Building a fire pit with Lowe’s & allen + roth

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With cool fall weather blowing in, it’s not too late to tackle some of your landscaping projects. Autumn is the perfect time to roll up your sleeves and create a landscape to enjoy all year long.

A fire pit will be a welcome addition for entertaining in almost any space. It’s a cozy gathering spot and offers an enjoyable way to spend time with family and friends on a lazy summer evening, a cool fall night or a snowy winter afternoon.

You’ll also find that it’s a project most people can do themselves with a few simple tools, so don’t think you have to pay an arm and a leg to a contractor to get this done. You can find everything you need from Lowe’s, particularly materials from allen + roth.

I recently completed this project with the help of friends and family, with most of the work being done over a three-day period. You can see the final result in the first photo, and then the rest of the slideshow shows the progress of the project from beginning to end.

We’ll start with the materials you’ll need, followed by a day-by-day breakdown of the process.

Materials:

Fire Pit with Surround and Stone Bench Materials

allen + roth Fire Pit Kit

Rock City Pea Gravel

Quickrete Play Sand

allen + roth Luxora Allegheny Countryside Patio Stone (6” x 9”)

allen + roth Luxora Allegheny 6x6 Countryside Patio Stone (6" x 6")

Lava Rock

allen + roth Cassay Allegheny Chiselwall Retaining Wall Block (12” x 4”)

allen + roth Cassay Allegheny Chiselwall Retaining Wall Cap (12” x 2”)

Patio Furniture

allen + roth 2-Piece Gatewood Brown Aluminum Patio Loveseat and Coffee Table Set

allen + roth Tan Outdoor Planter (22" Diameter)

Day 1: Materials are delivered and area is prepped:

• Pallets of allen + roth stone and fireplace kit are delivered and we begin to prepare the backyard for a heavy-duty makeover.

• The area where we will put the fire pit is marked and we begin to dig up the grass, turn over the dirt and level the ground.

• Pots for the seating areas are planted with flowering perennials and grasses.

• Getting bags of stone, sand and the pavers down to the backyard took a little imagination, but we managed to rig up a ramp to slide everything down then hauled the materials on a tarp and in a wheelbarrow.

Day 2: Placement and leveling:

• The area for the new fire pit is marked and rototilled. The hard packed dirt lies over thick and heavy roots of well-established trees.

• Getting the ground level is critical to maintain the structure of the paved area that will be the base for the fire pit.

• We turned over the dirt about 3 inches deep, eliminated the protruding roots and dug out any large rocks.

• We raked the dirt and cleaned out any obstructions. Then we used a 2x4 to screed the surface area.

• When we were satisfied with the level (we had to compensate for a slight slope), we filled the area with sand.

• The sand will create a nice bed for the pavers and allow to level each paver as it is put into place. The sand will also provide drainage when it rains so that water will not pool on the surface.

• Also, the sand helps to insure that as we place the pavers they stay in place and don’t easily wiggle out of the pattern.

• We decide on a circular pattern for our pavers.

• We also decided that our design would entail the fire pit sitting up on the pavers with a hollow space directly underneath the pit. This makes the pit about 2 ½ inches deeper than what it would be if it sat directly on the paved surface. There wasn’t any structural reason for this other than to get a bit more depth in the pit.

• Since leveling is very import and and we have a slight slope, putting down this first layer of pavers took quite a bit of time and attention.

• We were concerned with the getting the level with the orientation of the yard to the house correct (front to back), but also getting the level of each paver to the other correct (side to side).

• Get this right the first time and the project comes together very smoothly and as quickly as you can lay the pavers!

• The fire pit came together very quickly. We used heavy duty landscape adhesive between the horizontal layers the keep the structure solid.

• We placed the metal insert in our pit and we are done. It took minutes.

• Next, we lay out the pavers.

• Following the shape of the fire pit, we laid out our pavers in a circular pattern and finished by sundown about an hour from when we started!

Day 3:

• The next morning, we buttressed the edges with the smaller pavers and some fill dirt along the outside to provide stability.

• With everything in place, we poured pea gravel over top to fill in the gaps between the pavers to prevent any movement or shifting.

• We simply poured the gravel and swept it into place with brooms.

• The gravel looks really great and adds a visually pleasing design element to the pad.

• We will surround the patio with fresh topsoil and grass seed to complete the project.

Patio Furniture

For the final touch of comfort and relaxation, add the allen + roth 2-Piece Gatewood Brown Aluminum Patio Loveseat and Coffee Table Set. It is easily assembled and creates instant ambiance on your patio or deck.

Partition the space with allen + roth Tan Outdoor Planters to create an intimate setting for entertaining and relaxation.

  

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