Creating whimsical features in your home

How To Create A Firepit Underneath Your New Pergola

by Edwin Johnston

Fire can make a wonderful focal point in your outside space, perfect for evening gatherings and for creating a lovely, warm ambience.  If you're having a new pergola built in your garden, you could include a circular fire pit in the design.  This is a simple project to create a circular fire pit that is designed to be incorporated underneath a pergola, which is set on grass. 

Here's how to do it.

What you'll need

  • string
  • spray paint
  • wooden stake
  • spade
  • curved stone blocks
  • landscape adhesive
  • gravel
  • spirit level

You can obtain everything that you need for this project from good DIY stores.

How to do it

  1. First, mark out the fire pit by taking a wooden stake and placing it in the centre of the area to be occupied by the fire pit, then attach a piece of string to the stake that equates to the desired radius of the circle.  
  2. Stretch out the string to the length of the radial mark and, using a can of spray paint, walk around in a circle, marking the circumference of the fire pit as you do so.  
  3. Now dig a trench around the paint line that marks the circumference of your fire pit; the trench should be as deep as one of the stone blocks that you are using to build the fire pit.  
  4. Create the first row of stones that will form the wall of your fire pit by laying stones around the trench; once the first row is complete, spread a generous layer of landscape adhesive on top of the stones.  
  5. Repeat step #4 until the fire pit wall is the desired height.  
  6. When the fire pit wall is complete, fill-in any gaps around the stonework with gravel.  
  7. Now dig out the centre of the fire pit, ensuring that the surface is flat by using a spirit level.  
  8. Fill the centre of the fire pit with gravel to a depth of half the first stone block's thickness; this will help rainwater to drain away and provides a clean surface on which to place your firewood.

In conclusion

You can create a simple but effective fire pit as the centre piece to your new pergola by following the guidelines given above.  If your pergola is to be built on your patio or decking, you could still enjoy a fire pit, but you'll need to buy and freestanding version, rather than building your own.

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