31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (2024)

Room Design

Outdoor Spaces

Get inspired with these budget-friendly, creative DIY fire pit ideas.

By

Lee Wallender

31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (1)

Lee Wallender

Lee has over two decades of hands-on experience remodeling, fixing, and improving homes, and has been providing home improvement advice for over 13 years.

Learn more about The Spruce'sEditorial Process

Updated on 05/02/23

Fact checked by

Emily Estep

31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (2)

Fact checked byEmily Estep

Emily Estep is a plant biologist and journalist who has worked for a variety of online news and media outlets, writing about and editing topics including environmental science and houseplants.

Learn more about The Spruce'sEditorial Process

Nothing says cozy and comfortable like flames crackling in your own DIY fire pit.You can make a DIY fire pit using inexpensive or repurposed materials such as stone, bricks, pavers, concrete, and retaining wall blocks. Most the DIY fire pit ideas below cost between $50 and $150 (and a little elbow grease) to make. Read on to get inspiration on different ways to DIY a fire pit—from using metal planters and flower pots to steel receptacles and glass.

31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (3)

Fire Pit Fuel Sources

Gel canisters designed for fireplaces or low-combustion pressed wood logs can supply the fire's fuel in most smaller fire pits. You can use real wood logs or charcoal in the larger pits. Be sure to check with local air quality and fire restrictions on burning wood outdoors.

  • 01 of 31

    How to Build a DIY Firepit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (4)

    If you're wondering How to Build a DIY Firepit without a contractor's help, check out this handy Spruce guide to making it work.

  • 02 of 31

    DIY Easy Fire Pit With Pavers

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (5)

    Kaysi from the home and craft blog called Keeping It Simple, and her husband wanted a backyard fire pit for the weekend and decided to build it with retaining wall blocks, sand and pavers. The easy project cost $50 in materials and did not require grout, mortar, or concrete, making it a perfect starter masonry project.

  • 03 of 31

    DIY Adirondack Style Fire Pit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (6)

    Marie from The Interior Frugalista built this hexagon-shaped fire pit table to blend in with her Adirondack chairs, using lumber for the frame and fence boards for the slatted table. Flames are supplied either by gel fireplace fuel canisters or Eco Logs that tend to eliminate sparks.

  • 04 of 31

    DIY Curved Fire Pit Bench

    A Beautiful Mess complemented a DIY fire pit with a DIY fire pit bench. The curved bench mimics the round shape of the fire pit and is decorated with outdoor throw pillows in colorful fabrics.

    Continue to 5 of 31 below

  • 05 of 31

    Concrete Pavers DIY Fire Pit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (8)

    Stacked pavers with a whitewashed brick effect add a modern rustic look to this DIY fire pit from House Mix.

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    Repurposed DIY Fire Pit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (9)

    Most Lovely Things made a simple DIY fire pit using a repurposed dye vat found at a secondhand store in San Juan Capistrano, CA. Tree stump side tables around the fire pit seating area add a nice touch.

  • 07 of 31

    DIY Koi Pond Fire Pit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (10)

    Lucy, who blogs at Lucy's Lampshades, turned her old koipond into a DIY fire pit for outdoor gatherings. As long as the size is correct, old garden ponds work perfectly as fire pitssince they are usually lined with non-combustible rocks. Ensure that the pond has stone or concrete lining, not PVC, EPDM (a synthetic rubber), or other flammable pond liners.

  • 08 of 31

    Modern-Style DIY Metal and Glass Fire Pit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (11)

    For less than $25, Karen at The Art of Doing Stuff blog crafted this contemporary fire pit out of glass frame coverings, a metal planter,and a metal grate. Karen notes thatif you cannot find a metal planter like hers, a terracotta planter will work just as well.

    Continue to 9 of 31 below

  • 09 of 31

    Salvaged Brick DIY Fire Pit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (12)

    Blogger Deborah from B Vintage Style used salvaged bricks from France bought on sale to create an in-ground fire pit in her large back yard. The minimalist design is easy to mow around, making maintenance a breeze.

  • 10 of 31

    DIY Mini Fire Pit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (13)

    This mini fire pit from Deb McDaniel at Evansville Living was cast in concrete from a flower pot that dictated its size and shape (you can also use an urn).

  • 11 of 31

    DIY Square Fire Pit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (14)

    Costing well under $100, this square DIY fire pit from the Deals, Steals, and Heels blog is a stylish and simple backyard design element constructed from cement wall blocks laid in a bed of sand.

  • 12 of 31

    Shortcut DIY Fire Pit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (15)

    Not all fire pits need to be created entirely from scratch. Melissa at The Inspired Room combined a do-it-yourself ring of 44Allen + Roth retaining wall blocks from Lowe's Home Improvement store with a factory-made, ready-to-go metal fire pit kit. The result is a fire pit with a cozy, natural-stone look.

    Continue to 13 of 31 below

  • 13 of 31

    Easy Four-Step DIY Fire Pit

    This easy four-step DIY fire pit from A Beautiful Mess has a clean modern look. The backyard fire pit is made from concrete landscaping stones and a metal fire pit ring.

  • 14 of 31

    DIY S'Mores Bar Cart

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (17)

    If you've already got a fire pit, there are plenty of simple DIY projects that can make your fire pit space feel cozier and more user-friendly. This DIY s'mores bar cart from A Blissful Nest has everything needed to roast marshmallows and melt chocolate, and can be wheeled out when needed.

  • 15 of 31

    Repurposed Washing Machine Drum

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (18)

    If you're going for the look of a stylish, pricey fire pit for practically nothing, it helps to get inventive. A sleek receptacle that can double as a fire pit is a stainless steel washing machine drum. Stainless steel holds up to heat, and the holes throughout the drum allow for the oxygen flow a fire needs.

  • 16 of 31

    Suspend a Cauldron

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (19)

    Nothing is more old-school and referential to camping than erecting a tripod and hanging a giant cast iron cooking pot or stylish deep cauldron in your backyard. But in this case, instead of lighting the fire underneath the kettle, put the firewood inside the kettle and enjoy the warm glow.

    Continue to 17 of 31 below

  • 17 of 31

    DIY Backyard Fire Pit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (20)

    Yellow Brick Home made a DIY backyard fire pit that cost $450 and came together in a single day. A set of matching armchairs and mismatched blankets add coziness that encourages lingering around the fire on chilly nights.

    The 11 Best Fire Pits of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

  • 18 of 31

    Tire Rim Tower

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (21)

    As long as you have access to an angle grinder and can get your hands on two old truck or car tire rims that are the same size, you can make an industrial-looking fire pit like this one from DIY Joy.

  • 19 of 31

    DIY Leftover Brick Fire Pit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (22)

    Mimzy & Company used leftover bricks from a fireplace project to build this large round DIY brick fire pit in a Florida backyard.

  • 20 of 31

    Upcycle a Beer Keg

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (23)

    It probably doesn't sound pretty retooling a beer keg into a fire pit, but it can be. As long as you know how to use a welder, an angle grinder, circular saw, drill, or Dremel, you can cut down these steel receptacles (either vertically or horizontally) and add vent holes. Also, stainless steel beer kegs can be sanded and polished to a mirror finish: you only need time and a little bit of elbow grease to class up these simple containers.

    Continue to 21 of 31 below

  • 21 of 31

    DIY L-Shaped Fire Pit Bench

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (24)

    This DIY fire pit bench was built like an outdoor sectional, painted black, and accented with colorful throw pillows to anchor this backyard gravel and painted concrete paver patio from Thistlewood Farms.

  • 22 of 31

    Leftover Brick DIY Fire Pit

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (25)

    Leftover bricks from another project were used to make this DIY fire pit from Hammers N Hugs that is the centerpiece of an outdoor gathering space outfitted with seating and decorated with plants and string lights.

  • 23 of 31

    Rustic Wheelbarrow Charm

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (26)

    If your home has rustic styling, a French country aesthetic, or a farmhouse look, then an old metal wheelbarrow will fit right in. A well-worn steel wheelbarrow may be past its prime for yard work, but give it a second life as a rustic fire pit. Make sure it doesn't have any cracks or significant rust. Remove any plastic, rubber, or wooden parts. To protect your lawn and keep your fire pit safe, center the wheelbarrow on a foundation of stone or brick.

  • 24 of 31

    Concrete Tree Rings

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (27)

    For less than $50, you can stack concrete tree rings into a circle shape, going as high as you like for a unique-looking fire pit. Concrete rings come in different shades of white, beige, orange, and pink hues, giving you many options, and some have scallops to them. Not all concrete is fire-safe, so line the inside of any concrete fire pits with fire brick and fire clay mortar to keep your fire pit intact or use a protective fire ring as an inner liner.

    Continue to 25 of 31 below

  • 25 of 31

    Fire Rings

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (28)

    The ridges of a galvanized steel fire ring can give your DIY fire pit a modern, industrial look. Made for containing a fire pit, these rings come in many styles at most big-box home improvement stores, including galvanized steel, lattice patterns, other cutout designs, and even square shapes. Clear a space, put down some sand or a thin layer of pebbles, and put a ring down. Get some firewood, and you're all set. It's your simplest and quickest fire pit solution.

  • 26 of 31

    Repurposed Birdbath

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (29)

    You can turn your birdbath into a fire pit if it's made of a fire-safe material like marble or terracotta (concrete is not safe). Just disconnect the water hookups, remove plastic and flammable materials, and fill it with firewood. Or hire a professional to switch out the water hoses for gas lines.

  • 27 of 31

    Use Cinder Block Caps

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (30)

    Fire-resistant cinder block caps can be artfully designed into a square, contemporary-styled fire pit with clean lines and a minimalist aesthetic. Although cinder blocks are fire-resistant, they are not fireproof and, over prolonged use, will eventually crumble. To protect and extend the viability of your fire pit, consider using a fire ring as a liner or fire bricks.

  • 28 of 31

    Stonehenge of Bricks

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (31)

    Invoking the majestic look of Stonehenge, purchase bricks and stack them like dominoes with space in between each brick, then lay a top layer on top, lining them all up and locking them in place. The result: A fire pit with an elegant design has the practical benefit of slotted openings for free-flowing air to stoke the flames.

    Continue to 29 of 31 below

  • 29 of 31

    Embrace Asymmetry

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (32)

    Experiment with how you stack your bricks or rocks around the fire pit. You can raise up one side or one half or create a teardrop shape around a circular pit with all bricks tapering up to a point on one side. Playing with design can leave you with something that is pleasing to the eye while also acting effectively as a windbreaker, keeping the fire alive.

  • 30 of 31

    DIY Fire Pit Area Makeover

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (33)

    Inspired By Charm gave this backyard fire pit a DIY makeover, surrounding the rustic metal DIY fire pit with painted purple Adirondack chairs that add contrast and give it a modern feel.

  • 31 of 31

    DIY Fire Pit Patio

    31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (34)

    Lovely Indeed built a DIY brick patio to create a cozy fire pit area in the corner of the yard. The patio has a rock border, bright blue Adirondack chairs, an affordable fire pit sourced online, and an outdoor firewood holder.

Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts

Room Design: Outdoor Spaces

In this article, "Room Design: Outdoor Spaces," Lee Wallender provides budget-friendly and creative DIY fire pit ideas. The article includes various ways to build a DIY fire pit using inexpensive or repurposed materials such as stone, bricks, pavers, concrete, and retaining wall blocks. The cost of most of the DIY fire pit ideas mentioned in the article ranges from $50 to $150, along with some elbow grease [[1]].

The article also discusses different fuel sources for fire pits. Gel canisters designed for fireplaces or low-combustion pressed wood logs can be used as fuel in smaller fire pits, while larger pits can use real wood logs or charcoal. However, it is important to check with local air quality and fire restrictions before burning wood outdoors [[1]].

The article provides step-by-step instructions and showcases various DIY fire pit ideas, including:

  1. How to Build a DIY Firepit: The Spruce offers a handy guide on building a DIY fire pit without the help of a contractor [[1]].
  2. DIY Easy Fire Pit With Pavers: Kaysi from the blog "Keeping It Simple" built a backyard fire pit using retaining wall blocks, sand, and pavers. This project cost $50 in materials and did not require grout, mortar, or concrete [[2]].
  3. DIY Adirondack Style Fire Pit: Marie from The Interior Frugalista built a hexagon-shaped fire pit table using lumber for the frame and fence boards for the slatted table. Flames can be supplied by gel fireplace fuel canisters or Eco Logs [[3]].
  4. DIY Curved Fire Pit Bench: A Beautiful Mess complemented a DIY fire pit with a curved bench that mimics the round shape of the fire pit. The bench is decorated with outdoor throw pillows [[4]].
  5. Concrete Pavers DIY Fire Pit: House Mix showcases a DIY fire pit made with stacked pavers, creating a modern rustic look [[5]].
  6. Repurposed DIY Fire Pit: Most Lovely Things created a simple DIY fire pit using a repurposed dye vat found at a secondhand store. Tree stump side tables were added around the fire pit seating area [[6]].
  7. DIY Koi Pond Fire Pit: Lucy's Lampshades turned an old garden pond into a fire pit by ensuring it had a stone or concrete lining. PVC, EPDM, or other flammable pond liners should be avoided [[7]].
  8. Modern-Style DIY Metal and Glass Fire Pit: Karen at The Art of Doing Stuff crafted a contemporary fire pit using glass frame coverings, a metal planter, and a metal grate. A terracotta planter can be used as an alternative to a metal planter [[8]].
  9. Salvaged Brick DIY Fire Pit: Blogger Deborah from B Vintage Style used salvaged bricks from France to create an in-ground fire pit with a minimalist design [[9]].
  10. DIY Mini Fire Pit: Deb McDaniel at Evansville Living cast a mini fire pit in concrete using a flower pot or urn as a mold [[10]].
  11. DIY Square Fire Pit: The Deals, Steals, and Heels blog showcases a square DIY fire pit constructed from cement wall blocks laid in a bed of sand [[11]].
  12. Shortcut DIY Fire Pit: Melissa at The Inspired Room combined a do-it-yourself ring of Allen + Roth retaining wall blocks with a factory-made metal fire pit kit for a cozy, natural-stone look [[12]].
  13. Easy Four-Step DIY Fire Pit: A Beautiful Mess provides instructions for building a clean and modern DIY fire pit using concrete landscaping stones and a metal fire pit ring [[13]].
  14. DIY S'Mores Bar Cart: A Blissful Nest offers a DIY project to create a s'mores bar cart that can be wheeled out when needed [[14]].
  15. Repurposed Washing Machine Drum: A stainless steel washing machine drum can be repurposed into a fire pit, providing a stylish and industrial look. The holes in the drum allow for oxygen flow [[15]].

These are just a few examples of the DIY fire pit ideas mentioned in the article. Each idea is accompanied by a description, materials used, and sometimes the cost of the project. The article also includes additional ideas such as using a birdbath, cinder block caps, or stacking bricks or rocks in creative ways to create unique fire pit designs [[1]].

31 DIY Fire Pit Ideas and Plans for Your Backyard (2024)

FAQs

How do I build a fire pit in my backyard? ›

  1. Plan Location and Layout. A fire pit should be built at least 15 feet from any structure and close to a water source. ...
  2. Determine the Size. The size of your fire pit will be determined by your metal fire ring. ...
  3. Dig a Hole. ...
  4. Line Hole With Sand. ...
  5. Add Base Row. ...
  6. Place Metal Ring. ...
  7. Insert Bricks Into Fire Pit Floor. ...
  8. Add Pea Gravel.

Is it cheaper to build or buy a fire pit? ›

Custom-made fire pits create a permanent fixture for your patio. Of course, they're pricier than ready-made models, costing as much as $3,000 to $5,000: You're paying for higher quality of materials and perhaps labor from professionals.

What do you put in the bottom of a DIY fire pit? ›

What Do You Put in the Bottom of a Fire Pit? To create a safe, sturdy foundation for a fire pit, we use a gravel paver base. Other common materials used for the bottom of a fire pit are sand, lava stones, dirt, fire glass and concrete slabs.

How deep should a DIY fire pit be? ›

Make the pit about 18 inches deep. Have a wheelbarrow or tarp handy to hold the excavated soil. Once the pit has been dug, move on to the second, larger circle from Step 1.

Is it OK to put a fire pit on grass? ›

Portable fire pits need to be placed on fire-resistant surfaces like a brick patio or over stone pavers. Flying embers can be a fire risk if you put your portable fire pit directly onto your grass or place it on a wooden deck.

Does a fire pit need air holes? ›

Are holes in the base of a fire pit necessary? No. It may seem surprising, but your fire pit will work just as effectively with or without base holes. Base holes do allow a little more airflow and so offer a faster burn, but that also means you will burn through wood faster.

What are the disadvantages of a fire pit? ›

Disadvantages of an Outdoor Fire Pit
  • Fire pits take up a minimum of 150 sq ft a patio so the patio must be bigger to accommodate outdoor tables.
  • If the fire pit is wood burning, the smoke could potentially bother you and clothes may smell like a campfire.
Mar 22, 2024

Can you build a fire pit with normal bricks? ›

The answer to this question is yes, regular bricks could work for a fire pit, however, when not done properly, it can be very dangerous to do so. Regular bricks are often not able to withstand extreme heat and moisture that come when lighting up a fire pit, which is what a firebrick works best in.

What style of fire pit is best? ›

After extensively testing, we recommend the wood-burning Tiki Patio Fire Pit (available at Amazon for $395.00) as the best overall firepit. Wood-burning fire pits burn hotter than propane, and this one is large enough to seat a crowd around, making it a perfect fit in your backyard.

Why put sand in a fire pit? ›

Use Sand to Protect the Bottom from Heat

To prevent this, add a thin layer of sand to the pit before adding wood. The sand will act as insulation and protect the metal from the worst of the heat without taking away from the beauty or aroma of the fire.

Can you use any stone for a fire pit? ›

You'll also want to make sure the stone you choose for your fire pit is hard and durable. Softer rocks like sandstone and bluestone are not ideal for fire pit builds.

Why put gravel in bottom of fire pit? ›

Drainage and Stability

One of the key advantages of using gravel is its excellent drainage capabilities. Unlike other materials like concrete or pavers, gravel allows water to pass through easily, preventing the formation of puddles or muddy areas around your fire pit.

Can I just dig a hole for a fire pit? ›

For safety purposes, the hole for a fire pit should be about 6-12 inches deep. Be sure to call 811 before you start digging to ensure there are no utility lines buried under the spot you've chosen. If you don't have a tamp, you can just use the bottom of your shovel.

Can I just dig a hole in the ground for a fire pit? ›

A fire pit placed in the ground is an easy and cheap option. All of the work is done by you, and you get to decide how big it can be, in accordance with local laws, of course. All you have to do is dig the hole and design how the logs are placed in the pit.

How do you build a fire pit without digging? ›

An above Ground fire pit is the perfect DIY fire pit solution for those who do not want to put in the effort to dig a hole into the ground. First, select some handsome gravel for your foundation, spread it out to create your overall fire pit space, then stack your fire pit stones in a circular shape.

How much does it cost to build a fire pit in backyard? ›

The average cost ranges from $300 to $1,400, with most homeowners paying around $850 for a 36” above-ground propane-burning brick fire pit. However, prices dip as low as $200 to install a 36” above-ground charcoal fire pit. On the other end, it can be as high as $5,000 to install a 48” in-ground natural gas fire pit.

Do you put sand in the bottom of a fire pit? ›

Use Sand to Protect the Bottom from Heat

To prevent this, add a thin layer of sand to the pit before adding wood. The sand will act as insulation and protect the metal from the worst of the heat without taking away from the beauty or aroma of the fire.

Can you use regular bricks for a fire pit? ›

The answer to this question is yes, regular bricks could work for a fire pit, however, when not done properly, it can be very dangerous to do so. Regular bricks are often not able to withstand extreme heat and moisture that come when lighting up a fire pit, which is what a firebrick works best in.

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