making your house a home

Planning The Perfect Design For A Backyard Fire-Ring

22 May 2018

Alide Oortwijn

Having a space in your backyard where you can sit and relax around a crackling fire can be beneficial in a few ways, including stress relief, the ability to cook over an open fire, and entertainment purposes. If you're considering adding a fire ring to your backyard, you'll find a few tips that can help you with the planning and creation of a perfect space.

Select the Size

How large of an area do you plan to include in the layout of your fire ring? One thing to consider when you're choosing the size is how often you plan on using the fire ring as a place to entertain guests. To get an idea of size, get some chairs, take them outside, and set them around a make-shift fire ring. Take as many chairs as you need to seat the number of guests you think you'll have. Once you have the chairs positioned in a circle, oval or square, you'll know how large of a space you'll need to include in the design.

Choose the Shape

The fire ring doesn't have to be a circle. You can choose any shape that you'd like. One thing to consider if is you'd like to have a cooking rack on the fire. If you want to have a cooking rack and an open fire, you'll need to design the shape to include a smaller, secondary fire.

A great design for including a cooking rack is one that is shaped kind of like a peanut. You'll have a large circle-like shape for an open fire and a smaller one for the rack.

Pick the Ground Cover

What will you use to cover the ground around the fire ring? You need material that won't catch on fire if the embers jump out of the ring. Many people opt for limestone because it allows for great water drainage, isn't flammable, and will remain in good condition for quite some time.

Other people opt for sand, but this can make for a messy situation when it rains or when you get kids involved around the fire. Think about whether or not you'd like to clean sand up inside your home when the night comes to an end.

If you start the process with a little planning, you'll have everything that you need in the fire ring that you're constructing. In the end, you'll have the perfect place to sit and drink a nice cup of coffee on crisp mornings and relax with a glass of wine in the evenings.

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