- 1). Choose a spot for your fire pit. Avoid building it near low-hanging branches or tall shrubs. If you're building it in your yard, put it at least 30 feet away from your house.
- 2). Measure the perimeter of your fire pit. Place the end of a measuring tape at a particular point on the ground. Stick a stake in the ground at this point. Extend the tape from the stake to a point of your choosing. The distance from the stake to that point will be the length of one side of your fire pit. Mark this second point with a stake as well. Tie a string on the top of the first stake, extend it to second one, and tie it off there. There should be no slack in the string; it needs to be as straight as possible. Continue this process for the remaining three sides of the pit, forming either a square or a rectangle. Finally, trace all four sides of the string perimeter with spray paint, and remove the stakes and string from the site.
- 3). Use a two-handed shovel to dig a 12-inch hole within the area of the spray-painted box. Place a level at the bottom of the hole to ensure that the site is even. Add or take away soil until the site is level.
- 4). Pour paver base into the 12-inch hole, filling it to ground level. Flatten the base and use a level again to ensure the site is level.
- 5). Place landscaping stones around the perimeter. Lay the stones on the ground, horizontally, on their long side. Create a second layer of stones on top of the initial layer, offsetting each stone. Instead of laying a stone directly on top of a bottom stone, lay it in the center of two bottom ones. Continue this process until you have created four layers of stone (about 3 feet), or when you have reached your fire pit's desired height.
- 6). Line the interior of your fire pit with fire-rated brick. Stand a brick upright against an inner wall of the pit, with the smooth side facing out. Position the second brick in the same way, and as close to the first one as possible. Add layer after vertical layer until the top of the stack of bricks becomes flush with the top of the stone walls of the pit.
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