On its own, your outdoor living space may not be fascinating enough. However, adding a paver fire pit to your outdoor patio will simply blow your mind and make your neighbors green with envy.
Your patio should hold more than your outdoor furniture. It should have an outdoor fire pit where you can enjoy roasting marshmallows when the sun goes down.
How to Build a Fire Pit Patio
As a homeowner, it’s pretty easy and inexpensive to handle a DIY fire pit patio installation.
Nevertheless, the devil is always in the details, meaning a rushed and shoddy makeover will not augur well for you down the road.
Requirements for Your Fire Pit Patio Installation
Tools
- Level
- Circular saw with a concrete blade
- Shovel
- Speed square
- Tape measure
Supplies
- Wall block stones
- All-purpose sand
- Construction adhesive
- Lava rock
- Fire bricks
- Chalk
Directions
Where you’ll install your paver fire pit is very important. When choosing a location, follow the following tips:
- To be on the safe side, select a spot away from low-hanging tree limbs, your outdoor furniture, and anything that could catch fire.
- Ensure that there’s enough room for your furniture on all sides of the fire pit. An ideal distance is 6-7 feet from the fire.
- For convenience purposes, install your fire close to the woodpile.
Building
Considering you are not installing your fire pit on your lawn but on concrete pavers, there is no need to excavate and create a paver base. There are already pavestones in place; all that remains is to follow the steps below:
Lay the first row of block stones on the fire pit pavers, following the preferred shape and size of the fire pit. Ensure that the stone blocks are touching.
Position a level on the layer and ensure it is level in all places.
While working, it may be necessary to cut a few blocks to fit well. To do this, hold the block in place and mark it around with chalk. Next, cut it with a circular saw equipped with a concrete blade. If this doesn’t work well, a chisel and hammer will finish the job.
From here, add the second layer of blocks, staggering joints with the bottom row. Make sure you leave air holes all around. Again, make sure it's level and square before removing two blocks consecutively, applying construction adhesive and putting them back carefully.
Place the third layer of blocks using the same method applied for the second layer. Ensure that you check for staggered joints.
After you are through, the structure should be around a foot or so above the paving/ground.
Installing the Fire Bricks
Now that your outdoor fire pit is standing and the blocks are in place, you can turn your attention to the fire pit’s interior.
So, what if you don’t want the fire to mar the appearance of your paver patio? The secret is lining the interior of the walls and the bottom of the fire pit with bricks or stones.
To keep the top of the pit aligned with the clay fire bricks, you can increase the paver base or gravel or, alternatively, place more bricks at the bottom of the fire pit.
Another splendid idea is adding some inches of lava rocks to keep the clay bricks in place.
Finally, you can throw in some kindling and logs and enjoy a relaxing evening by your backyard fire pit. You can even take your outdoor living space experience to the next level by roasting some marshmallows as you gaze at the stars.
4 Excellent Fire Pit Patio Ideas
It is in your best interest to explore various fire pit options before you can actualize your dream paver patio with a fire pit.
If you research patio fire pit options, the sheer array of choices will bowl you over. You’ll most likely embrace fire pit ideas that will match your requirements.
Here are a few spectacular ideas for your fire pit:
1. Fancy Some Outdoor Cooking?
Your fire pit can also act as an outdoor kitchen. Maybe you’ll want to cook or BBQ over the fire pit, in either of these cases you’ll probably install a cooking grate.
2. The Shape of Your Outdoor Fire Pit
You should take into consideration the size of the pit and your preferred shape. Maybe you prefer a square fire pit or a rectangular one instead of the conventional round fire pit?
3. Location of the Fire Pit
Are you thinking of an above-ground, a tabletop, or an in-ground DIY fire pit?
If you adore outdoor living and host lots of parties, an in-ground pit is recommended. However, if family members will mainly experience your outdoor fireplace pit, you can construct it with retaining wall blocks above the ground.
Alternatively, you can save time and use a fire pit kit from your local home improvement store or Amazon.
4. Steel Ring in the Fire Pit?
Do you know that lining the interior wall of your pit with a steel fire pit ring is highly recommended? Doing so will shield the wall material from drying out completely from the constant exposure to extreme heat.
The steel is non-combustible; thus, it'll ward off the heat while preventing the wall from premature dehydration. Additionally, the steel ring will preserve the structural integrity of the pit and keep it looking great for longer.
