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Ideas for small area off back patio for fire pit.

hbwright
11 years ago

My children got me a portable fire pit for mother's day and I would like to make a small area for it by my patio. I thought about a half circle area adjacent to the patio filled with a substrate as a surface for the fire pit. I need something that is very inexpensive as this was not an expense I was planning on. The kicker is that this area is about 90% bermuda grass. I do have ornamec but this would take weeks to start working and needs to be applied on actively growing grass. If I dig out an area to be filled with substrate could I spray it to try to keep the bermuda from growing back and just spray as needed and put a weed barrier under the substrate. I would like to plant around this area and probably some ground cover eventually in the substrate itself, but that part can wait and I can use planters in the meantime.

Any idea what substrate is inexpensive to use that will work for this fire pit area?

Comments (10)

  • girlgroupgirl
    11 years ago

    You know what is really pretty? Shale pieces, or slate pieces. I mean small, flat pieces - my neighbor uses them for his walkways, and they are inexpensive from a stone place. I'd spray and let it dry for a day or two in the hot sun (so the spray will "take" well and then go lay down a weed barrier, and then the stone. Hopefully that should do it!

  • hosenemesis
    11 years ago

    I use rubble. All kinds of rubble- broken concrete pieces, bricks, rocks, pieces of broken slate or flagstone, marbles, railroad spikes- you name it. It's free and it's fun to make into little half-circle patios for fire pits. I would dig out the bermuda, water, wait two weeks for growth, spray with Round-up, wait a few days, then put down cardboard. On top of the cardboard some sand, then rubble, cemented together around the edge to hold it all in. Then just brush over it with sand to fill the cracks. If bermuda starts poking through, hit it with Round-up again. Here's a pic of my rubble patio, constructed about ten years ago:
    {{gwi:503228}}

    Renee

  • on_greenthumb
    11 years ago

    I'm just doing it now actually - digging out all the grass (don't know what kind) yesterday and today. Then we're putting in limestone screening, tamping it down and then pea gravel over top. The garden side of the fire pit has large river rock and the grass side has a barrier....I'll post pics after the weekend when we're done.

  • girlgroupgirl
    11 years ago

    I adore that patio, hosenemesis.

  • hbwright
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Renee, that is gorgeous!! I love it. Where in the world did you get all the pieces for free? I would even pay for that. I wish I had your creativity. That would look absolutely perfect really!!

    On greenthumb, I look forward to your pictures.

    I've told the kids I'll pay them to help me dig it up. We've been enjoying the fire pit every night. Can't wait to get it finished. Have one expense I need to prioritize, but then I'm ready to get started. Renee, tell me where to look around for pieces like that. Not only is it beautiful, but it looks like fun to put together.

  • on_greenthumb
    11 years ago

    Wow - that's pretty stunning Renee...I've been looking for rubble to use as edging (I like the idea of having different heights and widths) but it's taking a LONG time to collect. We may be able to get more once we break up the asphalt driveway for gravel(I hope to sledge the driveway and take some of the bigger pieces for edging - we have too much movement in the ground in the winter for paved driveways). I can't wait for my garden to look that established.....

    As for my project. We tallied up the costs yesterday - it cost us about $60 for the patio once the sod was up. $30 for the screenings and $25 for the gravel (which isn't down yet) and $7 dollars to buy some extra rocks (I got most of them from construction sites (with permission) including one that put their dumpster RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE!!! (How lucky was I - couldn't get any closer to home)

    {{gwi:669449}}

    {{gwi:669450}}

  • ianna
    11 years ago

    use small pebbles or if you live near the seashore, crushed sea shells (which is used in paths and tennis courts). What I love about these materials is that they crunch when you walk on them. Of course any small materials travels outside of the area unless you surround them with edgers that could contain them.

    You will need to dig down that area,add the edgers (could be metal, plastic or wood)(high enough to contain the pebbles) apply lime screening, tamp it flat and even, apply the pebbles just below the top of the edgers. You can surround the edgers with plants like lavenders for an all summer long bloom. or with boxwood and then lavenders.

  • hbwright
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Well shoot, I took a stroll around the yard again today and found tons of bricks and pavers and some flagstone to get me started on collecting and I'm going to get some molds and have the kids make some pavers to add to it with broken glass pieces. I used to have them make them every year when they were young to give to their grandparents so now they can make some more for me. Still need thousands more pieces, but I've got a start. LOL. Now, I'm also craving a garden room thans to Renee, maybe a nice shady area. My sitting areas are all in sun in the backyard but we've got a lot of shady corners that I'm hoping to do some woodland planting. Maybe one of those corners would make a good room. HUM!! See what you've gone and done?

  • hosenemesis
    11 years ago

    Oh that sounds like fun! The bricks are gold. I found about a hundred stacked up under a foot of leaf litter at my dad's house.
    You can also use whole bottles if you are up to digging. I put them in upside down, and they look really pretty- like roundels in medieval windows. If you have a glass cutter you can cut the bottoms off at about two inches and you don't have to dig as much.

    Take a look at Craigslist and Freecycle to see if anyone is giving away tile or broken concrete. we went to a concrete recycling center and they let us grab a bunch of broken pieces.

    Ongreenthumb, your patio is lovely. I especially like the rock edging. Your fence is really pretty, too, and makes a beautiful backdrop for your patio.

    Renee

  • girlgroupgirl
    11 years ago

    on_greenthumb, your firepit area is lovely. I really like that.

    I love the idea of a rubble patio, and perhaps can use that as the center of ours (which we hope to put in late summer or early fall). However it has to be flat (unlike my walkway of broken concrete: each source comes with a different thickness) for my Mom and my pal (who is blind) to navigate more easily than the front walk (which I will need to get laid flatter, eventually). I think if you plan on using really heavily weighted items like a stone fireplace, grill island, sink etc. you need at least some of the area poured. We plan on having a "primitive" kitchen (mostly cement items) around the edges, so we need stability: we also need a footer for a knee wall around the edge to keep any flooding waters off the patio and kitchen area. That said, I really want to keep things as do-it-yourself as possible. I have fun doing projects like hosenemesis patio area - and enjoy the feeling of a job well accomplished!

    on_greenthumb's area would be a nice "landing" for a hammock. Someone gave me a hammock last fall, and once we get some backyard happening, I'd like to find a place for DH to snuggle down into the garden and relax...

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