at least a half brick depth up to almost a full brick depth. You'll want a pit that is the basic size and shape you are wanting. You're going to add some sand in the bottom, so err on the side of a full brick depth. You can always add dirt back in or use sand to correct the depth.

Tip: Test out the size and shape that'll work best for you. If using a rectangle shape stone, then a square shape would work well. The wall blocks we used made a circle. It's like LEGOs for adults!

Babe Vila put in the effort to get a deep hole to begin with, as you can see below, to allow for a nice stack of wood but ended up filling most of that back in as you'll see in next steps.

4.  Lay first row.

This is really several steps in one.  There's pouring sand, leveling, and laying bricks involved.

Don't skip the leveling portion of this step. It's going to be a pain, but best to just suck it up and do it. You want a level base to stack those bricks so they don't fall over.

Gravity ain't kind, am I right, ladies??

Pouring a layer of sand below the bricks will help keep the bricks from shifting and allow water or snow to filter down. Tap that sand down so it's firm. Check to make sure it's still level.

Use a piece of wood across the bricks and measure in several spots and directions.

For our design we used 10 bricks for the first layer.

We also decided to pop off the little lip edge of the bricks for the lower layers using a chisel and hammer. The bricks we used are meant to be stacked so that each level makes a smaller diameter circle. When you break off the little lip that comes on the bricks, it lets you stack them directly on top of each other.

5.  Lay remaining layers.

On row #2, we used less bricks than on row #1 so that there were gaps for air flow.  Fire needs oxygen, so let's give it an intake vent!

And, yes, we often over-engineer our DIY projects.

6.  Kick back and enjoy.