Free Fire Pit Plans

From LoveToKnow Camping

Add a new dimension to your camping experience with one or more of the free fire pit plans available online.

A fire pit can be the centerpiece of your camp, providing food, warmth, and good times.

About Available Plans

Many fire pit plans available online focus on creating an outdoor fireplace for your backyard or patio. If you like to escape from the world at a vacation cabin or another permanent site, these sturdy fire pit solutions may be just what you need.

You can also use these plans to enhance your camping adventures. The basic principles involved in outdoor fireplace plans can be used to construct fire pits for tent and RV camping. Even if you're building a fire pit with natural stones at a primitive campsite, you can still turn to advanced plans for suggestions on size, stone placement, and other important details.

Sources of Free Fire Pit Plans

The Progressive Farmer

The Progressive Farmer's "You Can Build This Fire Pit" video provides detailed instructions for building a fire pit. After viewing the process of constructing a fire pit, you can follow the step-by-step written instructions to complete the pit. Described in straightforward terms, the pit is constructed from easy-to-obtain materials, including landscaping blocks and a cooking grate. It is labeled a "weekend project" and should be well within the reach of any amateur builder.

Canadian HomeWorkshop

The CHW posits that a fire pit is an essential part of rural living, and offers a plan of action in its "Quick Fix" column. The site first offers an overview of the project and then moves on to step-by-step instructions for completing it. A "What You'll Need" sidebar clearly outlines the supplies required to build the fire pit. The construction process is divided into nine parts, and photographs illustrate the most important facet of each step.

The one negative aspect of these instructions is that after the first layer of stones has been put in place, the directions gloss over the rest of the process, assuring the reader that the other layers will follow smoothly. Experienced builders should be able to repeat the process easily, but novices may feel like they have been left hanging with an unfinished project.

Keep Idaho Green

The Keep Idaho Green initiative is dedicated to preventing wildfires, and the website contains useful suggestions about setting up and using fire pits safely. The ideas for safely building and maintaining a campfire are heavy on practical tips, such as the importance of clearing grass within a five-foot radius of the pit. This site doesn't include thorough instructions for building a fire pit, but does provide helpful information for creating a functional and safe fire pit.

Better Homes and Gardens

Better Homes and Gardens approaches the project from a landscaping perspective. Six clearly-illustrated steps show how to build a durable backyard pit. This project is more time consuming than other free fire pit plans because it uses concrete in the beginning steps. The concrete must cure for a week before construction can continue. Links at the end of the article provide helpful advice on related topics, including using concrete in projects and buying patio pavers, such as those used to construct the rings of the fire pit.

Additional Tips

Browse landscaping websites and home decorating magazines for outdoor fire pit ideas. Photographs from these sources can provide inspiration for innovative new shapes and construction ideas.
Before you build the perfect fire pit, make brush up on your campfire structure skills, so you can build a fire quickly and efficiently.
Always use fire safely. Keep Idaho Green offers several useful suggestions for safely extinguishing fires to help prevent unfortunate accidents.