DIY: Easy $40 Outdoor Fire Pit

In Chicago, I was used to small apartments. While I never lived in a studio, my one bedroom units were still small, typical for the city. And outdoor space? Forget about it— I was lucky if I had a patch of grass in front of my building.

One of of the best things about living in East Nashville is being able to rent a house instead of an apartment. Even better than that is the outdoor space that comes with it. When Megan and I were looking for a place, it was important to both of us that we have a yard— and we got what we asked for, with not one, but two yards. I already posted about building my garden beds, but we didn't just want the yard for practical purposes. We're twenty-something ladies— we need to socialize, damn it. 

A view of our yard — coming together with the new fire pit.

Naturally, a fire pit was on the list of things to make the place feel like home. What better way to enjoy the warm Nashville nights (compared to Chicago, at least) than with a fire? I started browsing local hardware stores, looking for a pre-built pit to add to the back yard, but the prices turned me off. $100 was the lowest I found, and it wasn't much to look at. 

Like most things, a homemade option is better than the store-bought variety in terms of design and function, and we found ourselves at the hardware store once again buying supplies for our newest yard addition.

We spent just $40 and it took less than an hour to build.

Choose your spot. Make sure it's not too close to your house or any shrubs/trees that could catch when it's dry outside.

You'll need 36 blocks. You can find them in the building materials section of the store. We got them for $1.09 each. Don't use cinder blocks, as the heat from the fire makes them crack easily. You can use 48 blocks if you want your pit to be a little higher, but we were happy with just three layers.

Use a shovel to draw a circle about the size of twelve blocks around. Take off the surface layer of grass and soil, and stack 'em up like you'd lay bricks. Not directly on top of one another, but overlapping so the middle of one covers the gap in the layer beneath. 

Clean up the edges with a chisel if you'd like. They'll come right off! Set up your chairs, cut down some firewood, and you're good to go.