Continue to lay the capstones in this manner until the wall is finished.
Lay the capstone on top, push it down, then tap it with the rubber mallet to set and level it. With the point of the trowel, make a groove across the mortar. Lay a large mound of mortar on two blocks. If you’re using natural stone, combine the dry mortar with enough bonding additive-not water-to make a mix with a peanut-butter consistency. If you’re using blocks, glue the pieces on top of the wall.Score and split each stone this way, moving around the circle in one direction until you’ve made a cap that fits together tightly. Split it by hitting a chisel in the score mark, or by tapping against the stone’s edge with the brick hammer until it breaks. On thick natural stone, use a grinder fitted with a diamond blade to score it more deeply. Using a brick hammer and a chisel, score the stone on those marks. Also, roughly mark the stone for a 2-inch overhang on the outside of the circle and an inch on the inside. (If you are using natural stone, try to arrange the pieces together like a puzzle.) Lay one stone edge over the next and mark the upper stone where they meet. Loosely arrange the cap pieces on top of the pit walls.A small hit with a mallet can make a big adjustment work slowly and carefully, block by block.(You may have to coax the last block into place with a mallet.) Using a 4-foot level, occasionally check the level across the ring. Make sure each block is perfectly leveled and lined up tight with its neighbor before moving on to the next one. Lay the rest of the blocks in the trench in this manner until the ring is complete and all the blocks you counted earlier are used.Using the first block as a reference, level the second block side to side and front to back. Butt the sides together tightly and line up the front and back edges. Lay another block next to the first one.Make sure this first block is perfectly level and positioned correctly in the trench before moving on. Where it’s too low, shim it slightly with a handful of patio base. Where the block is too high, tap it down with a rubber mallet. Using a 2-foot level, check that it sits level both side to side and front to back. Most concrete blocks are about 4 inches high, so if the first course and a half sit underground, and there are two and a half courses above ground with a cap on top, you’ll end up with a foot-high wall-just right for resting your feet on while sitting in an outdoor chair. The gravel also creates a level base for the stones to rest on. But for stability, the base of the wall must be buried below ground in a hole lined with gravel, providing drainage and protecting against frost heaves in winter.
These protect the concrete in the blocks from the heat, which can cause them to dry out and break down prematurely.Ī fire pit should sit low to the ground, with walls rising no more than a foot off the ground. That will create enough room for a healthy fire but still keep gatherers close enough to chat.Īs an added precaution, the fire pit should be lined with a thick steel ring like the ones used for park campfires. The optimal size for a fire pit is between 36 and 44 inches inside diameter.
Choose a block with angled sides, meant to form curves when butted against each other. Glue them together with masonry adhesive. They’re flat on the top and bottom so they stack neatly, and some interlock for added strength. To make building stone walls easier, you can use blocks made from cast concrete and molded to look like real stone (available at any home center). The pit must be located far from overhanging trees, the house, and any other flammable structure. So the first task in building any fire pit is checking local codes on open flames. That’s especially important in the parts of the country where there’s a risk of brush fires. A built-in fire pit is a glorified campfire, with sturdy walls of stone that help contain the flames and heat.
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