Home made fire pits

Home made fire pits can go with accessories collected from home improvement stores. But there is nothing like building it in the original way. Here are some steps/tasks to do that:

Select stones for your pit
You can use simple landscaping blocks here. Field stone or other similar kind of materials will do. It is suggested to avoid stones that have remained submerged in water for very very long time- say a hundred years.

Drainage
Drainage is an important part of home made fire pits. You can dig a a fencepost-sized hole 2 feet deep. Then fill it with gravel. This hole needs to be dug right in the bottom center of the pit. It should work like a sump and let the water drain.

Use of adhesives
You should dry-stack the stone first. This will make the process consumer more time. The dry-stacking is also helpful for replacing cracked or broken stones. Some prefer to cement the courses by laying cement around the outside half.

Safety issues
Keep a shovel handy as well as you can put sand and soil on the fire if it gets rough. Here are some other things needed here:
· Retaining wall blocks
· Steel pit ring with tabs
· Metal grate
· Sand
· Gravel

Ring and grate can be found a home improvement stores or near garden stores. The wideness of the wall blocks used here can be 12 inches wide, 4 inches high and 8 inches deep. Get ready to put a considerable amount of sand and gravel in the pit.

Digging a hole
Dig a hole now. This hole should be 2 feet wider than the fire pit. Dig the whole around 7 feet across the fire pit. The hole should be round. To make it so you can hammer a stake into the center of the fire pit area. Now, 3 string (0.5 inch length each) should be looped over the stake. Then mark the circle. Dig out 12 inches of soil. Then dig for four inches of gravel plus four inches of sand. That layer should be tamped flat. Then work with the base course of blocks.

Courses of Stone
The ring has to be made perpendicular to each other as well as to the ground surface. Over the edge of the highest course, you can hang a piece of string. After you are done- if you see that the middle of your pit is around 32 inches in diameter- you will know you did well.

Stacking additional layers
Before you start here, clean debris from the surface of the last layer. Use a brush here. Now you can overlap the stone layers. In each of the courses, you should leave 3/4 gaps (do it randomly) between stones. The gaps are meant to allow air to flow in and help the fire burn. Dry-stack the stone for better results.

Put the steel ring
As all the tasks are done- it is time for the builder now to lay the final course of stone. Before the final course is laid, the steel ring should be set in place. For getting a better burn from your fire, you can remove a layer or two.

Home made fire pits are not just about cooking; it is about adventure and fun too.

Outdoor Fire Pits

There are different types of fire pits available. Here are some of the popular kinds of home made fire pits.

1. Simple stone fire pits – It can be built on any dry ground. An open space is to be selected for this type of fire pits. There should not by any flammable material around. Best results are found on dry dirt, gravel, or sand. For digging the pit, a normal shovel is enough. When the fire starts, food or meat stakes can be placed on the heated grill. Another way to do this is by placing a rig up a metal tripod.

2. Temporary cedar block fire pits: A pile of cinder blocks are used here. The bigger the fire pit, the more wood is needed here. Still, 2 to 3 levels of cinder blocks should be enough. Also, this type of fire pits will require a round piece of flame. Among other materials used, there are mesh screen covers and a dome solid lid, and a large grill grate.

3. Temporary brick fire pits– This type of fire pits have similarity to a cinder block fire pit. It calls for standard red bricks, the any brick is okay for this fire pit. The best part of this sort of fire pits is- it can be built fast and the cooker can relax while watching the food cook.

4. Permanent stone/brick fire pits- As the name implies, these fire pits are made out of stones or bricks. Following things are typically used in permanent stone fire pits- tape measure, string, can of spray paint, shovels (both spade shovel and flat shovel ideally), trowel, mixing tool, iron rake or other flat concrete tool, 1/2 inch jointer (optional), chipping hammer, safety glasses, level, wall stone and England fieldstone.

5. Other ingenious ways of fire pits: As strange it may sound, there are innovators who has gone far enough to make fire pits out of tractor tire rims. By simply surrounding them with large stones or bricks, the cooking can start. Washing machine drum fire pits are also used.

Outdoor Cooking

Outdoor cooking has a specialty attached to it. Its simply fun but have different requirements for equipment as to the one we use at homes for cooking. Cooking and camping outdoors is more than just cooking and is a full form activity. One need to have the skill and creativity for it with a tinge of experience and practice.

Here is a quick check list for outdoor kitchen, which would help you on tracking the stuff you would be requiring for outdoor cooking depending on your choice and requirements:

* Saw/axe
* Charcoal/firewood/buddy burner
* Dutch oven/tin can stove/box oven/etc
* Matches/lighter
* Fire starters/newspaper
* Stove with fuel/propane
* Large water jug & water bucket
* Tablecloth/thumb tacks/clips
* Thermos
* Measuring cups
* Paper towels
* Coolers/ice
* Campfire grill/BBQ grill
* Bug repellent/candles
* Clothes pins
* Cooking oil/Pam spray
* Cook utensils-spatula, knife, spoon
* Plates & bowls/paper plates & bowls
* Silverware/plastic silverware
* Camp chairs
* Cutting board
* First aid kit
* Dish soap
* Folding table
* Rope/clothes line
* Soap for outside of pots and pans
* Fire extinguisher
* Scrub pad/brillo
* Heavy-duty aluminum foil
* Skewers/grill forks
* Pots and frying pans with lids
* Dish rags/towels
* Tongs
* Trash bags
* Potholders/oven mitts
* Containers for food storage
* Shade tarp/poles/rope/stakes
* Dust brush
* Napkins
* Can opener/bottle opener
* Dutch oven
* Ziplock bags
* Pie irons
* Potato peeler
* Mugs/paper cups
* Mixing bowl
* Plastic grocery bags
* Dish pan
* Seasonings/sugar/condiments
* Water filters/purification/treatment
* Work gloves