In the courtyard of the house, at the country house or garden plot, it’s so nice to sit by the fire and barbecue. There are some for frying meat, but they are utilitarian and it never occurs to anyone to enjoy the sight of burning wood. On the contrary, ready-made coals are often thrown in, adding only a little thin firewood to keep preparation time to a minimum. In the case of a fire pit - a special place for lighting a fire - everything is different. This place is more often called a fire pit. It is designed not only for grilling kebabs, but also for admiring the fire. In a dacha or garden plot, a fire pit will come in handy even after pruning: you can burn the branches and use the ash as fertilizer.
Place for a fire in the country house
It is better to place a fire pit on a personal plot or in a country house at a sufficient distance from the house so that the smoke does not reach the house.
The site must be blown by winds - good draft is needed for normal combustion. The place must be level or some area will have to be leveled - under the hearth itself and under the seating area or armchairs.
Device and dimensions
The fire pit can be round or rectangular shape. It can be so deep that it is flush with the ground, or it can be partially buried, with slightly raised walls. There are options that are generally located above ground level - they are placed on a previously prepared site. So the choice is yours.
There is no point in arguing about forms. Round ones are more convenient - we stack the firewood in a hut. But rectangular ones are easier to build, especially brick ones. Here all the techniques are known - the masonry is carried out as regular wall. The wall thickness is just a quarter of a brick.
Those who are deciding how to set up a fire pit in the backyard of a house, in a country house or in a garden plot usually have several questions:
- What size should a fire pit be?
- Do you need a blower, if so, how many, what sizes, how to make them and where to place them?
- Should I install a grate or not?
- How to make cleaning the fireplace easier?
In fact, the first two questions are interrelated. If the dimensions of the fire bowl are quite large - a meter or more in diameter, you can make the walls solid, without a blower. If less than a meter, you will have to make holes for air intake.
It is better to make a blower not from below, but in the walls. Their number - two or four - is diagonally opposite each other. Small holes are left in the wall by breaking off a piece of brick (about a quarter). If necessary, they can be laid with the same, slightly trimmed, quarters. It is not worth making a vent from below: with such a design, ash flakes often fly around the area during the “operation” of the hearth - they are carried away by the air flow, which with such a design is difficult to regulate.
About the grate bars. It’s possible to do whatever is more convenient for you, but they don’t really affect functionality or convenience.
Site preparation
If the area is dense sandy soils, Can earthworks exclude. The second option for a simplified fire pit arrangement is an existing area, lined with paving slabs, stone, paved or concreted. On this base you can lay a couple of rows of brick or stone. Now the hearth is ready. This option is ideal for soils that do not drain water well. After rain, in such an area the sunken bowl under the fire will turn into a mini-pond and will dry for a very long time.
You can prepare the site like this... By the way, an interesting idea is to use concrete blocks by loading the voids with pebbles or crushed stone
In other cases, without preparatory work not enough. No, you can build a fire pit right on the ground, but after a few years it will become unusable - the walls will “creep” after rains or spring heaving of the soil. Preparing the site for a fire pit is standard:
- We remove the fertile layer of soil, remove roots and stones.
- We level and compact the soil.
- Pour a layer of crushed stone (not limestone, but granite) of medium and large fractions measuring 10-20 cm, level it, and tamp it.
You can already install a fireplace on this base, provided that you are satisfied with a crushed stone cushion as a base or you are going to pour concrete. True, for concrete you will need to assemble formwork around the perimeter. If you plan to pave the area around the fireplace with tiles or stones, pour sand or fine screenings onto the crushed stone. The sand/screenings are compacted, leveled, then tiles or stone are laid.
Crushed stone site is not so bad
On clayey or fertile soils To prevent crushed stone from “sinking” into the ground, a density of 200-250 g/m is placed underneath it. This non-woven material, which allows water to pass through, prevents roots from germinating and prevents crushed stone from mixing with the soil. In fact, this is a very important layer that is best laid down.
How to make a fire pit out of concrete
A concrete fire pit can be round or square. The only difference is in the shape of the formwork. You only need two rings or two rectangles/squares.
A round shape can be made, for example, from two metal barrels different diameters. You just need to cut off two rings required height. Once the concrete has hardened, the mold will need to be removed, so it will have to be cut. If you may need it in the future, make a detachable mold from two half rings. Weld the hinges on one side and make fasteners on the other.
The easiest way to make a square shape is from boards, scraps of fiberboard, or thick plywood. They don't have to be new, but they should be even. We use self-tapping screws to assemble the form - it will also need to be disassembled.
The distance between the outer and inner formwork should be equal to the wall thickness. For a concrete hearth, a sufficient thickness is 15-20 cm. Place the form on the prepared base, check the distance, verticality and horizontality. We secure the form by driving in pegs so that the formwork does not move when filled with concrete.
A ring has formed between the two formworks into which we will pour concrete. We stick into this ring into the ground and hammer in pieces of reinforcement with a diameter of 10-14 mm. They are needed for greater wall rigidity. The length of the reinforcement is about 60 cm, the installation step is 15-20 cm. We also drive 15-20 cm into the ground. We place the reinforcement in the middle of the ring and so that its upper edge “sinks” into the concrete by 5 cm or a little more.
Now you can pour the concrete. The composition is normal; for 1 part M150 cement, 3 parts sand and 4 parts crushed stone. The amount of water is usually 0.7-0.8 parts (depending on the moisture content of the sand and crushed stone). We pour the concrete into the mold, leave it for 5-7 days, after which the formwork is disassembled. The concrete fire pit is ready, but you can start a fire in it no earlier than after 2-3 weeks, or better yet, after a month and a half. Only then will it gain enough strength and not crack from fire.
Making a fire pit out of brick or stone
You can set up a fire pit using bricks different ways. There are simple and cheap ones, but which can quickly fall apart. There are more difficult ones to make, but they will definitely last for several years. To build a fire pit, you can use ordinary solid red brick, but it will not “live” for long. This material can be used for country or garden hearths for one or two seasons.
If you need to do it quickly, you can do it this way
According to the rules
For permanently designed recreation areas, you will need to look for fireclay bricks. You can choose the sizes yourself, but it’s easier to install smaller ones, although it will take longer. But even for the largest fire pit you will need only four to five dozen bricks, so the laying will not take that much time.
Fireclay bricks are not a cheap pleasure, so when laying a hearth, they usually lay them out of fireclay inner part hearth, which is in direct contact with the flame. External part can be covered with ordinary brick or stone.
If you have already splurged on fireclay bricks, then you should lay it on fireclay mortar - it is sold in powder form in bags. Add water to the mixture and stir. After some time, the solution is ready for use. After you put the hearth together, you will need to wait 5-7 days for the solution to dry. Then load the fireplace fully with wood and warm it up thoroughly for a couple of hours. This is necessary so that the mortar and brick sinter into a single whole, and for this the temperature must be high. So don’t skimp on wood here. But fireclay mortar is used only for laying the inside of the hearth - where the temperatures are highest. The outer row is placed on cement-sand mortar. Fireclay is unacceptable here - it won’t have enough temperature and it will simply crumble.
Ordinary brick can be laid on clay or cement mortar. In some cases, you can do without mortar at all - filling the voids between the bricks with compacted crushed stone, sand or soil.
Simple and fast
You can set up a fire pit in just a few hours. You only need a few flat granite stones or pebbles, crushed stone. They line the bottom of the fire pit. You can also lay brick at the bottom and fill the gaps with crushed stone. To build the walls of the fire pit you will need two to three dozen bricks. That's all.
The procedure for arranging a fire pit is as follows:
- We mark a circle on the ground.
- We remove the turf and remove the soil to a depth that is equal to the length of the brick and the thickness of the base. The brick installed on the poke must rise at least a little above the ground level - then the fireplace will not flood or blow out.
- Level and compact the bottom.
- We lay out bricks or stones, tap them thoroughly with a mallet (or just with our feet).
- We fill the gaps with crushed stone, which we also press well into the ground.
- We place bricks “sticking out” around the circumference. On one side they become close to each other, and on the other side small gaps form. They are filled with previously excavated soil (if it is not clay or loam), sand or small crushed stone.
That's all. A simple brick fire pit is ready. It is not a fact that after a good rain it will remain in its normal form, but it requires little time and money.
Reliable design of a round fire pit made of bricks
In order for a brick fire pit to serve for a long time, its walls must stand on a solid foundation. On a bed of crushed stone it is usually poured reinforced belt made of concrete. It is made around the circumference, the thickness is not less than the thickness of the walls, the height is 10-15 cm. For greater strength, a reinforcing ring made of a rod with a diameter of 12-14 mm is placed approximately in the middle of the height.
The inner part of the hearth is lined with fireclay bricks, the outer part is lined with ordinary, hollow bricks, laid with bandaged seams (offset by half the brick). Fireclay bricks are placed on clay or fireclay mortar, ordinary bricks are placed on a cement-sand mixture.
Such a fire pit made of brick requires more materials and time to arrange, but it will last for many years. And to prevent it from being flooded with precipitation and covered with leaves, you can cover the fire pit with a shield. In this form, by the way, it can be used as a table.
A square or rectangular brick hearth is built using exactly the same principle. The technology remains the same, the only difference is the form.
Simple options
It is possible to make a fire pit much faster. Firstly, there are a lot of country or backyard fireplaces made of metal. All you need is a platform on which you will place a metal fire pit.
Metal bowl - quick way arrange a fire pit
The advantage of this solution is not too high price and the ease of setting up a place to make a fire. The advantages include low weight, which allows the installation to be carried under the roof for the winter or in bad weather.
A very similar option is a concrete fire pit. They are cast different sizes, they come in round or square. You can do exactly the same thing yourself, but you will have to wait at least a month. The finished bowl was placed and you can use it.
Photo ideas for decorating a fire pit
Making a fire pit is only half the battle. It is also necessary to equip a platform so that you can sit, look at the fire, enjoy the evening and conversation with friends. Some interesting ideas we have collected in this section.
You can simply stack the stones one by one...
Metal fire pit - safe, inexpensive
Make seats from logs - in the style of forest fires
Very easy to put together... but very difficult to find these bricks
A fire in the country is a special pleasure that is not available to us in a city apartment. Having done street hearth with your own hands, you will be able to enjoy the play of fire more often, cook something tasty on the grill by the fireplace, or simply bask in the warmth on cold evenings.
To make the fire look harmonious in the garden, it is better to arrange for it permanent place, which would provide appropriate fire safety standards and provided comfort. 
And, although the outdoor fireplace in the photo may look absolutely luxurious, its construction does not require a significant investment of either time or materials. 
You may well choose an option for yourself that you can implement in a couple of weekends.
How to make an outdoor fireplace out of stone.
In order to make an outdoor fireplace finished with natural stone, we first mark out the hearth's kennels and pour a small concrete pad under the masonry.
The masonry will consist of two layers. The inner layer is a brick layer and the outer layer is made of natural stone. 
The upper part of the hearth can also be finished with stone. 
In order to use the fireplace as a barbecue, provide a grate for it in accordance with the size of the fireplace. 
This a nice place The fire pit can be placed on the terrace in front of the house, where you can spend truly unforgettable evenings in the country. 
If you will be using the fire pit more often as a barbecue, then you may be interested in other barbecue projects that are easy to make with your own hands. You can check them out
Fire pit made of concrete blocks.
In fact, the simplest outdoor fireplace can be made from ordinary concrete blocks.
In order to protect the soil as much as possible from fire and for more convenient cleaning of the fireplace, it is better to place concrete blocks on a brick platform. 
If you decorate the top of such a hearth natural stone, he will look quite respectable. 
By placing the fire pit next to summer kitchen and a gazebo, you will have another wonderful relaxation area in the garden. 
The hearth is made of a semicircular curb and paving slabs.
Concrete blocks are produced not only in the form of rectangles; semicircular concrete curbs are usually used to fence trees.
Such concrete blocks are perfect for creating a small outdoor fireplace. 
If semicircular blocks cannot be found, pay attention to paving slabs. It turns out that using it as bricks, you can also make a fireplace for your summer house. 
Outdoor fireplace made of brick.
For those who are not a fan of excessive creativity, the easiest way is to use bricks to create a fireplace.
Lay it out of brick right size fire pit, mark the contours and dig a hole to the height of a brick. We cover the contours of the hearth, adding gravel to the bottom. Advice: if the walls of the pit are made slightly inclined outward, the structure will be more stable. 
By minimally decorating the top of the fireplace, you will get a cozy and beautiful fireplace in your country house. You can place a metal tripod in the hearth and cook kulesh. For meat lovers, you can install a simple spit and cook the whole bird on the spit. 
How to make a fire pit in your country house.
To fit the fire pit into overall design garden, you can make a special platform for it.
Such a place for a fire will be more cozy and convenient because... a stone border can be used as a bench, and the smooth shape of the platform will add an elegant touch to the landscape design of the entire garden. 
Outdoor fireplace made from scrap materials.
For those who like to use improvised materials there is also beautiful options street hearth.
For example, you can make such a beautiful hearth from an old basin and the remains of stone and metal. 
In fact, any durable metal will do for the inside of the fireplace. 
This metal can be a washing machine tank. 
For it to function, it is enough to weld the legs to it. 
Or you can add minimal brickwork. It's not a lot of work, but the difference is noticeable. 
Sometimes a fire pit is placed in a recess in the area - this technique is used for a windy or noisy area, this creates a more calm and quiet atmosphere around the fire pit.
Outdoor fireplace made of metal.
It is not necessary to use leftover household appliances for the fire pit.
You can simply buy a sheet of galvanized metal and weld a simple structure for the fireplace from it. 
The only drawback of this design is that its walls become seriously hot and it is necessary to isolate the fireplace from flammable surfaces. 
Street hearth made from a car disk.
Therefore, it is better to cover the outside of a metal hearth with brick or decorative stone.
The disk from a tractor wheel was taken as the basis for this hearth. 
How to make a fireplace out of concrete with your own hands.
For an outdoor fireplace made of concrete, you need to make formwork in accordance with the dimensions of the fireplace you have chosen. For structural strength, additionally place metal reinforcement in the formwork.
A concrete hearth can be decorated with stone or simply left as is - this way it will have a more modern, laconic look. 
It is convenient to place an outdoor fireplace in an open gazebo - such a place can become the center of attraction for all dacha life. 
Round or square, stone or concrete blocks, no matter the style you choose, there is always an outdoor fireplace that will suit your garden. 
Small or large - almost every outbreak is budget option, which can add a touch of real luxury to your garden!
Setting up your own cottage is an extremely exciting process. Even with a limited budget, making it a paradise vacation spot is quite possible. Let's share fresh ideas that will help make the dacha more comfortable and beautiful with minimal costs. There is no doubt that the effect of implementing these ideas will exceed all expectations.
1. Colored fire
Making a fire in the country is a troublesome task, and spending time on this activity is not always justified. Arranging a flowerbed in the form of a fire will help solve this issue. This decor is absolutely safe and requires investing energy into its construction only once. In addition, tamed fire, even if it is not real, always evokes positive emotions.
2. A secluded place to relax
A bench placed in the middle of the lawn or just under a tree may not be cozy enough. Place it with its back to the fence, and plant two low trees or bushes on the sides. This will make the resting area separate from the rest of the space. summer cottage.
3. From the kitchen to the dacha
A table on which flowers grow instead of tea and sweets looks cute and unexpected. In addition, this solution is also practical. It will help place more plants on a personal plot that cannot boast large area.
4. Functional and beautiful fence
Often a fence, the arrangement of which is not given enough attention, spoils appearance dachas You can easily combine business with pleasure by decorating it and at the same time turning it into a spacious storage system. Place boxes on the fence or place tall shelving close to it. Place pots with plants in them or place necessary little things.
5. Children's joy
In order for children to enjoy their stay at the dacha no less than adults, you need to take care of organizing their leisure time. For example, arrange an original children's Corner from scrap materials. Several large enamel containers built into a paved area - and the child will get a lot positive emotions. To make the corner a decoration of your dacha, not only arrange a sandbox on it, but also plant plants.
6. Entering a fairy tale
The gate is the item that creates the first impression. Which, as you know, is the strongest. To arrange a fairy-tale gate you will need wooden door and a lot of stones. This win-win combination of natural materials always looks fresh and attractive.
7. Tamed element
What cottage would be complete without barbecue? Building a fire pit can take a lot of time, as can putting it out later. A special place for the fire in the form of a recess lined with stones will help you prepare food over fire. It’s easy to make, but the benefits and aesthetics are obvious.
8. Garden in miniature
Japanese art the creation of miniature landscapes appeared many centuries ago. And today, the ability of such mini-gardens to have a harmonizing effect on a person’s emotional state is valued. Making such a work of art is quite simple. A base container, soil, small plants, stones and remnants of tiles - and a wonderful garden is ready. It can be placed on the veranda or used as a flower bed, placed on the lawn.
9. If there is no pond, but you really want it
Decorative crushed stone blue color replaces water. The swan's head is cut out of wood, and the body is made of wooden planks dug into the ground. Then all that remains is to plant the plants suitable color. This flower pond looks more than impressive, and its care is minimal, unlike the real thing.
10. Multi-level flower arrangement
Pots and containers for growing flowers of different heights, collected together, become a real decoration of the site. Don't be afraid to combine different pots - so decorative composition It will even look more interesting. But in this case, it is better to plant the same plants. This way the composite flower garden will look complete.
11. Turn on birdsong
The sounds of birdsong are known for their relaxing effect on the psycho-emotional sphere. It’s just a matter of small things - to attract birds to personal plot. In order not to spend a lot of time making a feeder, make it from painted tin cans tied to branches with bright ribbons.
12. The beds are in order
Most often, the beds look chaotic, which does not add aesthetics to the garden plot. From thin wooden slats you need to create something like a grid with square cells. Paint or coat the wood with a suitable protective impregnation. All that remains is to put the structure on the ground and plant the plants in the cells.
13. Stones and flowers
It will not be possible to find identical stones special labor. You need to put them on the ground, so that there is free space between adjacent ones. All that remains is to pour the seeds into the soil and wait for the plants to emerge.
14. Original lawn
If completely planted lawn grass If you don’t want to have the entire garden plot, then plant it in the shape of circles. To make such lawns look neat, make a low, almost invisible fence for them.
15. Fun swing
Swings are a source of positive emotions not only for adults, but also for children. They are easy to make from a construction pallet tied to strong tree branches.
Another proven way to make your dacha more comfortable is to install a gazebo. Continuing the topic -
How we want every corner of the dacha to please our eyes. And if stationary flower beds require preliminary preparation and careful planning, we can make small flower beds with our own hands from scrap materials, which can quickly add additional bright element to any corner of our garden.
With minimal effort you can turn any unnecessary container into a flower container.
Bright red salvia is a favorite choice for a bonfire bed.
Old ones have accumulated in the house flower pots? Let's make cheerful flower beds with our own hands that will make everyone smile.
Have you always wanted to try making a flower garden from a single log?
If you don’t have a suitable log, you can make such a flower garden yourself from the remains of a slab.
Tired of it plastic bottles in the country? There is a chance to make a vertical flower bed out of them for a gazebo or terrace.
You can easily make a flower garden from building blocks. Depending on how the blocks are painted, you can create a completely different mood: from strictly black to a fun colored mosaic.
No old containers, boards, bottles and other unnecessary things? Believe it or not, an ordinary thick rag and a cement solution can become the basis for an unusual flower garden.
An option for those who still have old unnecessary containers at their dacha. Your dacha - your rules, perhaps such a flower garden will not become a permanent guest in your garden, but it will lift your spirits for the season.
A flower garden option for fans of crafts made from tires.
Indeed, you can make flower beds with your own hands from any available materials. For example, this flower garden is made from an old motorcycle tank.
Any old box V in capable hands has a chance to turn into unusual flower garden.
If you are a fan of landscaping using flower containers, then you know about their high cost. You can make such flower containers yourself from cement, decorating them to your liking.
It's always a pity to part with unnecessary things, to which we are already accustomed. We can say goodbye to them beautifully, making an unusual flower garden out of them with our own hands, and then calmly throw them away.
Even if these things are of small capacity, they can still serve us as a cute flower garden.
Near the house itself we usually have a blind area near the foundation and shade - this is not the best better place for a large flower bed. But a small stump from an old tree and one bush of ampelous petunia can create a small miracle.
Any unpretentious annuals can be planted both in a flower bed and in containers. These containers can beautify your garden lawn, porch or gazebo. In order to give such flower beds country style, wrap them in burlap.
Any old tub or even just an unnecessary barrel, plus a small bush of creeping flowers - and you already have a beautiful flower stream right under the windows of the house.
Plastic containers with flowers look better if they are a little closer to natural look, for example, place in a wicker basket.
Unusual DIY flower beds made from wood cuts require more frequent watering - unlike a regular flower bed, the flowers in them dry out faster.
Not only flowers, but also ornamental grasses look beautiful in the garden. Look how interestingly this sheep flower garden is organized.
Taking an original flower container is one of the simplest and most effective ideas. Cheerful flower caterpillars will illuminate your entire garden with their bright smile.
The unusual swan flower garden skillfully uses the bright contrast between white and blue bushes of small flowers.
If old car no one needs it anymore, and there is no hope of getting rid of it, you can make an unusual flower garden out of it with your own hands. The solution, of course, is not for everyone.
DIY flower garden using garden figurines. Such a nice company will always be waiting for you near the porch if you make a small front garden with your own hands.
A beautiful idea for a flower garden: a trellis with perennial vine in the shape of a heart. Your garden will immediately take on a romantic look.
The owner of an old clothing mannequin has the chance to create a small garden masterpiece with his own hands, like this goldilocks flower garden.
If you decide to decorate your garden with flowers, then an old dried tree is not a hindrance to you, but new challenge design thought. An unusual flower bowl with petunias will be the subject of admiration for your family and friends.
There are both simple and complex ideas for flower beds, but any of them will decorate your garden. Even if you are not a wonderful and skilled gardener, it is enough to buy a couple of bushes flower seedlings in the spring and experiment with them.
Even if in the first year, your flower beds, made with your own hands from scrap materials, do not turn out as beautiful as in these photos, you will be able to draw conclusions and increase your skills every year, and sooner or later your garden will become your pride.
It's hard to explain why we love looking at fire so much. Perhaps at this time distant ancestors awaken within us, for whom the fire was vitally important. Or maybe because the mesmerizing flames help you relax, dream, and forget about the everyday hustle and bustle. Today we will talk about how to transform suburban area by using .
Crucible – decorative garden lighting
Perhaps the easiest option for sitting by the fire is a ceramic fire pot (Firepots), reminiscent of a decorative garden vase. You can’t cook shish kebab with this, but it’s easy to arrange a real fire show in the garden! To add unique lighting to an area, place several vessels near a pond, pool, deck or patio.
Each crucible is made by hand. Inside the vessel there is a special canister with gel-like fuel based on isopropyl alcohol and thickeners. When the fuel burns, you can even hear a crackling sound, simulating the sound of burning logs. Another type of gel used in fire pots is Citronella. It consists of natural oils, the smell of which repels insects. So if you decide to sit on fresh air in the evening, you won’t have to repel mosquito attacks.
Firepots are released various sizes and forms. The flame in them is ignited through a wick and extinguished by the lid that comes with the kit. The vessels are placed on the floor or on a table.
Fireballs
An original solution for decoration and lighting summer cottages suggested designer Melissa Crisp. She came up with metal fire pits called Up North. They look great both day and night thanks to the carved patterns and wild animal motifs.
Paintings depicting forest fires are intended to reflect on the proper handling of fire during country trips. Such bowls are not only beautiful, but also useful: you can burn grass, branches, and even cook food in them.
Street fire
This option is perhaps one of the most favorite among summer residents. And all thanks wide choice: you can buy a ready-made portable hearth (stone, metal, ceramic, cast iron), or you can build something similar yourself, and also from a variety of materials.
A portable hearth can be installed anywhere; it is better if it is a specially prepared area, for example, a paved area. As a rule, such fireplaces have a lid and stand legs; ash and coals are removed through a pull-out tray. Fireplaces are often equipped with grates or other devices for cooking over a fire.
Stationary fire pits in the garden are no less popular. Essentially, this is a hole in the ground, the walls of which are lined with brick, stone, heat-resistant tiles or cast concrete. Fireplaces made from .
A stationary fireplace should not be installed in a flooded lowland, on a hill or near trees. Optimal sizes pits – 90-110 cm, depth – 30-40 cm. The bottom of the pit is filled with fine gravel to a level of 15-20 cm from the surface. In such a fireplace it is advisable to provide ventilation and storm drainage.
A swing around a fire would be a useful addition; a floating fireplace or a fireplace in a fountain would look impressive. Such a fireplace can run on propane or natural gas.
