Building a firepit and patio area.

[Sample00]

hello gang.
just looking for some info from the knowledgable CP faithful.

I would like to build a patio/firepit area in my backyard.
Not sure if I am going to use patio blocks or pouring cement. *this is where input would be appreciated*

The patio will be a 20ft X 20ft area with the firepit in the centre.
My main concern is prepping the area.
Sod removal is going to be the biggest challenge. Anyone have any great ideas as to how to remove the sod without digging up 10 inches of dirt?
How deep does one go down to ensure a level surface.
Does one put a Pressure treated lumber border around the area.

Any general input would be great. Just not that knowledgable about this kinda thing.

thanks

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Sample00

Sod removal is going to be the biggest challenge. Anyone have any great ideas as to how to remove the sod without digging up 10 inches of dirt?

Go rent a sod cutter from Home Depot. It's like $80 for the day.

I've done yard work without it. What a fating pain in the butt.

My fire pit uses the blocks that come 7 to a circle. As I get handier with concrete work, I'm thinking of re-doing it. The blocks lack a certain something; just look a little white trash I guess.

[Stumptown]

I'd check your city's fire codes before you start building anything. I know someone in Colorado who installed really expensive stone patio and fire pit, only to have a neighbor (and local fire chief) tell them the firepit was against regulations and had to be taken out. Granted this was in some very flammable hills, but I know a lot of cities have codes for open firepits. My neighbors have an old outdoor fireplace and have nearly set my trees on fire burning brush in it. I had to call the FD on them once (sparks all over my yard), and they were told they couldn't operate it within city fire codes.

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by Stumptown

I'd check your city's fire codes before you start building anything. I know someone in Colorado who installed really expensive stone patio and fire pit, only to have a neighbor (and local fire chief) tell them the firepit was against regulations and had to be taken out. Granted this was in some very flammable hills, but I know a lot of cities have codes for open firepits. My neighbors have an old outdoor fireplace and have nearly set my trees on fire burning brush in it. I had to call the FD on them once (sparks all over my yard), and they were told they couldn't operate it within city fire codes.

thanks for the advice.
I have a firepit now, just looking to enhance it.
and I live in small town alberta..
fire code? whats a fire code?

[Ford Prefect]

Have you considered a portable cast iron patio fireplace rather than a fire pit? Those round cinder block fire pits don't weather well ... they crack and break up. I'm on my second in under 10 years, and when it's time to replace my current one I'm definitely switching to portable cast iron fire place. My neighbour has one and I think it's a way better option. It looks nicer, lasts longer and you can move it around to suit your needs.

As for the patio. we put in an 1100 square foot patio using paving stone bricks a few years back. It was a lot of work, but the end result is great. If you go that route, you have to put in 6 to 8 inch subgrade of gravel and sand though, which pretty much means hiring a Bobcat to come in and dig out you existing sod and dirt, which solves your sod removal problem at least. It doesn't sound like that's the type of patio you're building though.

Even with patio blocks, I think it would be a good idea to build a bit of subgrade of gravel and sand to insure proper drainage and to keep the patio from heaving. I know of a few people who put in patios using either paving bricks or patio blocks and they figured they could get away without a proper subgrade. Then they wonder why their patio bucks and heaves within a couple years. Make sure you build a slope into the patio running away from your foundation as well to make sure water isn't channelled towards your house. You should be able to get information about what kind of subgrade to build and how much to slope the patio from wherever you're buying the patio blocks.

[West Karma]

nm

[Sample00]

Thanks ford perfect for that great advice.
thats the kind of info I was looking for.
given I have a somewhat unlimited supply of wood. I think I will go the pit route as
I can throw some pretty major logs into one if I so chose.
but the patio advice was awesome, thanks.

[Ford Prefect]

Originally Posted by Sample00

Thanks ford perfect for that great advice.
thats the kind of info I was looking for.
given I have a somewhat unlimited supply of wood. I think I will go the pit route as
I can throw some pretty major logs into one if I so chose.
but the patio advice was awesome, thanks.

Ya, if you want to burn some major logs, then a fire pit is definitely the way to go.

Glad the patio advice helped. It's worth doing right that's for sure. It can be the difference between a fantastic end result, and having to tear everything out.

[shane_c]

Whatever you do don't use patio stones for the surround of a firepit. They explode. I know from experience!

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by shane_c

Whatever you do don't use patio stones for the surround of a firepit. They explode. I know from experience!

again, good advice.
what the game plan is..is to build up a brick pit. round in design and approximately 1.5 ft in height...

kinda like this...

[4X4]

Go with a caeser-stone pattern stamp concrete pad. IMPO, a pattern stamped pad will give you way better resale value than a brick pad will. It will be more expensive, but I believe in the saying "do it right, do it once".

Post pics when you're done.

[droopydrew19]

Originally Posted by Sample00

again, good advice.
what the game plan is..is to build up a brick pit. round in design and approximately 1.5 ft in height...

kinda like this...

Cool.... Let the human sacrifices begin!!!

[BuzzardsWife]

Why don't u do it exactly like the picture? the flagstone is gorgeous and so is the firepit.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by droopydrew19

Cool.... Let the human sacrifices begin!!!

Can we burn evidence in it, dad?

We can all burn evidence...

[Ford Prefect]

Sample00 ... I thought of something else that might be useful. You were wondering about using treated lumber to edge the patio. There's a product called "brick stop" that works excellent for this. It's made of either plastic or aluminum, and it an edging the you spike into the ground which contains the perimeter of the patio stone or bricks. Our patio has been down for seven years now and its edges are still straight a ruler. It's completely invisible once the patio is finished too. The down side is that it's kind of pricey.

Here's a link about the stuff:

http://www.brickstopcorporation.com/...n_anchors.html

[Sample00]

thanks for all the information, guys/gals.
took a good look at it this past weekend and staked the area out.
having not done something like this before, I can see that its not going to be an overnight project.
but I will say this, if we are doing sacrifices after its done, Droopy will be the first virgin offered to the gods.

[Barnes]

Because you live in a small town, it may be very difficult to get concrete if that's the route you are going. Make some calls right away.

[taco.vidal]

Anyone use one of this style of fire pit? (rather than a permanent concrete or brick unit).

How does it perform? Does it scorch the surrounding earth?

We're considering something like this because at this point we have a lot of landscaping to do as well as build some other structures in our yard so we dont want to build a firepit that might be moved in a few months or a year.

This seems like a decent option.

[ken0042]

I have friends who have the enclosed unit like those. The problem is there's a lot of opening and closing of the doors to get at the fire, add a log, etc.

While I do have a grill cover for my pit, I mainly use it for when I'm trying to keep sparks under control.

[Five-hole]

One other piece of advice. Unless you go poured concrete you're going to have to put a little bit of sand (3mm grain) between your paving blocks or bricks or flagstones ... there's a type of sand that's been treated with some chemicals to bond up and seal in contact with water. You don't need very much and it'll add a bit of life to your patio .. and it comes in a couple different colors. One brand is called Techni-Seal I think.