How to Build an Easy, Do It Yourself Fire Pit! - Gasper Landscape Design & Construction

Get all the materials and expertise you need to build a fire pit from the building experts at Bucks County Hardscape & Building Supply!

Fire pit on your wish list? This DIY decorative block fire pit is a perfect beginner construction project for weekend warriors. With the Cambridge Pavingstone Pyzique Fire Pit Kit and expert advice from the design team at Gasper’s Bucks County Hardscape & Building Supply, you can construct a professional-looking fire pit over a weekend! Everyone loves gathering around a fire pit… what are you waiting for? Just remember to add marshmallows to your next shopping list.

Fire Pit Specifications:

32″ inside diameter
50″ outside diameter
16″ high
Colors available:
Sahara Chestnut

Onyx Natural (shown in the fire pit above.)

Toffee Onyx
Munich Fire Pit Cap Shown in Faux Bluestone

Recommended Tools Needed:

Flat Shovel or Spade
Digging Spade/Shovel
Straight Rake
4’ Level
Torpedo Level
Heavy Rubber Mallet
24-30” Piece of Rebar or Nail Stake
String Line (Or heavy twine)
Finishing Trowel (Or Tile Trowel with Smooth Edge)
Small Caulk Gun
Paint Stick (or other flat stick 1/8” thick)
Scissors or Razor Blade
Sharpie (for Marking String Lines)
Tape Measure

Materials Needed:

6 feet by 6 feet Minium Piece of ‘Mirafi’ Separating Fabric
29” Fire Pit Ring
56 Cambridge Pyzique Double-Sided Wall Block
½ Scoop Modified Stone (About 2 Wheelbarrows Full)
5 Bags Stone Screenings (We used Everlast Blue Mountain Patio Screening)
5 Small Tubes of Paver Adhesive (We Used SRW Superior Strength Solvent Based Adhesive)
2 Bags of All Purpose Sand or Play Sand
Optional Decorative Stone
Optional Log Grate
Optional Faux Bluestone Munich Fire Pit Cap

Note: We estimate that the material cost to construct this fire pit (not including labor) will be under $800 in 2023. With the optional Munich Fire Pit Cap, the cost will be under $1200.00 in 2023. Prices are for estimating purposes only and are subject to change without notice. Please contact Bucks County Hardscape for current pricing.

Locating Your Fire Pit:

Check with your local township or Fire Marshall for any open burning restrictions and setbacks.
Keep a minimum of 15–25′ away from any combustible structures such as a house, deck, or other structures.
Pick a level spot in your yard away from overhanging branches or heavy vegetation.
Give enough room around your fire pit that you are able to back your chairs away from the fire as needed. We find that a 16–18′ diameter circle is the perfect size.

Constructing Your Fire Pit:

Start by finding the finished center point of your fire pit. Then using your mallet, hammer the rebar or nail stake firmly into the center point (approximately 6” into the ground). The rebar should be deep enough so that it does not lean or wiggle.
Tie your string line to the stake and measure 30“ from the center point. It is helpful to mark the string line at this point with a Sharpie or similar marker.
Holding the string line straight out from the stake (taut but not stretching), and walking in a circle around the center point, use the marking paint to spray a 30” diameter circle on the ground.
Using a flat shovel or spade cut around the perimeter of the circle and then scrape the sod away from the inside of the circle. Be careful to preserve as much of the roots as possible if you would like to transplant the sod after building the fire pit. The center stake can be temporarily removed at this point to make digging easier.
Once all the sod is removed, dig out the rest of the circle to a depth of at least 6” with a digging shovel. Attempt to get the depth fairly uniform, which will help with leveling.
Tamp the soil in the base of the pit down by lifting and dropping the hand tamper with some force repeatedly over the surface of the entire base. The goal is to thoroughly compact the soil of the entire surface of the base so that there is no movement or sinking of the soil. Go over the base several times.
Once the base is tamped, lay down the separation fabric, covering the entire base. Do not cut the access fabric at this time as the fabric is needed to keep all the stone separate from the soil at the base AND the walls of the fire pit base. Trimming the fabric will be one of the last steps of the project.
Install the modified stone 2” deep and then tamp the stone. Add an additional 2” and tamp. There should be a total of 4” of modified stone. Check the level of the surface of the modified with the 4-foot level and adjust as needed with the flat shovel and hand tamper.
Completely cover the leveled modified with 1” of Screenings and tamp firmly. Check the level of the base again and smooth out any high or low spots on the surface with the finishing trowel. We recommend taking your time at this point and getting your base as close to the perfect level as possible because it will save time when you are laying your blocks.
Find your center again and reinsert the rebar or nail stake to act as your guide. Using a tape measure, mark a 15.5” point on the string line, and using the marking paint, spray a new 31” diameter circle which will be the inside perimeter of the Pyzique wall block.
Set the first 14 blocks around the newly marked circle, the short side facing in and the words Pyzique facing up. Using a paint stirrer stick or another flat tool 1/8” thick, gap the block 1/8” in the front and the back as you go. Once the first course of the fire pit is laid, carefully place the fire ring to ensure that the ring fits and the block looks properly aligned with the fire ring.
If everything fits, remove the fire ring and begin leveling the first course of the block with the smaller torpedo level so that each block is leveled from side to side and back to front. Level the blocks as needed by tapping each block gently into the screening with the rubber mallet.
Next, check the level of the overall first course with the 4 foot level by laying it across the block and moving it around the circle. Adjust as needed until the first course is perfectly level. Leveling the first course will take the most time in the construction of your fire pit, but it is important that you spend the time to get the first course perfectly level since this is the starting point of your fire pit block and any error will be exaggerated over the following courses.
Once you are satisfied with the first course, start laying the second course of the block using the first course as your guide. The first-second course block should be centered over the joint of two from the first course so that the joints are staggered. Continue to place the block until the second course is fully set and spaced.
Then lift each block of the second course and apply two lines of adhesive, carefully resetting the block. Once the second course is completely glued, check the level of each block and gently tap into place as needed. Checking the overall level of the second course with the 4’ level after the course is complete.
Continue this process with the next two courses, checking the level after each course is complete. If you are not installing the optional Munich Fire Pit Cap, then the fourth and last course will be laid so that the finished side of the block is facing up (words Pyzique facing down).
To install the optional Munich Cast Stone Fire Pit Cap, arrange the 4 cap pieces on top of the fourth course of block and glue them down with adhesive. The joints in the cap can be filled with a flexible caulk if desired or left open.
Once the fourth course or cap is completed the fire ring can be carefully placed so that the pit lip catches the inside perimeter of the ring.
Place the all-purpose sand in the center of the pit and rake smoothly for drainage and ease of cleaning up ash. An optional log grate is available to help lift the logs and increase airflow to the fire.
If you would like grass to surround the kit, then cut the fabric flush with the edge of the hole and fill the void left from digging with some of the left-over soil and the reserved sod. Water the sod well until re-established.
Another option would be to cut the fabric flush with the edge of the hole and fill the void with decorative stone.
Let the adhesive cure for at least 24 hours before using your fire pit. Then enjoy!