# Lining the inside of a firepit?



## bclinton (Apr 10, 2016)

Hi folks. I couldnt pass up the sale HD had on paver bricks for .25 each so I picked 200 and built a square firepit out of them. Inside dimensions are 32X32. Right now it is about 2 feet high. I was planning on lining the inside with a heat resistant material. Are there other options than fire brick? Six fire bricks are more than the 200 paver bricks I bought to build it  I was curious about using ceramic tile along with a heat rated adhesive. I planned on lining it and placing some lave rock about half way up and mounting a grate on the inside just above the lava rock.


----------



## EatenByLimestone (Apr 10, 2016)

bclinton said:


> Hi folks. I couldnt pass up the sale HD had on paver bricks for .25 each so I picked 200 and built a square firepit out of them. Inside dimensions are 32X32. Right now it is about 2 feet high. I was planning on lining the inside with a heat resistant material. Are there other options than fire brick? Six fire bricks are more than the 200 paver bricks I bought to build it  I was curious about using ceramic tile along with a heat rated adhesive. I planned on lining it and placing some lave rock about half way up and mounting a grate on the inside just above the lava rock.




Be very careful that those pavers do not absorb water.  The heat from the fire will turn the water to steam and can cause pavers, and rocks to explode.

http://www.ehow.com/list_7360348_rocks-explode-around-fire-pits.html


----------



## EatenByLimestone (Apr 10, 2016)

Oh, welcome to the forum!


----------



## bclinton (Apr 10, 2016)

EatenByLimestone said:


> Be very careful that those pavers do not absorb water.  The heat from the fire will turn the water to steam and can cause pavers, and rocks to explode.
> 
> http://www.ehow.com/list_7360348_rocks-explode-around-fire-pits.html




http://www.homedepot.com/p/4-in-x-8-in-45-mm-River-Red-Holland-Concrete-Paver-22051EA/100619492

Here are the paver bricks I used. I might just go ahead and buy the fire bricks and line the inside. Tractor Supply has them for $3 a piece.

Thanks for the feedback..


----------



## mass_burner (Apr 10, 2016)

Is there any natural stone that would hold up on the firebox floor?


----------



## mwhitnee (Apr 14, 2016)

Measure the inside of the fire pit (32x32x20), go to your local metal fab shop and have them make a metal square for the inside.  Get sand and pour between the outside of the metal square and the brick for added heat protection.  You can paint the metal square with high temp paint.


----------



## bclinton (Apr 14, 2016)

mwhitnee said:


> Measure the inside of the fire pit (32x32x20), go to your local metal fab shop and have them make a metal square for the inside.  Get sand and pour between the outside of the metal square and the brick for added heat protection.  You can paint the metal square with high temp paint.



This is an excellent idea. Unfortunately I found some fire brick at Tractor Supply a few days ago. They had them in the back since it is out of season. They were $2.99 each and they gave me 15% off so it was about $160 for 62 bricks. I plan on lining the inside with those along with some heat proof cement I have on order. I need to figure out how to get them to stay in place as the cement sets now. I'm reading that the cement usable time is pretty short so I am hoping it grabs quickly....


----------



## Highbeam (Apr 14, 2016)

I built my current pit out of basalt which is our local quarry rock. Blackish and none of them have cracked or exploded. Don't make this too hard, it's a firepit.


----------



## jebatty (Apr 15, 2016)

Is the fire pit actually for having a fire, maybe a brew, and maybe some BS stories as the night drags on? ... or is to look at the firepit as a work of art? Both are worthwhile objectives, but for me the camping "fire pit" of a circle of rocks, or a metal ring, helps best to recall old memories as new ones are formed.


----------



## billb3 (Apr 15, 2016)

most insurance companies and fire departments really don't want everyone having fire pit fires on the ground inside a ring of rocks because of the risk of campfire creep and the average person not knowing what is flammable in dirt/ lawn and not.


----------



## mass_burner (Apr 15, 2016)

Not to hijack, but I'm interested in real warmth from coals, not huge flames and lots of smoke.


----------



## bclinton (May 14, 2016)

I figured I would post a couple of pics of the finished firepit. Total cost about $250. Most of that was the firebrick lining the inside. The paver bricks were on sale at home depot for .25 a piece. I went to a sheet metal shop and got a 16 gauge piece of sheet metal (3X3), painted the outside in heat resistant black paint, trimmed the outside with cedar for privacy fences and bolted in a handle - total cost about $30 for the snuffer - they were about $150 online. Got a couple of sticks of 3/8 rebar and welded the grate with a few pieces of bar metal sewn in to stop the wood from falling threw too quick. The part I like the best is the park grill from Amazon. It was about $150 and solid as a rock. Placed it in about 18 inches of quickrete. A fun weekend DIY project that didn't cost a fortune


----------



## Seasoned Oak (May 14, 2016)

How does this perform as i see no provision to get air in from the bottom. Did you do a test fire yet? Is the grill removable for cleaning out the ashes?


----------



## bclinton (May 14, 2016)

Seasoned Oak said:


> How does this perform as i see no provision to get air in from the bottom. Did you do a test fire yet? Is the grill removable for cleaning out the ashes?



I have burned 4 fires in it so far. No issues with air circulation. I think it is big enough and the very slight space between the brick pavers provides enough. The grate is another issue . It is not removable as I built it before I attached the rim. My plans were to flush the inside of the top edge, which would allow me to remove it but it didn't look right so I have an overlap on the inside of the pit. I have an ash vacuum that I will use when the ashes need to come out. On down the road I will probably reduce the size of the grate to whee I can remove it.


----------



## semipro (May 14, 2016)

Nice work!
Any photos of it in action?
That last pic is so cool!  It looks like the dog is levitating the ball.


----------



## bclinton (May 14, 2016)

semipro said:


> Nice work!
> Any photos of it in action?
> That last pick is so cool!  It looks like the dog is levitating the ball.



Thanks! His name is Dozer! He is a hot mess! He could care less about the firepit......


----------



## firefighterjake (May 15, 2016)

Holy crap . . . the dog is levitating the ball Semipro! It's just a matter of time before the Dogs take us over and make us their slaves through mind control!


----------



## Jim H. (May 20, 2016)

looks nice.  I have a simple pit made from field stone from all around me and have the saucer from an old firepit inside.  All this is on a couple of inches of pea gravel/river rock that is very small.  The entire seating area is this.  below that is a a couple inches of sand from when the area was an above ground pool!  LOL


----------



## semipro (May 20, 2016)

firefighterjake said:


> ... It's just a matter of time before the Dogs take us over and make us their slaves through mind control!


Now you've got me wondering what that would be like...


----------



## KB007 (May 20, 2016)

Looks nice.  I would think the pavers are just fine with all that fire brick inside. Now you just need a nice grill to go on to so you can cook up some nice rib eyes


----------

