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Looking back at my old brick fire pit project
About five years ago, I decided to build a fire pit in my backyard. I wanted to save money, so I bought a bunch of cheap, reclaimed bricks from a local yard for about $150. I didn't check if they were fire-rated. I spent a whole weekend building a nice circle, only to have the first real fire cause several bricks to crack and pop loudly. A piece even chipped off and flew into the grass. I had to tear the whole thing down and start over with proper refractory bricks, which cost me over $300. That cheap first try wasted my money and a good two days of hard work. It was a tough lesson in using the right materials for the job. Has anyone else had a project fail because you tried to save a few bucks up front?
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tarar271mo ago
Man, that part about the bricks cracking and popping is so real. I used regular concrete pavers for a grill base once and the heat made them flake apart in a year. Learned the hard way that fire pit stuff needs to be rated for direct flame. Those refractory bricks are a pain to buy but you're right, they're the only thing that lasts. Saved money on the first try just to spend double later.
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xena3731mo ago
My old fire pit's been fine with regular bricks for years though.
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norag661mo ago
Oh man, I gotta disagree with you there. I'm with @xena373 on this one. I've had a fire pit made from regular old red clay bricks for like six years now and it's still holding up fine. No cracks, no flaking, nothing. The key is not using concrete pavers because those trap moisture and explode. Red clay bricks are fired at high temps already so they handle heat way better than people give them credit for. I think the whole "you gotta buy special fire bricks" thing is sometimes overblown unless you're building a pizza oven or something that gets crazy hot. Regular bricks work fine for a basic fire pit if you pick the right kind.
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