DIY Firepit Patio - ACCOMPLISHED!

[hqueen13]

So we had this grand idea to build a fire pit patio off of our deck. We measured out a nice comfortable space of 20' x 20' which fit perfectly at the edge of one half of our deck.
Our plan was to get some free logs from our local saw mill and use them to create a box, and then fill in said box with a bunch of pea gravel that we have lying around. Tada free patio.
And then we measured the slope.... the down slope away from the deck drops about 2' over the course of the 20'. That is a LOT!
So we figured, no big deal, we would simply cut into the hill close to the deck to recess it so that it would be closer to level, and then the top of the box would be recessed, and the bottom of the box would be built up and the result would be that the pea gravel would stay level.
But then we tried to cut into the yard with the tractor. Our weenie little tractor doesn't have enough OOMPH to actually cut into the dirt and scrape it off. I suppose we could do it, but it would take a loonnnnnggggggg time to actually get anywhere. And while it would still be faster than manual labor, I'm not sure it would be any more productive in the long run.
So we're back to square one.

So here is the photo (sorry for the bad quality, sun was out and the cell phone couldn't handle the brightness)

Said little tractor, aforementioned tiny cut into the dirt barely scraping the grass surface off, and rough space of the space.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Can you "step it" - two levels?

 

[hqueen13]

Thought about it, but I am not sure how well a step would work in relation to the pit itself. I THINK we might have enough lots to make that work, but I'd have to check and see.

 

[Mr.Andersson]

Rent a sod cutter, remove sod first, then tractor should be eaisier. Try backdraging, then scooping, if it still digs in too deep.

 

[hqueen13]

I think we have a solution that will take care of some of the issue of the steep slope. It looks more complicated on paper, but with the logs that we've already got, I think it will actually work out nicely.
Mr. Andersson - we're trying to do this as inexpensively as possible, and renting a tool like that would raise the price considerably. It sure would be the easiest route though, wouldn't it

More pictures to come! Keep your fingers crossed that we can get almost all of this done in one day!!! I really want to have a fire pit soon soon!!

 

[Mr.Andersson]

Well then, just tear it up with the tractor, remove clumps of grass, level off, remove excess. How long did it take to remove the bucket divot ?, dig in and flip dirt ?

 

[hqueen13]

Too long to make it practical. Attempting to dig a divet resulted in the tractor whining and the front wheels coming up off the ground. It is a little tractor, and it does a great job, but it wasn't made for digging landscapes apparently.

SO! I am sooooo excited with the result that we came up with. I think it actually is more aesthetically interesting, and worked to utilize all the pieces of wood that we had in a practical manner, and dealt with the slope.
Without further to do, here is our fire pit patio:

It still needs some finishing work, leveling off all the pea gravel, as well as adding a few chocks to some of the logs that are parallel to the down slope, plus getting rid of all the sod that was flipped out of the way (the dirt in the near side of the picture).

I can't tell you how proud I am of our job. He is not very "handy" and doesn't enjoy doing projects. The fact that the two of us worked as a team, overcame some obstacles and came out with a result that was more interesting than the original plan just ROCKS. We have decided that rather than building a recessed fire pit, we'll just buy one that we like, and we'll take it with us whenever we finally move. It will be easier than trying to make a bowl and collect the rocks to do so (we have plenty of rocks, but that is a labor that is a pain in the rear end!).



Now I have to go soak in the tub with some muscle salts and try to get some of these kinks out of my back since I have to go be functional in a few hours.... wheee!

(Edited to fix the picture since google started playing nice!)

 

[Denim Deb]

This is the one I have in front of my tack shed. I love it!

http://www.nextag.com/Woodstream-Coropration-FRHORS369-Horse-695115398/prices-html

 

[Mr.Andersson]

 

[hqueen13]

Cute, Deb! I think we're going to get one that has its own bowl so that we don't have to line the ground with anything. We'll see how it goes though. Trying to stay under $100.00. Oh, and it has to have a screen with it to make sure that embers don't end up where they shouldn't!