Beachy low maintenance backyard fire pit tutorial you can do yourself!
Fire pit tutorial you can do yourself! First thing I thought of was function: I hated having to move all of my yard furniture every time I mowed so I wanted something my furniture could sit on. Second thing was safety, I wanted a fire pit I didn’t have to worry about leaving while it still smoldering. Also, I didn’t want a fire pit that (if not used) would fill full of grass and weeds. Everything pointed to the fact that my dad had a leftover pile of beach sand on his property that he wanted to get rid of. Well, that basically did it: I were gonna make me a beach and it was going to be a totally awesome totally free backyard transformation!
(A note here: I say “FREE” but this project was a HUGE amount of manual time and labor!)
I started by sticking a stake in the middle of my current “fire pit”, tying a rope to it and going in a big circle around the whole pit with a can of spray paint. I measured the paths using the “width” of the landscape fabric I had on hand. Along the side of the house/my little garden to converge with the path at my deck and then go on to the fire pit.
And then it was time to remove ALL of the sod… It took forever…
With the sod removed I covered it all with landscaping fabric.
I happened to have a neighbor with a tractor who watched me in all of my digging and asked if I wanted him to bring the sand over for me. I almost kissed the man! After so much digging the idea of manually loading up the sand in the and then manually unloading it was one of the worst things I could think of – though I was totally resigned to it.
So, with all of the sand brought over I just had to spread it around over the fabric and done!
I vastly under estimated the manual labor that this took
There are some real cool things about this fire pit that I absolutely love. Mowers go right over the sand paths and the sand doesn’t move at all! It is incredibly low maintenance, I’ve had to do only about ten minutes of weeding combined all summer long (the grass doesn’t get in through the weed fabric no, it crawls in from the outside under the sand and really annoys me but its very easy to remove.)
I love taking my shoes off and settling in by the fire, it really does feel like I’m on a beach!
Like my sun loungers? Yup I made them out of old goose hunting chairs and outdoor table cloths!
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I’m Tarah!
It’s been a hell of a ride since I started this blog and renovated and moved into this old farm house back in 2015. I got married, divorced, lost my doggo soul mate, spent two years as a single gal, remodeled everything, threw my back out countless times and was even found by an amazing guy in my own backyard! (The story behind Storyhardt Farm.)
Around here we’re totally fearless when it comes to bettering our home. We love to refinish old furniture, re-purpose old pieces, build it from scratch and totally renovate anything that needs it! If we can do it – so can you. We’ve got some serious plans for this old farm and, for first time ever, I have a real partner!
This is gonna be so much fun!
You can also find out more about the amazing Grandma behind this blog who moved in to this old farmhouse with my Grandpa nearly 70 years ago!
Boy, one thing is for sure, you guys are not afraid of labor. Your pit was a labor of love–so glad you’ve gotten good use out of it. Thanks so much for sharing your posts with us at Vintage Charm 🙂
Thanks and, for sure! lol it was a big job but it did turn out to be work it 🙂
It looks amazing Tarah, you guys must spend a lot of time there in summer enjoying all the hard work you’ve put into the house and making the fire pit. Glad to see the sun loungers too. They’re one of my favorite projects 😉
Thank you so much Michelle, it is one of my very favorite spots!!
What a great idea and fun relaxing spot, you can be barefoot and enjoy the sand without travelling far! Thank you so much for sharing at Sweet Inspiration this week!
Thank you Katrin, can’t wait until we can use it again next summer!
That sure was a lot of work Tarah but so worth it because in the future it will save you tons of work to have to de-weed and do all that other non-fun stuff. Your chairs look great around the fire pit too!
Thank you Mary! Gosh how I miss summer already!!
This is amazing! I am just inspired every time I see something you’ve done. Thanks for sharing at Over the Moon. We look forward to seeing what you share with us next week.
Thank you so much Shelley, I can’t wait for spring so we can use it again!
A lot of work, but the results are so fun! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Thanks Jann! Can’t wait for summer so we can use it again!
It looks great! That’s amazing that you did it yourselves…
Thanks!! It was a lot of work but so worth it!
OMG! What a cool chill spot. Love it! Once the warm weather comes back I would be there all the time! Lol thanks for sharing on #HappyNowLinkUp
I can’t wait until summer so we can start using it again! My hubby mentioned having a bonfire the other night but its -15 outside right now, too cold even for a fire in my opinion lol!
I’m enamored with your beachy fire pit with the charming barn in the background. I could spend hours there relaxing. Congrats, you’re featured this week at the #ThisIsHowWeRoll Link Party.
Thank you Susan!!! I can’t wait for summer when we can use it again!
This looks like such an awesome firepit area! And the fact that it can be mowed over is perfect. Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!
Thanks so much Leslie!
Hi Tarah, my husband would so love this! He grew up in South Africa where sandpits and barbeques were a big thing for socializing around. Alas, we do not have room for such a beauty of a firepit.I am sure you will have many a fun family hour spent around yours.
#HappyNowLinkUp
xx
Thank you Debbie! It was a lot of work but I just loved walking down to the fire barefoot in all that soft sand 🙂 We’ll see how it survives the winter!
That landscaping fabric works so well! I used it the first time last year. Love it! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
Thanks for coming by Sherry!
This looks great! 🙂
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Thanks Jess!
I want to make a new fire pit and don’t have a lot of extra money so I’m really glad you shared this!
Thanks Angela, it really worked great last summer, just watch out and make sure when you mow around it that you don’t blow the grass clippings on to the sand because they will start growing!
That backyard is amazing. I think I could fit my whole house and backyard on it.
lol Thanks Elise! Thank goodness my husband mows it so I don’t have to 🙂
I love your little beach what a great idea for a fire pit Tarah but those summer storms sound horrendous I will never moan about Irish summers again !!
Thank you, we love our little beach too 🙂 So low maintenance!
This is such a nice setting now, soft sand on the feet, beautiful barn in the background, loungers all around the fire. Looks like a perfect summer spot Tarahlynn.
Thank you Leanna, all winter long I gaze down at it with longing lol I never quite feel like we’ve used it enough when its covered in snow but it really is my favorite little getaway in the summer time.
This is such a great idea and I love the barn in the background! You will be the featured post this week at the Friday at the fire station link-up! 🙂
Thank you so much Jen!
What a fantastic project!!
Thanks Betty!
That is cool! Plus, your backyard is so pretty!
Thank you for joining The Really Crafty Link Party. Pinned!
Thanks Teresa!
That’s such a good idea! I wish we had the space and the weather for one of those. You’ve got me reminiscing of our holiday to Wales – toasting marshmallows round the Camp Smokey fire pit. Thanks for sharing with the #DreamTeam
Thanks Annette, I can’t wait for this winter to finally get over with so I can enjoy my fire pit again!
Did you have to level the fort before adding sand or does the sand just fill in any imperfections from digging?
We added enough sand that it leveled itself 🙂