My grandson came to me the other day, asking, “Grandma, how do we make a brick fire ring?” Well, I ain’t no expert, but I’ve seen a thing or two in my day. Building a fire ring, it ain’t rocket science, but you gotta do it right, or you’ll be sorrier than a dog that’s lost its bone. I told him, “Boy, first you gotta figure out where you want this thing.”
Choosing a Good Spot for Your Brick Fire Ring
You can’t just plop it down anywhere. Gotta find a flat spot, away from the house, away from them dry bushes, you don’t want no fires starting where they ain’t supposed to be. And make sure it’s far enough from where folks sit. Seven feet, maybe more. That’s the rule I used for my own fire ring.
- Find a flat spot.
- Keep it away from the house and dry things.
- Make sure it’s far enough from where folks will sit, at least seven feet.
Then, you gotta think about how big you want this brick fire ring. My grandson, he wanted a big one, said he wanted to roast a whole pig in it! I told him, “Hold your horses, boy, we ain’t building a bonfire here, just a little something for some marshmallows and hot dogs.”
How Big Should Your Brick Fire Ring Be?
Now, I ain’t no mathematician, but I reckon a good size for a brick fire ring is about 36 to 44 inches across. That’s what them fancy folks call the “diameter.” You measure it from one side to the other, right through the middle. That’s big enough for a decent fire, but not so big you’ll be burning the whole county down. That’s the inner diameter, where the fire is gonna be. You want a good size fire, not too big, not too small, just like Goldilocks likes her porridge. If the diameter is 36-44 inches you will have a great fire. That’s big enough to keep you warm, but not so big it’s gonna set the whole world on fire.
You also need to make sure you have enough room around the fire ring. You don’t want to be tripping over it in the dark. You need a good 7 feet around, I’d say, maybe even more if you got little ones running around.
If you using wood, it burns hotter, you need more space around, maybe 30 inches from where you sittin’. If it is a gas fire ring, then you only need 24 inches from the edge of your brick fire ring. If you make your fire ring from wood, you need to make it at least 36-44 inches across.
Then, you gotta think about the walls, gotta add some extra for them, maybe 12 to 20 inches. This is to make it sturdy, you see. And you don’t want no flimsy fire ring, do you? Nah, you want it to last. To measure your wood brick fire ring, just measure across the top, right through the middle.
Gathering Your Supplies
Once you know where and how big, you gotta get your supplies. Now, you need bricks, of course. I like them red ones, they look nice. And you need some of that gravel stuff for the bottom, keeps the water from pooling up. And some of that sand, to make it level. You will need a shovel, a level, and a tape measure, that’s about it. If you wanna make sure your brick fire ring is a perfect circle, find the center and mark it with a stick or somethin’. Then you use your tape measure, measure out half the diameter, that’s what they call the “radius”, and go around in a circle, marking as you go. It’s like drawing a big circle with a string and a pencil, only you’re using a stick and a tape measure.
You’ll need some bricks, some gravel, and some sand. And a shovel, of course. And one of them level things, to make sure it’s all straight and not crooked like a dog’s hind leg.
Building the Brick Fire Ring
First, you dig a hole, not too deep, just enough to get rid of the grass and such. Then, you put down your gravel, then your sand, and make sure it’s all level. Then, you start laying your bricks. You gotta make sure they fit together nice and tight, no big gaps. Just keep going around and around, building it up, like stacking pancakes, only these pancakes are made of brick and they ain’t for eating!
Once you got it all built up, you’re done! Now, you just gotta wait for it to dry, and then you can have yourself a fire. Just remember to be careful, fire’s a good servant but a bad master, as they say. Don’t never leave it unattended, and always have some water nearby, just in case. And don’t go burning no green wood, that stuff smokes like a chimney. You want good, dry wood, that’ll burn nice and hot. And that, my friends, is how you build a brick fire ring. It ain’t hard, just takes a little elbow grease and some common sense. And who knows, maybe one day my grandson will build one for his own kids, and he can tell them all about how his old grandma taught him how to do it.
Now go on and get building! And don’t forget to invite me over for the first marshmallow roast, you hear?
