Free Recycled Concrete Fire Pit

2 Materials
1 Hour
Easy

One of my goals this summer was to build a fire pit in my backyard. I looked at lots of DIY options on Pinterest and thought that I would make one from concrete paver stones.
I started planning out my project, thinking I would need 36 concrete pavers from the home improvement store, sand to make a base and construction adhesive to stick the whole thing together.
I was going to dig into the ground and make a completely level base for the pavers. Then, I realized I was completely overthinking this whole thing.
I remembered that there were several piles of broken concrete over on a nearby field on our farm. If I could haul it back to our yard then I could just arrange them into a circle to make the fire pit.
We used our tractor to haul large pieces of concrete over to my back yard.
We arranged them in a circle and stacked them about 3 rows high. I used some large stones from the garden to fill in holes in the pit.
Free concrete chunks can be found all the time on Craigslist from people who have done a renovation or construction project. If you have a truck and some muscles you can easily make a free fire pit.
finished project ready for a bonfire!
Suggested materials:
  • Concrete pieces   (old construction)
  • Rocks   (garden)
Adrienne Carrie Hubbard | Crafty Little Gnome
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Stephanie Hintz Calvert Stephanie Hintz Calvert on Feb 08, 2020

    How did you keep the pieces from falling over?

  • Susie Mach Susie Mach on Jan 09, 2021

    What will stop a fire from spreading out from this pit above and below the ground? Please do not use this pit until you make a proper pit that will not allow a fire to spread through the ground and the roots, or just from sparks landing on the lawn that is right up to the rocks which will become extremely hot during a fire. PLEASE remove this post and remake your pit to keep safety in mind. This pit as it is shown is a dangerous disaster waiting to happen.

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  • Jennifer Lovil Taylor Jennifer Lovil Taylor on May 13, 2018

    I did this in our backyard and put a grate in the middle to put the wood on and it works fine!

  • Susie Mach Susie Mach on Jan 09, 2021

    Great idea and cute use of the concrete.... but be careful using it unless you first kill the sod underneath and remove all nearby roots and dead plant (grass, nearby tree roots, etc.) material first. Plan to have no flammable material at least a foot away from the concrete ring. Once that is removed, refill with sand or another material to block fire from using any other nearby routes. Dirt could work, gravel, or any non-flammable material that won't allow fire to spread underground (not soil aids, bark chips, or any plant-based materials). Here is a good article on this: https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a26099/how-to-build-fire-pit-1213/

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