Building your firepit:

• Give yourself an afternoon.
• Pick as remote a location as possible so others (your family) can’t hear the conversations.
• Backyards are perfect. If you can’t build one at your place, offer to build it at one of your guy’s places. Somebody will want it.
• Don’t feel pressure to build a fancy firepit. Natural is better. You can even borrow the tools from a neighbor.
• We find the best shape is a rectangle, 2×4 or 3×5 feet.   Guys can spread out, get close enough to the fire in the winter, but not so close they’re playing footsy with each other. Give them elbowroom.
• Dig a hole 1 foot deep and line it with rocks approximately the size of a bowling ball.
• Leave room around the firepit for guys to walk. Also, designate an area for a couple of large stumps to act as tables for the coffee or drinks.

Have a place for the firewood:

• Decide ahead of time where you want to stack the wood.
• If possible, find two trees about 4 feet apart.
• Lay two pieces of pressure treated lumber, running parallel about 12 inches apart (go to the hardware store and ask them for a pressure treated 2×4, 8 ft long and have them cut it in half).
• Stack the firewood on the 2x4s to keep them off the ground and use the trees on either side as bookends to keep the wood tidy.
• Buy a cheap tarp and cover it. Put rocks on the edges of the tarp to keep it from blowing away.

Other important things to consider:

• Know the rules of your HOA or local municipality. Comply and be safe.
• Let the neighbors know so nobody panics. Stand at your pit in the evening and scan the area…if you can see lights from a neighbors window, they will see your fire. Knock on their door and tell them what you’re doing and when, and there’s no reason to call the fire dept. Be prepared for them to ask if they can join your group. It happens often.
• Keep the area clean and make sure the fire is out before you walk away. If you leave it burning, kids may come play with it.