| Are you one of the many American families who | | | | have hidden pockets of water that could explode |
| have decided to spend their holidays at home this | | | | when heated). |
| year? Why not add authenticity to your "staycation" | | | | The ideal diameter of the pit should be somewhere |
| and improve your home's appeal by building a fire pit | | | | between 3 and 4 feet in diameter so that you can |
| in your backyard? Remember those wonderful | | | | talk to your friends across the fire. Lay your cement |
| moments of youth, roasting marshmallows and telling | | | | bricks on the ground and mark a circle around the |
| ghost stories around the fire? Revive the glory days | | | | outside using a shovel. Remove the bricks and dig |
| and create a bevy of new memories with a fire pit | | | | out the entire circle six inches deep. Then dig a |
| of your very own. | | | | trench where your blocks were that's as wide as the |
| The first step to heaven in the back yard is to check | | | | block and an additional six inches deep (the ring |
| with your local authorities to be sure you don't land in | | | | where your blocks will lie is now a foot deep). Fill the |
| a legal hot spot. Then you want to find yourself a | | | | trench with gravel until it's even with the center. This |
| location. Choose a site that's well away from any | | | | will protect from frost and provide drainage. |
| buildings, fences, shrubs, overhanging trees and | | | | Begin placing the bricks in the pit. The first one should |
| anything else that might catch fire. You may also | | | | be level side to side and front to back and the |
| want to consider the neighbors: if you aren't on good | | | | following ones should be level to the first until you've |
| terms, putting the pit downwind from their property | | | | finished the first layer. Use masonry adhesive to |
| will only add fuel to the fire. | | | | fasten the second layer to the first, setting the |
| What you build your blaze with will also have an | | | | stones to cover the seams on the first layer. |
| impact on your popularity rating. You should only burn | | | | Add six inches of gravel to the center of the pit, |
| untreated wood that's dry and clean. Never burn | | | | continue with a third and fourth layer of bricks and |
| garbage, especially plastics, leaves or brush - the | | | | then fit your metal ring inside the bricks. You may |
| smoke can be very irritating, aggravating health | | | | want to invest in a screen to keep your fire in the |
| conditions and upsetting your neighbors. | | | | hole. |
| What the actual fire pit will look like is entirely up to | | | | Wait a couple of days for the adhesive to cure |
| you. There are many pre-made options, such as the | | | | before setting your first fire. Always be sure to have |
| Chimenea, a popular three-footed tub often made | | | | a bucket of water or sand within arms reach of the |
| from ceramic or cast iron. You might also want a | | | | fire for emergencies, never leave a fire unattended |
| portable fire pit that's good to go for camping trips. | | | | and give children basic fire safety lessons (stop, drop |
| These usually feature a dish for logs and a spark | | | | and roll). |
| guard that will ensure your flames stay put. | | | | Before you know it, you'll be sitting around the fire |
| Building your own ring of fire is a pretty hot project | | | | roasting hot dogs and marshmallows with your |
| and it's not hard to do. You'll need an interior steel | | | | friends and family. If you're really ambitious, you could |
| lining like the metal rings you see in campgrounds and | | | | look up the old camp songs - after all, who doesn't |
| some bricks (do not use natural stone, as they may | | | | love a rousing rendition of "Kumbaya"? |