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20 Feb ’12
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My wife and I decided to put an outdoor fire pit in the yard. We picked up on of these rings at Rural King for about $40.
I was planning on using mortar to put river rock around it. However I have never laid brick or stone before. I tried to check youtube but couldn't find much on laying river rock. Any tips for a first-timer?
Also, one place I read mentioned not using river rock for a fir pit because of the moisture that is probably trapped in the rock could cause the rock to explode.
Would I need some form of insulation inside the ring to prevent this or is the galvanized ring enough?
Thanks guys, I will do a thread on the complete build when I am done.
15 Feb ’12
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I was going to suggest what moro posted
if you are using rocks straight from the river you could have issue with the moisture content,I would be wary of using it. we built ours out of the the retaining wall blocks above and just dry stacked them
20 Feb ’12
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I was going to suggest what moro posted
if you are using rocks straight from the river you could have issue with the moisture content,I would be wary of using it. we built ours out of the the retaining wall blocks above and just dry stacked them
I only have two problems with using those blocks instead of the rock we have: First, my wife loves the look if the river rock, she wouldn't settle for anything else at this point.
Secondly, the river rocks were free.
Here is a pic of the first course. By the time I finished the second it was too dark for pics. Will get them today.
I think when it is all done I will build a small fire in it and check how hot the rocks are getting. If they feel too warm I will look into some insulation or fire brick to line the inside.
15 Feb ’12
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looks awesome doode, as long as you don't have a huge fire going you should be fine, you might have more of a issue with the mortar cracking from the heat before the rocks become a concern, did you build it on a sand bed or anything?
17 Feb ’12
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That looks good, man. Any pics of the finished firepit? I made one out of some cement curbing I was given. Isnt beautiful by any means but its a pretty solid pit. I want to build one like you made when we get to our next place.
20 Feb ’12
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looks awesome doode, as long as you don't have a huge fire going you should be fine, you might have more of a issue with the mortar cracking from the heat before the rocks become a concern, did you build it on a sand bed or anything?
We dug it out to get rid of the grass and to level it a bit. Then we poured a concrete slab outside the ring for the rocks to sit on. We will probably put sand or pea gravel inside the ring for drainage.
It should be finished today. We got the second course of rocks on last night but it was too dark for pictures.
We also picked up some flat pavers for the top ring that we will put on today.
Stay tuned for a thread on the complete build with cost breakdown.
Later homies!
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