Log and Concrete Fire Pit Bench

8 Materials
$10
3 Hours
Easy

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Steph was in need of seating around her fire pit that could withstand Florida weather. What better material to make benches than tree logs! There are lots of ways to make log benches, here's our take on the idea.

A storm in Tallahassee brought down lots of trees. Lucky for us, a pile of freshly cut logs showed up across the street from Vicki's house. We filled up the car and brought a load of them to Steph's house.

Enlist a buddy to help you move the logs. The logs need to air dry for several months before using. Ours aged about 10 months in the garage.

before

The stumps can be left with bark on or debarked. We wanted ours free of bark for comfort and so there was no place for bugs to hide. We used a rotary hammer fitted with a tile chisel to remove the bark. This method is very fast and efficient. Bark can also be removed with a hammer and chisel. Plan on adding 2 to 4 hours if you hand chisel.

Once debarked there's a lot of fibrous material left on the log. We used a belt sander with 40 grit sandpaper to remove this material before moving to a random orbit sander to complete the sanding process. We started with 150 grit paper moving through to 220. This left a nice smooth surface.

Clear coat with an outdoor finish. We used two coats of Minwax spur urethane to finish the logs.

We didn't want our logs to sit directly on the ground so we purchased concrete half high blocks. The shorter log got one block and the second sits on two.

The shorter log did fit snugly into the block so we added rebar to help stabilize it. The rebar is simply set into two holes drilled into the bottom of the log.

The last step is to arrange the logs where you want them. The concrete blocks help to raise the logs to a comfortable seating hight.

We initially got five logs in our storm log harvest. This is the last of the projects we've done with them. You can see the other two projects right here on Hometalk. Visit our profile page or go to our website to see them.

Watch the video--It may answer some of your questions!


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3 of 5 questions
  • Chuck H. Simeral Chuck H. Simeral on Aug 08, 2017

    I notice 2 rebar in bottom of seat but not on list of materials?

  • Jenny Wright Montford Jenny Wright Montford on May 21, 2018

    Did you get the logs from public land or private property? Up here in wa st so many people have woodstoves for heat that we would have to ask permission to take the logs. Also, we literally spend hours around the fire outside, I love this idea and want to replicate it for our deck!

  • Leslie Leslie on Jun 01, 2022

    Well done! I chuckled when I read you didn't have a tool to make a flat side on the logs but, you have a rotary hammer to remove the bark but no small chain saw?? I have never heard of a rotary hammer so I learned something. How did you cut the logs to size? I also will suggest that instead of lifting those logs which must have weighted a ton, to invest in appliance lifting straps. They take the weight off of you and onto the straps themselves and from someone who is looking at a lower back operation the investment is worth it :)

    appliance lifting straps

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  • Eva Eva on Jun 01, 2022

    Congratulations 👍️

    This is a very cool & unique project 🔫 🎨 🔩🔨🌳

    I love it ❤️

    Thank you for sharing your work 👍️

  • Lynn Lynn on May 31, 2023

    We just had about 40 trees cut down on our property--your post is well timed!! The company that we hired for this takes all of the wood to the landfill--we had them haul the small branches and the tree tops away and kept the main part of the trunk hoping to sell the wood. But some of it will get used for us--and this is an excellent idea!! Thank you for sharing!!

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