Can I build a fire pit on my brick patio?

March 4, 2016 10:48 AM

Considering sticking a fire pit directly onto my brick patio. Would disaster ensue?

I have an outdoor brick patio. I am considering building a simple fire pit directly onto the patio. My plan is to stack rings of concrete pavers, glue it together with landscape adhesive or mortar, then dump a couple of inches of sand/gravel at the bottom. If I was feeling ambitious, I could pull up some the existing patio bricks so the fire pit would be directly on the dirt. Are there any potential pitfalls I am missing here?

posted by gnutron to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

Things to consider:
Prevailing winds
Proximity to the house (windows and doors)
Avoiding burns to the brick in case you or a future owner doesn't want the pit later on

For the last reason I would line the bottom with the pavers. Gravel and sand will easily shift and get scooped out along with the fire debris leaving the brick vulnerable.

Portable fire pits also can be cheap and attractive alternatives to a permanent pit with the added benefit that you can easily move it depending on which way the wind is blowing.
posted by cecic at 10:55 AM on March 4, 2016

My first question would be the distance from anything flamable (especially your house!) I feel the bonfire pit was built too far from our house until I had a couple of months experience and realised it really DID need to be far as the embers can travel further (and higher) than you would expect.
posted by saucysault at 10:57 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm on team just buy a firebowl.

Construction adhesive is not meant to get as hot as a fire would get it. It is going to melt and burn in a toxic nasty way. For that matter, pavers are also not intended to have a fire directly against them, and probably wouldn't last terribly long.
posted by rockindata at 11:02 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]

You will need to use firebrick, which is denser and more expensive than normal brick, but able to withstand high heat. It's also pretty much impossible to cut in half, so you will want to space the bricks so that cutting isn't necessary.

A good step by step guide of what you want to do is here.
posted by BusyBusyBusy at 11:05 AM on March 4, 2016 [5 favorites]

You may need to check your municipality's laws on the location of a permanent fire pit; it's usually quite a ways away from any permanent structure or trees. For instance, my city's minimum distance is 25 feet from any structures, which is probably a lot further than your patio extends.
posted by AzraelBrown at 11:16 AM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]

I would be worried that when the fire pit was in use, neighboring bricks might explode. (They soak up water when it rains, and if they get really hot the steam could go off.)
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:18 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

All bricks are not made equal. Buy a portable firepit or chimenea.
posted by benzenedream at 11:25 AM on March 4, 2016 [4 favorites]

Warning! Moisture in non fire-rated brick can boil and violently crack open the stone; shooting hunks of still-on-fire wood all over your yard.
posted by axismundi at 11:59 AM on March 4, 2016 [8 favorites]

Check your home owner/renter's insurance policy for minimums for such things from your house. You don't want to have a claim denied if something does goes horribly wrong. It may be governed by your local ordinances if there's nothing specific in the policy.
posted by Candleman at 12:43 PM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]