How to Make a Fire Pit Video

Lighting a campfire takes some responsibility, however. First, you need to get a camp fire permit from the fire department.

Second, you need to build a fire pit that is safe and will prevent the fire from spreading. Getting the permit is easy, however to make a fire pit of decent quality takes a little know how and some physical effort.

To build a fire pit I like to use concrete pavers. A fire pit constructed out of concrete pavers not only looks nice, it is also functionally very sound. The concrete pavers make a tight and neat fire pit but also allows a bit of air to slip in through the joints to allow the fire to get sufficient oxygen. To make a fire pit I start by removing the top soil from the fire pit area using a shovel.

In the video associated with this article (see above), I needed to dig down only a few inches before I got to gravel. Based on the type of concrete pavers I chose for my fire pit I cleared a circular area that was approximately 50 inches in diameter.

Once at gravel level I leveled out the hole using a large 2×6. Then I poured coarse paver sand into the hole approximately 1/2 inch thick and tamped and leveled it down with the 2×6. I also put a level on top of the 2×6 to make sure the area was level.

Then I placed my first coarse of concrete pavers in a circle in the dugout area. After placing the first coarse of concrete pavers, I again used my level to make sure they were level. I then added a second coarse of concrete pavers to the fire pit, making sure this second row of pavers were offset from the first row by a half a paver width in diameter. Basically I centered a paver on the second row directly over the seam of two adjoining concrete pavers on the first row. I then proceeded to install the second coarse of pavers around the fire pit.

To complete the job of making a fire pit, I poured some paver sand around the perimeter of the fire pit, right next to the concrete pavers. To dress up the fire pit area, I then raked in a little mulch around the fire pit.

And that’s all there is to it to building a fire pit using concrete pavers. It cost about $100 for the pavers and paver sand and took about 2 hours to complete. Not bad for a DIY outdoor project!