One of the biggest prides I have in the stone business is helping our customers solve problems. A homeowner came into our showroom a few weeks ago and said that he wanted to create a firepit on his deck like the picture he had in hand. He wanted to know if it was possible to build in his space and if he needed to hire a professional. Here is the picture the homeowner was wanting to recreate.
After speaking to the homeowner at length about the steps involved, he had a pretty good idea that it was possible to tackle as a DIY endeavor.
The homeowner first cut a whole in his existing deck and made sure to leave enough support for the new opening.
After a solid foundation or footing was poured at the base of the firepit the homeowner used 8x8x16 concrete block to build up the firepit to the height of the existing deck.
We talked extensively with the homeowner about using firebrick on the interior of the firepit. This is a commonly missed step and although it will still work the possibility of cracks deterioration of the concrete block is possible.
The homeowner placed a pipe through the block and firebrick to allow for drainage of the firepit.
We recommended saw back natural thin veneer stone to be used as the stone facade. You can see in the picture below the use of a tack strip to support the stone initially as you begin the stone installation.
Several large pieces of bluestone were cut to size and placed on the top to cap the firepit. One thing to not of the cap is that there is not an overhang on the inside of the firebox where heat could possibly be trapped and crack the stone.
The deck was then rebuilt and now the homeowner has a brand new firepit as seen in his original picture to entertain his family and friends.
Matt, do you think this could be done on top of a wood deck, rather than building it through the deck? We know that the deck would support the weight, we just weren't sure if there would be any radiant heat issues with the pit being built on top of wood?
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