Fire Pits and Hard Labour

Every summer, I like to tackle at least one or two outdoor project. This year, one of them was to make a proper bonfire pit. Sometimes Chris is on board with my projects, and sometimes not. This time he was not, so I thought it was definitely worth sharing since I worked hard on it all by myself. The reason Chris was not on board with it is because we had an existing spot for our bonfires on the grass with a few rocks around it in a circle, and he thought it was good enough as it was. I thought it looked tacky. I didn't want to buy one of those costly outdoor fire pit kits, I wanted to create something myself. So here is what I started with: the existing bonfire spot on the ground:

I got retainer wall bricks from Brick and Block in north van, and after digging a hole and widening the pit I started to shape my bricks:

It was hard because the property is on a slight slope and I wanted it to be level. And I have never worked with a level before:

It took me 2 days, and this is the finished project:

Truth is I am not happy with the final result because I didn't do my research. I used the wrong kind of bricks for fire, I left too big of a space between the bricks, and the open end on the right side of the photo is on loose soil so I expect it to shift considerable once the rains come. Oh well, it's level, and that's what's important. I can always start again next year, knowing what I know now. It will get us through bonfire season this year, which runs from October 15th though to end of April. We do have lots to burn, so I can't wait for the inaugural fire. We will have a few friends over for a typical Bowen bonfire! That will be another blog post I am sure. I hope the bricks don't all collapse. Now I must take Advil and soak in the tub because my back and arms are super sore.