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| by:
Iain Mitchell
photos by: Roger Yip |
FIRE PIT
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| Build
yourself something to gather 'round on cool summer nights |
There are a great many lifestyle advantages to living in the
country: less noise, less congestion, better view of the stars…but
pictured above is something that probably doesn’t immediately
leap to mind. Fire pits are not a common sight in the city,
and this is generally because you wouldn’t have an outdoor fire
lit five minutes before a truckload of firefighters arrived
to douse it with water and present you with a considerable fine.
But—subject to local bylaw of course—a fire pit on your rural
property is a privilege definitely worth taking advantage of.
Most rural areas will allow outdoor fires, especially on farms
where it’s common to burn debris. Call your local fire department
to check if you’re not sure. Fires are usually allowed for the
purposes of cooking, and that’s where this fire pit comes in.
We decided to construct something you would want to gather around
with your friends and cook up some steaks, yet is quite safe
for both the users and the surrounding environment.
Allowing for a hole 56" in diameter, we calculated that we would
need 35 Unilock Brussels blocks, sandstone in colour, each of
which is 12" x 8" x 4" in size. There are 10 blocks per course,
plus five on the top back course. We wanted the blocks to sit
on a foundation a little more solid than just the bare ground,
so we dug a hole 12" deep. This hole was filled first with 6"
of gravel, then 6" of sand (we thought sand would look nicer
under the fire than gravel. What’s more, a bed of sand makes
it very easy to rake out the ash and cinders of fires past).
We bought the sand and gravel bulk, which, by the way, is the
best way to buy materials like these. What we managed to fit
into the back of a pickup truck for $40 would have probably
run us $200 if we’d bought it in bags.
We raked the gravel and sand after each new barrowful, eyeballing
a rough level. Gravel and sand were then tamped down with the
aid of our makeshift tamper, tampers not being the kind of tools
most people have lying around waiting to be used. We wired a
sledgehammer to a 12" x 12" square of plywood—it worked like
a charm. After tamping we used a spirit level to ensure the
base was even.
Using a similar technique to the one we used to mark the circumference
of the original hole, we scribed a line in the sand to mark
the inside diameter of the stone wall. We used this line as
a guide to lay in the blocks.
| WHAT
YOU'LL NEED |
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| A
SHOVEL, a wheelbarrow,
a rake, some upside-down marking paint, a tape measure,
a spirit level, a mallet and a tamper are the tools
for this job. If you lack a tamper, some plywood
wired to a sledgehammer will do. |
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Laying in the first course of blocks is the key to this whole
project. If your math is correct and you’ve remained true to
all your lines, you can expect the last block to line up perfectly
with the first when you complete the circle. And if you really
think that will happen first try, you’re either a seasoned mason
or someone who also expects to retire on lottery winnings. Invariably
there will be some deviation that keeps the stones from lining
up, but that’s exactly why you will have brought along a rubber
mallet, just as we did. They don’t call them persuaders for
nothing.
Once the first course is down, laying the rest of the blocks
is a snap. You’ll have a good hunger worked up by this time,
so get that fire good and hot to build up some cooking coals.
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read step-by-step guide |
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